Quote from Forum Archives on February 1, 2012, 10:49 am

Posted by: edwrather <edwrather@...>

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The Burning Bush Devotional
There are 18,000 Subscribers to the Email Devotional

02.01.12

Avoiding Mistakes

Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because
you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from
the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels
in heaven. But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the
book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I
am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not
the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly
mistaken." - Mark 12:24-27 NKJV.

Amado Cardenas was upset with his former girlfriend which led to his
mistakes. Amado broke into what he thought was his ex-girlfriend's apartment
and did what burglars do. He went through her stuff taking the money he
found along with medications. He tried to pry a flat screen television from
the wall and then drank some alcoholic beverages he found in the fridge.
However, unlike most burglars, Amado Cardenas then took a nap on the floor.
That is where he was when Amado's former girlfriend's neighbor came home
discovering him on the floor still asleep. Amado had broken into the wrong
apartment his ex-girlfriend's neighbor's apartment! She called 911 and Amado
was arrested, and hauled off to jail. (Broward Palm Beach New Times The Pulp
Blog 12.02.11)

Cardenas made several mistakes. He began by making the mistake of trying to
obtain revenge against his ex-girlfriend. What does God say in the Bible
about revenge? In Romans 12:19 NKJV we are told, "Beloved, do not avenge
yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is
Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord." Instead of trying to get back at
someone God says this, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty,
give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head
(Romans 12:20 NKJV)." In other words, when someone is mean to you, be nice
to them because God will take care of it.

The next mistake that Cardenas made was in deciding to break the law by
breaking into an apartment to steal and to destroy. The command that God
makes against stealing is one of the Ten Commandments which says: "You shall
not steal (Exodus 20:15 NKJV)." When you steal you are hurting yourself, the
Bible says in Proverbs 1, "So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for
gain; It takes away the life of its owners (v.19 NKJV)." And ".they lie in
wait for their own blood, they lurk secretly for their own lives (v.18)."

Cardenas also made the mistake of consuming alcoholic beverages. Why is that
wrong? We are told in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 NKJV, "Do you not know that you
are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone
defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is
holy, which temple you are." It is a fact that alcohol causes physical
problems. When I was in the hospital last month for pancreatitis I was asked
repeatedly if I drank, i.e. consumed alcohol, because alcohol is a known
cause of the condition. Okay, I will confess. I did have one drink in 1980,
and I did drink some beer my first year in the oilfield, in 1975. And, I did
drink some while I was in high school. If I had it to do over, I would never
have taken a single drink of alcohol. I still do not know for sure what
caused my pancreatitis, but I do know that I never want to have it again.

The biggest mistake that Amado made? The biggest mistake that we can make?
The biggest mistake that we can make is not knowing the Scriptures and the
power of God (Mark 12:24; 27).

Copyright © 2012. Ed Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since
January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush
Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early
1990s. The distribution of these first devotionals was primarily through the
Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison facilities throughout the United
States and Canada.

Please continue to pray for my wife, Jeanie, as she recovers from surgery
and ovarian cancer, and is now going through chemo. Many prayer needs are
posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You can also
post your prayer requests there and they will be forwarded to the Burning
Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray
for me.).

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