BBD 03.17.09 The God Factor
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
The Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 170 countries.
Celebrating 11 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the
Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more
than 11,000 subscribers across the world.
Join the Burning Bush Prayer Group. The group began in 1998 and is made up
of over 300 prayer warriors. Send prayer requests and receive prayer
requests. To join send an email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
The Burning Bush Devotional
Welcome to the 297 new subscribers since January 1, 2009!!
03.17.09
The God Factor
But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter
unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not
know what makes them stumble. - Proverbs 4:18-19.
If you do a search on Google for "dumb criminals" you will receive more than
96,000 results. No doubt you have heard many times about dumb criminals,
dumb crooks, or stupid criminals etc. Many of the individuals labeled in
this way possess a high intelligence and so at least in that area of just
brain power, they are not stupid, they are not dumb.
Here are a few of the recent accounts of people who have engaged in criminal
activity with the appearance of a lack of intelligence:
In Fox Point, Wisconsin a man attempted to rob a Tae Kwon Do studio.
Obviously, that was a mistake!
In Pensacola, Florida a man burglarizing a convenience store was caught when
he tripped on his jeans. The burglar was fleeing the store with his arms
full of cigarette cartons and was unable to hold up his jeans and carry the
cartons at the same time.
In Fredericksburg, Virginia an intoxicated man somehow got into a state
trooper's apartment and went to sleep on the sofa. Not long afterwards the
trooper returned home, and you can guess the outcome of that.
In Chicago a man impersonating a police officer with a fake gun ordered two
real off duty officers to leave the area.
In Cape Haze, Florida a man robbed a gas station but ran out of gas before
he could leave the area.
In San Francisco a construction worker was burglarizing vehicles using a
sledge hammer to break in. However, in one of the burglaries he left behind
the sledge hammer which had his name engraved on it.
In Cleveland one man had for some reason, called 911 to report a couple of
suspicious persons. In the process of getting a description of these people
the 911 operator was told to hold on and then the operator heard the man
complete a sale of heroin.
In France a burglar planned to drill into the bank vault but instead ended
up in the bank's restroom. Alarms were sounded and he was quickly arrested.
Bennie Wint had been on the run from the law since 1989 but was recently
arrested after being stopped for a tail light being out.
Then there was the man seen running out of a store carrying a cash register
and the police officer who just happened to be turning into the store
parking lot thought that was suspicious.
There are countless more incidents of criminals who appear to commit very
stupid mistakes or are simply in the wrong place doing the wrong things are
the wrong time. I would submit to you that many of these incidents are not a
result of a lack of intelligence but instead of the God Factor. As the
writer of Proverbs puts it, "The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do
not know what makes them stumble."
If you have been stumbling around in life maybe it is time to do things
differently. Solomon makes this suggestion as to how to change the outcome
in your life, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your
own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct
your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from
evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones (Proverbs
3:5-8)."
Copyright © 2009. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. 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.
Prayer Requests: Please pray for Malachi, Cody, and Mica who are young boys
with cancer. 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.).
If you are not my friend on facebook or myspace you can be, just add me. The
devotionals are posted in my blogs on those two social networks and you can
leave comments, feedback about them there. There are other social networks
designed just for Christians, however, this is an outreach project to reach
those who may not know the Lord or may have wandered away. You can help me
reach out to them.
If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may
subscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-subscribe@welovegod.org
Two videos of my sermons are posted on GodTube at:
http://www.godtube.com/Wrather
You can listen to services at my son, Clark Wrather's church (First Baptist
Church of Broken Bow, Oklahoma) live on Sunday mornings at 10:55am CST
http://www.kkbifm.com/
There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here
is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html.
You can unsubscribe to the pure text version of the devotional by sending a
blank email to burningbushdevo-unsubscribe@welovegod.org and then respond to
the confirmation email.
You may subscribe to the html text group by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-subscribe@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-unsubscribe@welovegod.org and then respond to
the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.