Quote from Forum Archives on November 17, 2010, 11:22 am

Posted by: edwrather <edwrather@...>

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The Burning Bush Devotional
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There were 1367 new subscribers during 2009!!

11.17.10

Helpful Clues

In Manchester, New Hampshire, a Rite Aid pharmacy was robbed by a woman
wearing a ski mask. The police drove to the woman's home and arrested her.
How did they know who she was, and where she lived? They had a helpful clue.
A witness observed the robber leaving in a vehicle with a vanity plate, on
which were the letters, "B-USHER." With that helpful clue, and a little
research with the Department of Motor Vehicle records, the police drove to
the home of Bonnie Usher and arrested her. (Reported by WCVB-TV)

It does help to solve crimes, and other mysteries when there are helpful
clues leading the way. When born into this world every person is face with a
mystery. How did they come to be where they are and who they are? God has
provided some helpful clues and we are told of that in Romans 1:20, "For
since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and
Godhead, so that they are without excuse." All you have to do, to solve the
mystery according to the Bible; is to look around at the world you live in,
and there is an obvious conclusion. The obvious conclusion is that there is
a God, and that God designed, and created everything.

With the mystery of creation solved we can move on to another one. That
mystery is this: how does God want us to live? Again there are very helpful
clues, actually specific instructions, for how we are to live our lives.
There are many passages of Scripture that provide the instructions that we
need, about how to live our lives. Romans 12:17-19 gives us this helpful
guide to living, "Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in
the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live
peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give
place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says
the Lord."

With the mystery of creation, and the mystery of how we should live our
lives solved; we are then confronted with another mystery. There is the
mystery of death. What happens after we die? Is that the end, or is there
something else that occurs at that point? Again the Bible provides us with
the clues that we need to understand. In Hebrews 9:27 we are told, ".it is
appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment." From this clue
we can see that not only does our existence not end at physical death, but
we are also held accountable for how we have followed the instructions we
have been given.

With this judgment after death in mind, we begin to think about all of the
other instructions that God has given to us in the Bible, about how we are
to live. We read in James 2:10, "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and
yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all." How can anyone do everything
that we are commanded in the Bible perfectly? No one can, and no one has,
except of Jesus (Hebrews 4:15). So, are we all doomed? No, because Jesus who
lived a perfect life became the once for all sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10) dying
for our sins, for our mistakes. Do we automatically receive forgiveness for
our mistakes because of the sacrifice of Jesus? No, we must believe (John
3:16) that God has done this for us and receive Jesus (John 1:12) as our
personal Savior.

We have been given the clues, very obvious clues - all we have to do is
follow them.

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
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forwarded to the Burning Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am always in need
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