BBD 07.08.13 Tall Tales (Classic)
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>
Visit the
Burning Bush websites:
The
Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 170 countries.
Celebrating 15 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
16,000 subscribers across the world.
You can
leave comments/feedback about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.
There is
a translation tool on theburningbush.net website in the top left hand corner of
all of the pages.
The Burning Bush Devotional
15,000 Subscribers
to the Email Devotional
Classic from 2006
07.08.13
Tall Tales
You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. - Leviticus
19:11.
These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: a
proud look, a lying tongue…. - Proverbs 6:16-17a.
Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with
his neighbor," for we are members of one another. - Ephesians 4:25.
A Subway restaurant in North Platte, Nebraska did not
know that they had a CIA operative working for them undercover. At least, that
is what Joshua Shores, their 34-year-old employee told them after he was seen
on a surveillance video putting $502.00 into his pocket. He should have been
putting the money into the store’s safe. He advised the police and a judge that
there was no cause for worry because of his CIA status the agency would
reimburse the money. He also said the reason he was working for Subway was that
he had lost his CIA badge and was waiting for a new one to be sent from the
agency.
At least Joshua had a somewhat original tale to tell even
though it was rather tall. I have not heard what kind of trouble Joshua is in -
probably the charge was "theft by employee" which would likely
be a felony. Hopefully, Joshua will learn that telling tall tales will not get
you out of legal trouble. He would have been much better served by having
simply told the truth that he had stolen the money and by giving back what he
had left of it with a sincere "I’m
sorry" along with a promise of repaying the rest.
We tend in this modern world with all of the violence,
sexual immorality and the rest to look at lying as a minor offense. However, it
is in God’s top seven of things that He hates which would appear to indicate
that it is not a minor issue. Lying after all is still sin and God hates sin.
God hates sin because He is holy and sin is evil. God is righteous and sin is a
demonstration of unrighteousness.
It is sad but I know some people who are liars. They are
liars because they continually lie. If they had a choice between telling the
truth and telling a lie even when it made no difference they would still tell a
lie. They have told lies for so long that they no longer remember what the
truth is about the past. It is hard for me to be around them because I am
always wondering whether what they are saying is true or whether it is just
another lie. I would like to believe them but because of their continual lying,
I have reached a point where I find it hard to believe anything they say.
The will of God is clear about this issue of lying. In Romans 12:19 we are told, "Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good." We must hate what God hates and love what God loves. We
too must hate lying and love the truth. Jesus is the manifestation of truth. He
is,"the way, the TRUTH, and the life (John
14:6)…."
The desire of our hearts in regard to lying and deceiving
should be the same as that of the apostle Paul. Paul says in Acts 24:16, "…I myself always strive to have a conscience without
offense toward God and men." As another
translation puts it, "So I strive always
to keep my conscience clear before God and man." It might sound more exciting to say that you are an
undercover CIA operative who has lost his badge but do you really think
anyone is going to believe you? We should always strive to keep a clear
conscience before God and man by being truthful in all of interactions with
others.
Copyright © 2006-2013. 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.
Ed Wrather has retired from
pastoring full-time and has more time to pursue other ministry opportunities.
No matter what the size your church, Ed will come on a love offering basis for
a revival or to share his testimony in the continental United States. You can
make contact at edwrather@yahoo.com or WratherEd@gmail.com
View LinkedIn profile with endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105
Prayer Requests: Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush
website on the Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer requests
there (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me.).
Please 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
If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may
subscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org
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 burningbushdevo
devotional group by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.
You may
subscribe to the html text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is
only being sent now in html format) by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the
confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.
--
To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org