Quote from Forum Archives on July 29, 2010, 12:39 am

Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

Visit the Burning Bush websites:

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Now available FREE OF COST for BIKER MINISTRIES is the "WORDS for the ROAD"
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to provide this to a ministry at the Sturgis Rally in South Dakota but that
has not worked out. So the booklet is available with the words "Sturgis
Rally Edition" on the cover or without it. Or if you have a ministry
directed toward a different rally I can add your rally name to the cover.
Just let me know. Send me an email at wrather@dobsonteleco.com or
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The Burning Bush Devotional
Welcome to the 840 new subscribers since January 1, 2010!!
There were 1367 new subscribers during 2009!!

07.29.10

The Devil's Snare

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into
many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have
strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through
with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. - 1 Timothy
6:9-11.

Abstain from every form of evil. - 1 Thessalonians 5:22.

In Dona Ana County in New Mexico, sheriff deputies heard a new story when
they found a man with no clothes trying to get a ride. The man also had
severe burns over much of his body. Thankfully, for this man the deputies
found him, and he was airlifted to a Texas burn center. The man related to
the deputies that he was drinking with some friends, and they all made a
bet. The bet was that whoever drank the least number of beers would be set
on fire by the others. He lost, since he only drank six beers, so he paid
up. They started by trying to burn his prosthetic leg, which caused his
clothing to catch on fire and he said that was why he took off his clothes.
His so-called friends at first were going to take him to a hospital but
became afraid that they might get into trouble and so they kicked him out
and took off.

When you gamble, someone else must lose as the apostle Paul says in
Philippians 2:4, ".each of you look out not only for his own interests, but
also for the interests of others." The man who was burned was not looking
out for the interests of others as someone else could have ended up like
him, and his so-called friends certainly were not looking out for him
either. Then there is the Golden Rule in Matthew 7:12 where Jesus says,
"whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law
and the Prophets." Surely, none of those men wanted to be set on fire!
Setting this man on fire was an act of evil. Engaging in an act of gambling,
which would result in someone being set on fire was an act of evil and we
are to, "Abstain from every form of evil."

Of course, every time someone plays cards, throws the dice, or pulls the
handle on a slot machine someone is not literally set on fire. However,
someone does lose because either the house, as in the casino loses, or you
lose. When you are betting against someone else, either they are losing
money, or you are losing money; it is evil, it is wrong.

Why do people gamble? I know that some of you would say it is fun, it is an
adventure, but what is it really that you want? What you really want out of
gambling is, money. You want to suddenly have a lot of money. You want to be
rich without actually earning the money. You have a burning desire to have
more and more money. This is what Paul is saying in 1 Timothy when he says,
".those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into
many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and
perdition." You have been caught in one of the devil's snares and the
ultimate outcome will be destruction, destruction of all that is good in
your life and in the lives of those you love. Even if you never lose when
you gamble you are still caught in a snare and are consumed with the "love
of money," which is the "root of all kinds of evil." As long as you are
caught in the devil's snare of gambling; there will be more evil things
coming your way in life.

If you are a gambler, now is the time to cut your losses and walk away
permanently before any more damage is done to your life by the devil's
snare.

Copyright © 2010. 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. 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.

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
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Two videos of my sermons are posted on GodTube (now Tangle) at:
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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
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There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here
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