Quote from Forum Archives on March 31, 2009, 1:20 pm

Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

Visit the Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net
www.theburningbush.org

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 348 new subscribers since January 1, 2009!!

03.31.09

Caught

For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his
paths. His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he is caught in the
cords of his sin. - Proverbs 3:21-22.

Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass (caught in a sin - NIV), you
who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering
yourself lest you also be tempted. - Galatians 6:1.

Victor Harris stopped at a 7-Eleven convenience store, so he could put some
fuel additive into his vehicle. As he was pouring the additive into the tank
a paper lid fell off and into the tank. Victor tried to use his index finger
to reach the lid; at least he tried until his finger became stuck. His
finger was caught and he could not get it out. This happened at about 5:00
a.m. and by seven or eight o'clock Victor said his hand began to get numb,
and he started to become a little nervous about the situation. The Fire
Department was finally called and after about four hours they were able to
cut out a section of the fuel pipe. Victor was taken to a nearby hospital
where they were able to remove his finger, and he received a couple of
stitches. It was even a little more embarrassing for Victor because he is an
employee at the hospital.

It is unlikely that Victor Harris will ever experience a similar incident in
his life again. Why? Because he learned a lesson about sticking his hand and
finger into a place like that. It would be great if we could learn all of
life's lessons so well that we would never repeat our mistakes. Sin,
however, is a mistake that all too often we keep repeating over and over.
Why? Because we are caught by sin just as surely as Victor's finger was
caught in the fuel pipe.

Sin is a hunter which catches its prey. Sin catches us. We become "caught in
the cords" of sin. Our "iniquities entrap" us, and although we may think of
a sin as a single event; once we have sinned, we are caught, entrapped. As a
result, we sin again and again. Those who have battled an addiction
understand this because even when they want to stop it is very difficult to
do so. However, it is the same for other sins. You tell a lie and the next
lie is easier and sometimes because of the lie you first told you have to
tell additional lies to cover up that first lie. You steal and then you
steal some more. You become caught by your sin.

The very best thing that we can do is to avoid being caught by sin in the
first place. However, after sin has caught you - what do you do? How do you
escape the trap of sin? You cannot escape on your own. It is a spiritual
trap and requires a supernatural solution. Jesus is the solution. The
apostle Paul says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
(Philippians 4:13)." Jesus has what you need to escape from the trap of sin.
First you need forgiveness and Jesus is the One, who can give you the
forgiveness that you need (1 John 1:9). Then, you need the resources, the
empowerment to keep you free and Jesus has those resources. Put on the armor
of God (Ephesians 6:10-11), read and study the Word of God (Matthew 4:4; 2
Timothy 3:16-17), and be faithful in attending church (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Jesus has what you need to avoid the trap of sin, and if you are caught in
sin; Jesus has what you need to escape and remain free from sin.

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. Pray for my voice since I continue
to have problems with it.).

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:
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
www.kkbifm.com/

There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here
is the URL: 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.