BBD 07.31.13 Pinkwashed (Classic)

#1 · July 31, 2013, 1:00 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on July 31, 2013, 1:00 pm
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net

www.theburningbush.org

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
14,000 subscribers across the world.

You can
leave comments/feedback about the devotionals at 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

14,000 Subscribers
to the Email Devotional

Classic from 2006

07.31.13

Pinkwashed

Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, "Men and brethren,
I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." And the
high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the
mouth. Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!
For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be
struck contrary to the law?" - Acts 23:1-3.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all
things have become new. - 2 Corinthians 5:17.

As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and
godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. - 2 Peter
1:3.

They are painting the town pink in Aurangabad, India. Why?
It is an attempt to encourage the people and an attempt to improve their
quality of life. The town has been overrun with criminal activity including
inter-caste wars, extortion, kidnapping, and murder. There are two million
people living in the city in the Indian state of Bihar, which is one of the
poorest in India, and their morale has been severely degraded because of the
increasing violence.

It could be that painting the town pink may help with the
crime problem. Painting over gang graffiti in the United States has been
helpful in reclaiming gang-infested areas and preventing continued criminal
activity. It has also improved the morale of the community. One sheriff department website has this
statement about graffiti, "ALWAYS
paint over graffiti immediately or call an agency which will paint it free for
you. Research done in California shows that areas that are immediately painted
over are much less likely to be 'hit' again. Graffiti that is left up becomes a
status symbol."

Does painting over the graffiti or painting a whole town
actually solve the problem? It may help but the problem is much deeper. The
apostle Paul referred to the high priest Ananias as being a "whitewashed wall." What did
that mean? It meant that Ananias may have been wearing religious garments but
he was still dirty inside - he still acting in a sinful way.

What if you were to take someone that has been living on
the streets all their lives, someone who has survived through criminal
activities - you can take them and clean them up, put them into new clothes and
a new home. Would their criminal activities cease? It is very unlikely
that their nature would be changed just because you gave them new clothes and a
new home. In other words, you "whitewashed" them. It is
unlikely because there is a deeper problem than what you see on the outside. It
is a spiritual problem that must be dealt with if you want to really see a
lasting change.

When there is a move of God in a community (a revival),
there will be a decrease in sinful activities. This has been seen many times in
the past. When the evangelist Billy Sunday came to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
it upset the saloon (bar) owners because their business dropped by 40 to 70
percent. Cab drivers were upset too because those wanting cab rides to the red
light district had virtually ceased. In the 1905 Wales revival, the move of God
caused public drunkenness stopped, stolen goods were returned and the police
had nothing to do. In 1972, a revival that had begun in Canada overflowed into
Mansfield, Ohio. There a store manager was puzzled because as he said in response to a woman
paying for merchandise that she had not been charged for but should have been, "Something is going on in this town you’re the sixteenth person to
come in and do the same thing." A
businessman drove 500 miles to pay back customers he had overcharged. Young
people hooked on drugs and alcohol were able to change and broken homes were
healed. The same type of thing has occurred again and again when God intervenes
in the hearts and lives of people and changes them from the inside out.

God can give a city or you the power to experience real
and lasting change. As the apostle Peter says God has given to His children, "all things that pertain to life and godliness." When Jesus enters into a person’s life it changes
everything, "he is a new creation; old things have
passed away; behold, all things have become new." Just imagine the difference for that city in India that
is being painted pink if the people there would turn to the One true God.
Everything would become new, the old would pass away, and they would have real
change, lasting change and not just some new paint.

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

Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

Visit the
Burning Bush websites:

http://www.theburningbush.net

http://www.theburningbush.org

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
14,000 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

14,000 Subscribers
to the Email Devotional

Classic from 2006

07.31.13

Pinkwashed

Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, "Men and brethren,
I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." And the
high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the
mouth. Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!
For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be
struck contrary to the law?" - Acts 23:1-3.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all
things have become new. - 2 Corinthians 5:17.

As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and
godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. - 2 Peter
1:3.

They are painting the town pink in Aurangabad, India. Why?
It is an attempt to encourage the people and an attempt to improve their
quality of life. The town has been overrun with criminal activity including
inter-caste wars, extortion, kidnapping, and murder. There are two million
people living in the city in the Indian state of Bihar, which is one of the
poorest in India, and their morale has been severely degraded because of the
increasing violence.

It could be that painting the town pink may help with the
crime problem. Painting over gang graffiti in the United States has been
helpful in reclaiming gang-infested areas and preventing continued criminal
activity. It has also improved the morale of the community. One sheriff department website has this
statement about graffiti, "ALWAYS
paint over graffiti immediately or call an agency which will paint it free for
you. Research done in California shows that areas that are immediately painted
over are much less likely to be 'hit' again. Graffiti that is left up becomes a
status symbol."

Does painting over the graffiti or painting a whole town
actually solve the problem? It may help but the problem is much deeper. The
apostle Paul referred to the high priest Ananias as being a "whitewashed wall." What did
that mean? It meant that Ananias may have been wearing religious garments but
he was still dirty inside - he still acting in a sinful way.

What if you were to take someone that has been living on
the streets all their lives, someone who has survived through criminal
activities - you can take them and clean them up, put them into new clothes and
a new home. Would their criminal activities cease? It is very unlikely
that their nature would be changed just because you gave them new clothes and a
new home. In other words, you "whitewashed" them. It is
unlikely because there is a deeper problem than what you see on the outside. It
is a spiritual problem that must be dealt with if you want to really see a
lasting change.

When there is a move of God in a community (a revival),
there will be a decrease in sinful activities. This has been seen many times in
the past. When the evangelist Billy Sunday came to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
it upset the saloon (bar) owners because their business dropped by 40 to 70
percent. Cab drivers were upset too because those wanting cab rides to the red
light district had virtually ceased. In the 1905 Wales revival, the move of God
caused public drunkenness stopped, stolen goods were returned and the police
had nothing to do. In 1972, a revival that had begun in Canada overflowed into
Mansfield, Ohio. There a store manager was puzzled because as he said in response to a woman
paying for merchandise that she had not been charged for but should have been, "Something is going on in this town you’re the sixteenth person to
come in and do the same thing." A
businessman drove 500 miles to pay back customers he had overcharged. Young
people hooked on drugs and alcohol were able to change and broken homes were
healed. The same type of thing has occurred again and again when God intervenes
in the hearts and lives of people and changes them from the inside out.

God can give a city or you the power to experience real
and lasting change. As the apostle Peter says God has given to His children, "all things that pertain to life and godliness." When Jesus enters into a person’s life it changes
everything, "he is a new creation; old things have
passed away; behold, all things have become new." Just imagine the difference for that city in India that
is being painted pink if the people there would turn to the One true God.
Everything would become new, the old would pass away, and they would have real
change, lasting change and not just some new paint.

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