CATS, RATS, SNAKES, AND BOBCATS

When I was young, my aunt had a well in her backyard. It was the kind you have to lower a bucket down into and draw up the water. She built a shed over it connecting it to the house, then she closed it in with tin siding. She stored a few things in there like firewood, gardening tools, and miscellaneous things she didn’t want in the house. She left the ground for the floor and eventually, the grass all died and it was a dirt floor.

One day, I noticed several large holes in the ground behind the kitchen. They were tunnels leading under the house. There were big piles of dirt in front of them where something big had been digging. I asked my aunt what it was and she said it was Gopher Rat holes. Then, my uncle said the rats were so big that he had to use a stick of firewood to kill them.

My aunt had several cats and dogs over the years with weird names. She had a cat named Blackie, and one named Brownie, because of their color. She had a cat named Tom because he was a Tomcat, and a dog named Snowball because he was white and fluffy.

There was a rectangular hole in the floor under the kitchen sink where the big drain pipe ran under the floor. It was big enough for the cats to climb through, so my aunt put a piece of wood there like a ramp to make it easier for the cats to come in and go out of the house. Her cats were not the only thing that could come through the hole, and they weren’t the only things that did.

One day, we were at her house and she went into the kitchen for something. All of a sudden, we heard an awful commotion and she started yelling. Of course, we all ran to see what was going on. There on the floor by the stove and the back door was a big, long, black snake and it was squirming all over the floor trying to get away from the broom she was hitting it with. For some reason, I don’t remember if she killed it or if it got away, probably because we ran out of there.

I also found a baby mouse there one time by that stove behind the door. It didn’t have any hair and it was so cute, but knowing what they grow up to become, my grandmother wouldn’t let me keep it. She told me to put it back where I got it because the mother was probably looking for it.

My aunt told us about another time she went into the kitchen and found an uninvited guest. She said she got up one morning and went to make coffee and found a bobcat sitting there eating her cat’s food. Of course, he ran back under the sink and escaped through the hole her cats went in and out of. She said he came in several times. I wanted her to catch it so I could have it as a pet, but she said, “That thing’s wild. It’ll tear you all to pieces.” She said she prepared some hot water to dash on the bobcat one morning, so he would stop coming in and eating her cat’s food, and after she did that, it never came back again. I thought that was mean of her, but I think it can be a good spiritual lesson.

Sometimes sin sneaks into our lives. But, we don’t always recognize it as sin because we've let our guard down. Sin is often disguised as something other than what it truly is. Sometimes, it keeps coming back again and again. Maybe we need to dash some hot water on it and get it out of our lives for good.

The Bible says that God is able to keep us from sinning (Jude 1:24). We need that close, personal relationship with Jesus, and the Holy Spirit living in our minds to lead, and guide us. Staying in constant contact with God is a very important part of that relationship (1 Thessalonians 5:17). That includes listening as well as talking. It’s a relationship between created human beings and our loving Creator. What a beautiful relationship.

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4 THINGS CHRISTIANS MUST DO

The Bible tells us that we’re in a war. This war is not fought with guns and tanks and Grenades. It’s a spiritual war. The Apostle Paul does a great job of explaining this in the book of Ephesians, chapter 6.

Ephesians 6:12
12 Because we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places.

In verse 11, Paul tells us to put on the whole armor of God. In this spiritual war, this is a spiritual armor. He tells us exactly what each piece of that armor is.

Ephesians 6:14-17
14 So stand with the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 Shoe your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
16 Most of all, take the shield of faith, which will make you able to extinguish all the fiery spears of evil.
17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

So the Armor Of God is:
The Belt of Truth
The Breastplate of Righteousness
The Preparation of the Gospel of Peace (Shoes)
The Shield of Faith
The Helmet of Salvation
The Sword of The Spirit (Bible)

Again, this battle we’re in is not a physical battle, but a spiritual one. You and I weren’t asked if we wanted to be in this war. We weren’t asked if we wanted to fight. We weren’t given the opportunity to voice our opinion on the subject at all. This war began a long time ago, and the human race became part of it when our first parents, Adam and Eve, listened to Satan’s lies and disobeyed God. The choice that Adam made that day threw the whole human race into the middle of that war, and like it or not, we’re in a war against an enemy who is many more times powerful than you and I.

We’re fighting against an enemy who is more resourceful than we are. This enemy is at least thousands of years old, maybe much older. However old is, he’s had six thousand years to study humans. He knows exactly what makes us tick. He knows what our weaknesses are. He knows exactly what strategy to use to get to each one of us. The only chance we have against this powerful, and resourceful enemy is to ally ourselves with someone who is more powerful than he is. God is the only one that fits that description. He’s the only one that can give us help in times of trouble.

Yes, God is all-powerful, and yes, he will fight for us in this battle, but contrary to popular belief, we have a part to play, too. I’d like to suggest four very important things that Christians need to do in this war that we’re in. These are not the only thing that we need to do, but I believe they’re the four most important things.

1) Trust God Completely.
2) Pray and Study God’s Word (The Bible)
3) Avoid Evil
4) Tell Others About God’s Love

In order to truly trust someone, you have to have a relationship with them. As we pursue a relationship with God, and our relationship with him grows, our trust in him will grow. As long as we’re continuing to pursue that relationship, it’ll grow stronger, and stronger to the point where we can identify with Job when he said, “Even if he kills me, I will still trust him” (Job 13:15). Remember the three Hebrews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? When they were faced with a choice between obeying the king or God, in Daniel chapter 3, they chose to obey God even though they were threatened with death if they didn’t obey the king. Look at Daniel chapter 3, beginning in verse 14.

Daniel 3:14-17
14 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said to them, Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Do you not serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
15 Now, are you ready? When you hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, or any kind of music, fall down and worship the image which I have made. If you do not worship, you will be thrown, the same hour, into the middle of a burning fiery furnace, and who is the God that will deliver you out of my hands?
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego responded and said, King Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer you in this matter.
17 If it be, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, King.
18 But if not, know this, King, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.

Did you notice how much faith they had in God? They said, “Our God IS able to deliver us from the fire” (Daniel 3:14-17). They knew God has the power to deliver us out of any situation, and I mean ANY situation. But they also knew something else. They knew that God doesn’t always deliver us from a bad situation. They knew that it might be in his will for them to die.

Many times, throughout history, we can see where new Christians have been born from the death of Martyrs. Remember, God didn’t save John the Baptist in prison. Some people wonder why, but we know there was a reason. God always has a reason for the things he does, and for the things he allows, and we need to realize that in our own lives. We need to trust that God is able to deliver us from anything, but if he doesn’t, then we need to trust that he had a good reason and continue trusting that he knows what’s best for us.

We need to trust God and obey him, completely. The best way to gain that kind of trust is to do the second thing I mentioned in the list; Pray and Study God’s Word. We must have personal daily devotions, and personal daily Bible study, mixed with praise and prayer to the Creator of the universe. We need to make sure the lines of communication stay open. We need to have a close, personal relationship with God so that when he tells us to do something, we know that it’s actually him speaking to us. The only way we can have that is to study the word of God and pray daily, and I mean two-way prayer where we praise him and listen to him, not just ask for things. We also must be willing to change when God tells us we’re doing something wrong, and he will. He’ll also help us to change.

The third very important thing we need to do is Avoid Evil. Job is a good example for us as Christians today in several ways. Job chapter 1, verse 1 says this;

Job 1:1
1 There was a man in the land of Uz named Job, and he was perfect and upright, and feared God, and avoided evil.

The Bible says Job avoided evil. That needs to be our testimony. We need to turn away from evil and go out of our way to avoid it. If we know we have a certain weakness in a certain area, we need to do whatever it takes to avoid that thing. We need to be aware that Satan and his evil angels set traps for us. They know our weaknesses, and they attack us where they know they’ll have the greatest chance of getting us to sin.

Have you ever heard of or seen a situation where someone is offered a certain amount of money to stay in a ring with a big guy for a certain amount of time? All he has to do is avoid the bigger guy until the time is up. What about the kid in school that’s being bullied by another student like I was when I was young? The only way to avoid this situation is to totally avoid that person.

If we know we have a weakness for something, we need to avoid even seeing it. Take alcohol, for example. If we’re tempted by it, and we go to the store to buy things we need, we shouldn’t go down the aisle where the alcohol is. Avoid it. I have a friend in that situation, and that’s exactly what he does. We need to be as diligent as we can and avoid sin whenever possible. That will help us with half the battle. There will always be temptations, but there’s good news. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that God always provides a way to escape when we’re tempted to sin, so remember that the next time temptation comes to you.

Don’t play with the devil’s toys either. There are certain things that some see as entertainment that have evil influences. We need to be aware of these, and if there are things we have doubts about, we need to avoid them as well, until we can be sure one way or the other. We must lay aside everything that will come between us and God.

So, we need to trust God completely. We need to avoid evil at all costs. We need to pray and study the Bible, which is part of worshiping God, and last but not least, we need to tell others about his amazing love, and his sacrifice for them.

In the Bible, we have example after example of God’s people sharing the good news of God’s love with others. Unfortunately, part of that message includes the bad news of what will happen to those who refuse to follow God. Not because he’s mean, and just wants everything his way, but because he’s so holy that sin can not exist in his presence.

We need to warn people that God is coming back, and they need to be ready, but we don’t need to do it in a way that will make God seem like an evil tyrant. We need to call people out of something to call them into something. It’s our duty. We need to understand that we all don’t have to stand behind a pulpit, or go door to door, necessarily. We all have different gifts, and we should look for ways to witness and tell others about Jesus using our talents. We should always be looking for opportunities to share the gospel with others. We should be telling everybody to wake up, he’s coming back soon. This is very important. People are dying every day without a saving relationship with Jesus, and that’s so sad.

There was a Christian man named Bill traveling on a train. As he was eating in the dining car, he noticed something about the waiter. His name was Walter, and he was having a bad day. Several of the passengers were not being kind to Walter. He was doing his best, but still, they criticized him and complained about the food, and about his service.

When Bill finished eating, he left Walter a nice tip, and a little gospel tract, with a note on the table, and went back to the passenger car, and sat down to read. After a while, the waiter came walking down the aisle looking at all the faces of the people, and he finally came to Bill. He sat down and said, I want to thank you, Sir. My life has been in chaos lately and today just added to it. I was feeling so awful, I was planning to go home tonight and kill myself. Then he said, Thank you for giving me this pamphlet, and this encouraging note. Now, I realize what Jesus did for me, and I’m going to live the rest of my life for him.

There are people just like Walter out there. We see them every day. You never know, but maybe a kind word or a smile from you may save somebody’s life. Giving somebody a gospel tract, or an encouraging note may be just what they need to pull them back from the edge. There are many more ways to witness than going to a foreign land and preaching. Every one of us can be a witness in our daily lives. We all need to have a personal Ministry. Each one of us. Find something you like and are good at, and use that to show Jesus to others, and I promise you that sharing with others will bless you just as much as it does them. Try it. You’ll be blessed.

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Adapted from my sermon “War” 2008

UNCLES AND AUNTS, TURKEYS AND PEACOCKS

When I was a little boy we would occasionally go visit relatives who lived a long distance from us. When I say a long distance, I mean farther than we could walk in an hour. My grandmother didn’t have a car, so we walked when we would go to the store, or to visit our aunt, or friends in the neighborhood, which was all within about a two or three-mile radius. To go any further than that we depended on our aunt or a taxi cab.

Aunt Lee had an old white Chevrolet car. I should say, it would be old now, but back then it was probably only a few years old. She had that car for as long as I could remember. Once in a while, we would get in that car and go visit those relatives who lived too far away to walk.

We had lots of aunts and uncles. My mom had two sisters, but her brother died when he was only eleven. My dad had two brothers and four sisters. Those were the younger uncles and aunts. We didn’t get to see them much until we were older. My grandmother’s brothers and sisters and their spouses were our great-uncles and aunts. They are the ones we visited the most.

When we would go to their homes, we would usually stay for hours, and many times all day long. Sometimes we would even stay all night. I usually loved going to visit them. They would always hug us, kiss us, and tell us how cute we were, and how much we had grown since the last time they saw us.

I remember going to visit Uncle Wilberth and Aunt Adelia over on Pine Mountain. I think they were actually our great-uncle and aunt. Uncle Howard and Aunt Lorene lived uptown in Corinth for many years. Then, when we were older, they moved up around the Tennessee state line. Uncle B.Y. and Aunt Rachel lived by the highway in Dead Man’s Curve for a while, then they moved a few miles east on the other side of the highway. Then they moved over to the Bethlehem area when we were older. They came to visit us pretty regularly. I think Uncle Marvin and Aunt Ludie lived somewhere on the other side of Lone Oak, and Kossuth. I’m not sure. They both died when we were pretty young, so I don’t know exactly where they lived. From what I can remember, their house was built like the house on the old TV show, “Little House On The Prairie.”

Uncle Elbert and Aunt Effie lived at the bottom of Bethlehem hill. On the hottest days of summer, that was the coolest place to be. They had lots of trees, and a big spring-fed creek running right through their yard. The spring had created a pond that was only a few feet deep with water so clear you could see the bottom, and it was full of Lilly pads. They had made an area where you could walk down to the edge of the creek and get some of the spring water to drink. It was cold and delicious.

I remember going to see Uncle Ervin and Aunt Bonnie. They had a yard full of guineas. They were funny-looking blue and gray colored birds, and they just walked around making the most annoying sound I had ever heard. I only remember seeing Uncle Ervin a few times. He died when I was young but we continued to visit Aunt Bonnie for many years. It happened about the same way with Uncle Willie and Aunt Luola, except I don’t remember him at all. He died before I could get to know him, but when Aunt Luola would talk about him, I knew that she really loved him, and missed him terribly. She had two peacocks running around in her yard and they were so beautiful. We could never get close enough to touch one of them, but every time we visited her, we would find a few peacock feathers in the yard to take home with us.

One morning, Aunt Lee put a wooden box in the car as we were getting ready to go visit Aunt Luola. She wanted to give us a cat. At the end of our visit, the cat was put into the wooden box and the box went back into the car. When we got home, Aunt Lee took the box out and set it on the ground. The second she opened the lid, that cat jumped out and ran across the yard like a scalded dog. It ran across the road and into the woods. We only saw it a time or two after that, and only for a minute or so then, and only from a distance. For months, though, we could hear it at the edge of the woods crying. We took food and left it there for it every day. A few months later, we moved and had to leave the cat behind.

Uncle Roy and Aunt Daisy were our great uncle and aunt. They lived in a beautiful valley called “Horseshoe Bend.” They had cows, mules, and chickens, but what I remember the most were the two big turkeys running free in their yard. The male was huge. He was almost as tall as me and he was mean. He would chase me and my sister sometimes. It would scare us to death. Uncle Roy had to kick the thing two or three times one day to make him leave me alone. Other than having to avoid that killer turkey, I really enjoyed our visits with them.

There’s nothing like childhood memories. I cherish them. They take me back to a much different time than what we live in today. A time when everything seemed simple to me and I had no worries, except for the occasional crazy animal attacking me. Those memories make me think of what the world might have been like before sin entered in and messed everything up. Then I’m reminded that someday, God will return the earth to its original state, and we will be able to see and experience all the beauty and peace that we have missed out on because of the curse of sin. It will be an awesome experience and I don’t want to miss it. I’m looking forward to that day. I hope to see you there.

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TREES AND MEN, VINES AND SIN

In the last few weeks, I’ve been trying to work a little in my yard, to get it ready for spring. I moved some old broken cinder blocks that had once been at the edge of the wood line but were now in the woods because, for the last several years, I haven’t been mowing there and the woods were taking over more of my yard.

I picked up some dead limbs that had fallen off the old oak tree behind the house. I raked some of the leaves out of the yard and threw them in a low spot in the woods which needs to be filled. Maybe they will eventually rot and become dirt.

I finished taking out a stump from a small tree I had cut down a few summers ago. I cleared away some shrubs and brush from a spot at the edge of the woods where I want to plant some wild apricots, and I worked on clearing a spot for a garden. Last week, I dug up a small spot there and planted some potatoes. I’m not much of a gardener but this year I want to plant a few things and maybe get some practice.

I like having a nice, clean, well-kept yard, but I haven’t really been able to work like I need to in order to keep it like I want it. I’ve just been doing the bare minimum for the last few years, so it’s a mess. The bushes around the edge of the yard are out of control. They look terrible and they’re making my yard smaller every year. This week, I thought I would spend a few minutes pruning them. The next thing I knew it had been over an hour and I still wasn’t finished. It will take a while to get everything in good shape just doing a little at a time but maybe I’ll get there eventually.

As I was trimming the bushes, I noticed something interesting. There were vines growing on several of them. I remembered how beautiful they had been the last few summers running all over a cluster of bushes and hanging down. The leaves were a different color and a different size from the bushes and the blooms and full flowers were amazing. It made a beautiful arrangement with all the different colors.

Looking at them this week, though, a memory is all there was. The naked vines covering the naked bushes just looked like a mangled mess. The bushes that were covered with vines looked much different from the ones without them. They just looked sick. They were twisted and bowed over from being pulled and weighed down. The vines have been slowly choking the life out of them. Several of the bigger bushes were already dead.

As I cut the vines off, some of them sprang back up immediately like they were happy to be set free. Some of them took a little longer, while some of the others just stayed down. I guess they were damaged more than the other ones. Maybe they’ll liven up in the spring.

On several occasions in the Bible, you’ll find trees being used to represent humans in parables and prophecy. So often, we can draw parallels from nature that can teach us valuable lessons.

Many times, we are like those small trees and sin is like those vines. It is often beautiful on the outside, especially in the beginning. We don’t realize the negative effect it’s having on us, usually, until it’s too late.

Sin infects our lives and destroys our minds and bodies. It drags us down and holds us there. We become sick and it slowly chokes the life out of us and eventually, it kills us. I’ve seen it many times, especially with substance abuse but any sin is equally as devastating. Even if others around us don’t know what specifically is going on, they can see the effects that sin has on us.

Our only hope is in Jesus (1 Tim. 1:1). He is the only way for us to be set free from the chokehold that sin has on us (John 14:6, John 8:36, Gal. 5:1, Rom. 6:22). 

When he sets us free we’re just like those bushes that were once held down by the vines. The weight of sin is removed and we come alive. We’re so happy and grateful to be free. It’s the most amazing feeling in the world.

Are you being dragged down by the weight of sin? Are you having the life slowly choked out of you? If that’s the condition you’re in, you need to know there’s hope. Call on Jesus and he will break the hold that sin has on you and set you free. Then you can stand up straight and move forward. Don’t wait until tomorrow. Do it today.

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WAS JESUS A NAZARITE?

Was Jesus a Nazarite? Many people believe he was but the word of God doesn’t support that. In fact, it shows the opposite to be true. He was a Nazarene, which simply means he was from Nazareth of Galilee, a little town in Northern Israel. Maybe that’s where the confusion comes from; Nazarene, Nazarite. A Nazarite is someone who has taken the Nazarite vow. Being a Nazarite was not necessarily a lifetime commitment. It appears to be only for a limited time. Jesus was NOT a Nazarite, at least not after he was baptized and began his ministry. Let’s look at a few Bible verses starting with Numbers chapter 6.

Numbers 6:1-8 

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the LORD: 

3 He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, nor vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes nor dried. 

4 All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. 

5 All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in which he separates himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. 

6 All the days that he separates himself unto the LORD, he shall come near no dead body. 

7 He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the consecration of his God is upon his head. 

8 All the days of his separation he is holy unto the LORD.

According to the Bible, the Nazarite vow included three restrictions.

1) A Nazarite could not drink or eat anything that was made from any part of the grapevine, including fresh grape juice, wine of any kind, strong drink, and grapes, and raisins.

2) A Nazarite could not cut their hair.

3) A Nazarite could not touch a dead body.

This is how we know Jesus was not a Nazarite.

1a) Jesus drank the fruit of the vine. Whether it was grape juice or alcoholic wine is debatable, but the fact remains, he did not keep the first rule of the Nazarite vow.

Luke 7:34

34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking; and you say, Behold, a glutton, and a drunkard.

1 Cor. 11:25

25 After the same manner also he took the cup when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

2a) Did Jesus have long hair? Many believe he did, probably from the many paintings of him with long hair, but we don’t really know what he looked like. We know from one of the many prophecies of his death that he had a beard when he was crucified (Is. 50:6), but the Apostle Paul says, “it is a shame for a man to have long hair” (1 Cor. 11:14). Hair length is subjective, though, like a big dog, or a tall tree. The tallest tree in Mississippi is a Spruce Pine which was 154 feet at the time it was measured. To me, that’s a tall tree, but it’s not tall at all compared to the tallest Giant Redwood ever measured, which was 379 feet tall. The fact is we just can’t be sure what length the Lord’s hair was.

3a) Did Jesus touch a dead body? Yes, he did. In Matthew 9:21-43. A ruler of the synagogue named Jairus came to Jesus begging him to come and heal his daughter who was dying. When they arrived she was already dead, but Jesus went in and took her by the hand, and brought her back to life (Mark 5:22-43, Luke 8:41-56). Numbers 6:11 says it is a SIN for a Nazarite to touch a dead body, and we know Jesus never sinned (Heb. 4:15, 1 John 3:5 1 Pet. 1:18-19 & 2:22).

In, conclusion, Jesus drank the fruit of the vine, and he touched at least one dead body. So, we can say with confidence that Jesus was NOT a Nazarite. He was from Nazareth, which made him a Nazarene.

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THE PLAGUE OF SIN

Sin is a plague, and we are all infected. The entire earth is under quarantine, because of this disease. The only antidote is the blood of Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God. He offers this cure to every human being on the planet, free of charge. God has vowed to destroy sin from the universe one day, and he will do that by burning the entire earth, at the second coming. The sad thing is, ALL those who have rejected the antidote, will still be infected at that time. Sadly, they will have to be burned along with sin to wipe out the plague forever.

We don’t have to end up in that cleansing lake of fire. 1 John 4:9 says, “In this, the love of God was manifested toward us because God sent his only begotten Son into the world so we might live through him.” That’s not talking about just living here on earth. It means we can live forever, with Jesus our Lord, and Savior. The one who loves us so much that he suffered and died to save us from the power and the consequences of sin.

Soon, Jesus will return to earth to rescue us from this plague. If we are still holding on to sin, then we will be destroyed along with it. Not because God is mean, or sadistic, but because we have allowed sin to become part of us, and God has set a time to destroy it. Jesus wants to set us free from sin and give us eternal life so we can spend eternity with him. He pleads with every person on earth to turn from sin and be saved. The love that our creator has for us is beyond our understanding. Even though we sin, and reject him over, and over again, he still loves us. When we realize he has that kind of love for us, it causes us to love him. When we truly realize how wretched, vile, and sinful we truly are in God’s sight, then see that he loves us anyway, it’s so amazing.

We have to be holy in God’s eyes to be saved in the end, but there’s no way we can possibly do that on our own. We have to be covered by the blood of Jesus, the holy Son of God. We have to believe in him and ask for his forgiveness, and he will hear us and save us (John 3:16, Romans 1:16). Then he will place a robe of righteousness on us. He becomes our substitute. The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Eternal death. We have all earned death. We deserve to die because we have broken God’s law. This is called sin.

For sin to be forgiven, it requires a blood sacrifice. This was symbolized in the Old Testament sacrificial system, where animals were sacrificed for the sins of the people. It sounds archaic now, and maybe a little morbid, but God has a reason for everything he does. The sanctuary services represent the plan of salvation. If you want to understand this plan more fully, just study the sanctuary service in the old testament.

Almost two thousand years ago, Jesus, the pure, holy Lamb of God, left heaven and came to earth, lived a sinless life, suffered, and died. In this, he became the ultimate sacrifice for sin. We don’t sacrifice animals today because the blood of Jesus is all we need. He died for us all. He died in our place. God gave his only Son so you and I would not have to pay for our own sins (Luke 24:46-47). Now, all we need to do to receive forgiveness for those sins is to be sorry and want to stop sinning, then tell him so (Acts 3:19). He will apply his sacrifice to our account, and our debt will be cleared, and God sees us as holy. We are free from the plague of sin and have eternal life. Amazing. Right?

One day soon, the trumpet will sound from heaven (Matt. 24:31, 1 Cor. 15:52). The sky will burn (2 Pet. 3:10-11), and we will see Jesus coming in the clouds (Rev. 1:7, Matt. 24:30, 1 Thes. 4:16-17). What a glorious sight that will be to the ones who have been freed from sin by the shed blood of God’s Son, but for those who have refused his free, cleansing gift of salvation, it will be a day of sadness, and tears.

Malachi 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

Isaiah 13:9-13 says, “Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel, both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.”

In Ezekiel 33:11, God says, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked:”

The fact is, hell fire was designed for Satan, who started the sin problem, and his evil angels, not for humans. Hell fire is the method God will use to destroy sin from the universe forever. Again, if we are still holding onto sin, loving sin more than God, then we will be destroyed when he destroys sin. God doesn’t want that, but the choice has to be yours. Let go of sin today. Don’t hold on to it. Don’t let sin destroy you. Accept God’s free gift today, and live forever. 

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© 2016 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
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DON'T JUDGE ME

“Don’t Judge Me” is a favorite phrase of those who don’t want to be told they are doing something wrong. None of us like to be told we are doing wrong, but what if we are doing something that could cost us our life? What if it could cost us eternal life? What if it could mean the difference between heaven and hell? Is warning someone of danger judging them? Is telling someone what God says judging them?

Let’s pretend for a moment that we all know this certain teenager. His name is Billy. He just got his driver’s license. Everywhere he goes he’s always speeding, even though he knows he’s breaking the law. He drives way too fast, in spite of all the warnings from his family and friends. Over the next year, he has several accidents, and several close calls, so he decides it might be best to slow down, and obey the speed limit.

As he grows older he becomes more responsible, and actually becomes a Highway Patrol officer when he is old enough. Now, it’s Billy’s duty, and responsibility to enforce the same law he once so carelessly disregarded. If he sees someone breaking the law, it is his duty to let them know there are consequences for breaking the law. Sometimes the consequence is a fine, and sometimes it may be the loss of your life or the life of someone else; Perhaps someone we love.

Billy is not the judge and making people aware of the law, and the consequences for breaking it is not judging. It’s the same with born again believers. It’s our duty, and responsibility to warn others that there are consequences for breaking God’s law. We are nobody’s judge. We are children of God who want to obey him because we love him.

People who truly know the love of God, want others to experience that love, and we don’t want anyone to have to pay the penalty for their own sins. Romans 3:23 says, “All have sinned.” Romans 6:23 says, the wages of sin is death; By sinning, we’ve all earned Death. This is not just the physical death that everybody dies, but eternal death; the second death, in hell fire (Rev. 21:8). Jesus paid the penalty for sin when he died on the cross, but we must be born again for his sacrifice to be applied to our account (John 3:16, 3:3-7). Knowing this, and keeping it to ourselves while millions are headed to hell, is not acceptable to God. He wants us who have been set free from sin to tell others the good news, that they can be set free, too.

I’ve had people tell me I had no right to tell my children not to do certain things because I did that when I was younger. I strongly disagree with that statement. Just because I did something doesn’t make it right. Just because I did it doesn’t take away my responsibility to warn others of the dangers that come with doing it. Especially my kids. Come on, now.

Likewise, just because born again believers once lived a life of sin, with no regard for God’s law, doesn’t abolish our “right” or responsibility to warn others of the dangers of sin. We’ve been there. We know what it’s like to be a slave to sin, and what a blessing it is to be delivered from sin. On top of that, God tells us to warn others.

Matthew 28:19-20
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

This is what we call the great commission. A command for us to go into all the world, and teach others what Jesus wants us all to do. That command is not just for missionaries going to other countries. It’s for any disciple, anywhere we may be. God wants us to tell others about his love, and he wants us to tell them what will happen if they refuse to follow his rules. Not because he is arrogant, or wants to be a dictator, but because he is wise, and knows that sin destroys us. God even warns us of what will happen if we don’t warn others.

Ezekiel 3:18 
18 When I say to the wicked, “You will surely die;” and you do not warn him, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; that wicked man will die in his sins, but his blood will be on your hand.

Ezekiel 3:20
20 Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and sins, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood will be on your hand.

Ezekiel 33:6
6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his sins; but his blood will be on the watchman’s hand.

The Bible tells us many things we should not do. Believers are told, by God, to warn the people who are doing those things so they will know and have an opportunity to stop. This includes other believers as well. If we don’t warn people their blood will be on our hands. Here’s another reason.

Rev 20:15 
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Jesus wants everyone to go to heaven, and spend eternity with him. Contrary to popular belief though, everybody is not automatically going to heaven. You have to be born again in order to go. You have to be “SAVED” from sin. If anyone ends up in hell, because we didn’t warn them, their blood will be on our hands, and we may not get to go. Ezekiel 3:20 tells us that even a righteous man can turn away from his righteousness, and sin. We are told to warn them so they can have an opportunity to repent. Warning someone of danger is not judging. Telling someone what God says is not judging. We just need to do it with love, and not condemnation. Some will repent and turn to God, and others will not, but if we do what God has told us to do, their blood will not be on our hands.

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My Blogs
https://teddylynn.blogspot.com
https://teddylynn.wordpress.com

© 2016 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
https://www.amazon.com/Teddy-Lynn/e/B01MZDB6L6