From: jesus_is_lord To: List Member Subject: Gettin' burnt to a crisp. Pt. I Date: Sunday, July 02, 2000 8:30 PM jesus_is_lord [Reminder: this list is not for hellbounds. REPENT and get WASHED IN THE BLOOD OF JESUS and it will be for you.] Dear Christian Friends: Greetings in the name of the ONLY wise God and Saviour Jesus Christ. The preface to this email is somewhat long, but it lays the foundation for the succeeding allegories and other sections of this collection of thoughts. *****PREFACE***** My pastor occasionally tells a short story/allegory that goes something like this (I've spruced it up a little)-- A man was walking through the woods when he heard a voice say, "Pick me up!" He turned to see a rattlesnake in the grass. It raised its head and pleaded, "PLEASE, PLEASE pick me up." The man said, "No! You're a snake! I'm not picking you up. You might bite me." The snake replied, "Oh no, kind sir, I won't bite you. Please pick me up, PLEASE, PLEASE. I won't bite you." The man looked at the creature's pleading eyes, picked it up and took it home with him. He fed the snake and made it comfortable. Soon afterwards, the snake sunk its fangs deep into the man's hand. As the venom did its work, the man said, "Ow! You said you wouldn't bite me!" The snake replied-- "You knew I was a snake when you picked me up." *** That man got burnt to a crisp--he ran into a trap like a bird that hasteth to the snare. But unlike the bird, he ran into a trap that was obvious to his eyes. As soon as he saw that snake, he should've started BOOKIN' in the opposite direction. Don't have no conversation with it. Don't get cuddly. Say, "Danger!" and run for your life! Ain't no bird or no animal going to go into a trap KNOWING that it leads to death. Many, many times animals are smarter than human beings, especially professed Christians. Proverbs 1:17 Surely IN VAIN the net is spread IN THE SIGHT of any bird. Unlike the intelligent bird, a net can be spread in the sight of a man and he will walk right into it. The net is sin. It is a snare and a trap that will KILL you. The wages of sin is DEATH. Even if a man don't physically die from a specific sin, he done stuck a knife in his soul. He's bleeding and he keeps on sticking himself. His life ain't straight and good and pure. His mind ain't right. He has continual problems and then got the nerve to cry to the Lord about the distressing situation he has gotten his own self into. He won't give God the glory during the good times. During those times, he is fulfilling his lusts. Look at the children of Israel. God would procure them, give 'em a good land, give 'em the mastery over their enemies and then what would they do after the LORD God made them comely? They'd go AWHORING after other gods committing the abominations of the heathen. Then God would give them a plague or an adversary that would take them into captivity. They would cry out to the Lord and the process would begin over again. Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; BUT NOW COMMANDETH ALL MEN EVERY WHERE TO REPENT: 17:31 Because HE HATH APPOINTED A DAY, IN WHICH HE WILL JUDGE THE WORLD IN RIGHTEOUSNESS BY THAT MAN WHOM HE HATH ORDAINED; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. It is high time to awake from slumber-- Ephesians 5:14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Jesus will save those who purpose to obey Him-- Hebrews 5:9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that OBEY him. Many people say "the sinner's prayer" and continue to live as ungodly as ever. That is because they still belong to the kingdom of the Devil. There are only two kingdoms and the citizens of each live in accordance with the governing rules of each. That is why Jesus said by their fruits ye shall know them. When the INCORRUPTIBLE SEED, lives inside of you, you will have His fruits. If the devil is your father, you will have his fruits. It ain't hard and it is not proponing a works-based salvation. Your works tell the story. James sums that up nicely. There are only two groups in the following scripture. There is no overlap-- 1 Peter 4:18 And if the (1) RIGHTEOUS scarcely be saved, where shall the (2) UNGODLY AND THE SINNER appear? Saving faith WILL manifest itself in good works. "Good works" will never save because without the blood of Jesus, a man can do no good. When a man refuses Jesus, he has disregarded God's provision for sin, the sacrifice of His ONLY BEGOTTEN Son. He has despised the Son (oh my!)--that man is rebellious, disobedient and lawless. If you don't know the Son, you don't know the Father. Good works will never save one man. Only the blood of Jesus will. Yet, when that blood has been applied to your soul and the living Christ is IN your soul, SIN HAS NO MORE REIGN OVER YOUR MORTAL BODY. Quite a bit of scripture follows but I could include scripture from just about every book of the New Testament to support this point-- Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me FREE from the law of sin and death. 6:7 For he that is dead is FREED from sin. 6:12 LET NOT sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 1 John 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, IF we keep his commandments. 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and KEEPETH NOT his commandments, is a LIAR, and the truth is not in him. 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, IN HIM verily is the love of God perfected: HEREBY KNOW WE THAT WE ARE IN HIM. 1 John 3:5 And ye know that he was manifested TO TAKE AWAY OUR SINS; and in him is no sin. 3:6 Whosoever abideth in him SINNETH NOT: WHOSOEVER SINNETH HATH NOT SEEN HIM, NEITHER KNOWN HIM. 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: HE THAT DOETH RIGHTEOUSNESS IS RIGHTEOUS, even as he is righteous. 3:8 HE THAT COMMITTETH SIN IS OF THE DEVIL; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. FOR THIS PURPOSE the Son of God was manifested, that he might DESTROY the works of the devil. 3:9 Whosoever is born of God DOTH NOT COMMIT SIN; for his seed remaineth in him: and HE CANNOT SIN, because he is born of God. 3:10 IN THIS THE CHILDREN OF GOD ARE MANIFEST, AND THE CHILDREN OF THE DEVIL: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. The Christian can overcome ANY sin that is presented to him--if he WANTS to. When I was dead in trespasses and sins, sin had the reign over me. I could ONLY sin. Now that Jesus is my Lord, sin does not have any reign over me. The power of Christ resides in me and I can overcome anything, if I WANT to. Unfortunately, we oftentimes do not want to overcome sin. We walk right into the snare of sin and we get burnt to a crisp. *****INTRODUCTION***** The Lord has given me the opportunity to meet and to converse with a good number of people--one on one, in churches, in the workplace, in the places of the world, and of course, on the internet. I have experienced many things in my life and I have heard the experiences of many others. May I spin a few allegories in this email? May we examine some professed Christians who have gotten burnt to a crisp? Gentle Christian Reader, these allegories are COMPOSITES of many stories, people and experiences that I've come across. If you think I'm talking about you, I'm not. We have readers of all ages on this list, so there are allegories here for young and old. I hope that somebody may just take instruction and be spared from a deadly net-- Proverbs 27:12 A prudent man FORSEETH the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished. *****SHE IGNORED THE HOLY GHOST***** Stephanie met a man named John in college. Unlike many of the other men in her life, John was willing to spend time with her. He was around for holidays and even went to church with her. He had some untoward ways and yes, he lured her into evil relations. She justified these actions in her mind by saying that one day she would marry him. During their courtship John had asked her one time if she wanted to view some pornographic material. She said an indignant "No!" and thought that subject was closed. As graduation neared, John asked Stephanie to marry him. She accepted. She told him that she wanted to have Bible study once they got married. They had never had Bible study before but he said, "Sure". As the wedding date approached, Stephanie knew that John was not where she was in the Lord--but she was too cowardly to call off the marriage. Besides, she was tired of looking for a man. She might be 40 years old before she found somebody. They married and their church family was so happy. "A Christian marriage" they called it. For the next 15 years, Stephanie begged John to have Bible study and he told her "Stop nagging me." He spent much time away from home and even when he was there, he was downstairs in front of the tv while she and the kids did their thing. She was like a single parent. Stephanie noticed that she and her husband rarely had relations. She had grown to hate him and felt that perhaps he hated her to. One afternoon Stephanie picked up the kids from school and they came into the house. Stephanie went in the kitchen while the kids popped a video in the VCR. Stephanie heard, "Mom!" She went in the family room to see pornographic material playing on the tv. She gasped and ran to the VCR. She took out the video and pulled the tape out of it. She then grabbed some sissors and cut it into little pieces. Stephanie got burnt to a crisp. Where did she go wrong? She met and became interested in a man that despised the commandments of the Lord--she was unequally yoked. She followed his lead instead of following God's word. She thought that she would change him after they got married not realizing that if the foundation be destroyed (courtship) that nothing else would be right. During the engagement, she ignored the Holy Ghost's warnings not to marry John. She entered into an unbreakable covenant with her eyes wide open and 15 years later she wished she had never laid eyes on him. She had married a beast. *****HE IGNORED THE HOLY GHOST***** Mark was a police officer. He came to Christ as a teenager and had much zeal in his early walk. After graduating from the police academy, Mark went out with some friends to a local restaurant to celebrate. One of his buddies brought his sister, Nancy, to the gathering. Nancy was a well-favoured and comely woman with good manners. Only one problem, she was Catholic. Mark knew the errors of the Catholic religion but thought that once they were married, he could show Nancy the right way. As they dated, they talked about everything but the fine points of religion. On Sunday's they went their separate ways to church but during the rest of the week, they went to the park, museums, symposiums and talked about their mutual interests. Just seeing Nancy took Mark's breath away. After a year, he proposed and she accepted. He told all his friends and family about the upcoming wedding. When he was asked why they never saw Nancy in church, he revealed that she was Catholic. "Oh no!" his mother cried. "You should not be unequally yoked with her." But Mark would not hear it. As they made their wedding plans, Nancy revealed to Mark that they had to be married in a Catholic ceremony by a Catholic priest. Mark felt butterflies in his stomach but felt he had come too far to turn around. Some friends and family refused to attend the marriage and that left Mark uneasy but he was still happy to have his beautiful bride. He whisked her away to a romantic honeymoon and really enjoyed himself. He determined he had made the right decision. But once they got home, the problems soon arose. Nancy placed a big crucifix with a dead Jesus above their bed and sat statues of various Catholic saints all around the house. She made a grotto in the front yard and put a stark white ceramic queen of heaven idol smack dab in the middle. Mark took her to Exodus 20:4 which says "Thou shalt not make unto thee ANY graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." Nancy was offended. "I am visualizing the object of my affection!" "But," Mark retorted, "The scriptures say it is wrong to have an image." "The Bible is not the only source of truth. It is filled with errors anyway. The church gave us the Bible, not the other way around." How many arguments did these two have! Nancy decided it was not working out and just left. Mark let her go and will not remarry because he went into the marriage as a Christian with wide open eyes. He got burnt to a crisp. *****LAWLESS, DISOBEDIENT CHILD***** Valerie grew up in church. As she entered her teenage years she got rebellious. She knew better than her parents, she supposed. She disrespected them and did as she pleased. Uncle Frank and Aunt Majorie took her in to "straighten her out" but it did little good. When she graduated from H.S. another uncle sent her to college. But even there, Valerie decided to do her own thing. After a semester, she dropped out. Nobody could tell Valerie a word. She was sick of going to church and lived the life she thought she saw on tv. About two months ago, she met a man newly released from prison. Of course, she told no one--it was none of their business. This was her life. She eloped with the man three weeks ago. Last Monday, her Aunt Majorie went looking for her at an apartment she was rumored to be at. Aunt Majorie didn't find anyone but the apartment reeked, maybe something gone bad in the refrigerator. Maybe the trash needed to be taken out. A few days later, other relatives went to the locked apartment and flagged down a policeman on the corner. They all went to the apartment, and the policeman knocked on the door. No answer. The policeman forced the door open. A terrible stench greeted them. Somebody noticed a pool of blood near the couch. They opened up the sofa bed and lo, there was Majorie stuffed in there. Her face looked like hamburger. They identified her by a tattoo on her left leg. The convict she married had beat her in the head with a heavy object and stuffed her in the couch. The police apprehended him on the street a few days later, but it was raining and he was able to slip out of their hands. He is still on the loose. Valerie despised the commandments and got burnt to a crisp. Ephesians 6:2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise. *****HE TRIED TO FIT IN***** Doug had a next door neighbor named Mr. Mike who took him to church with him. Mr. Mike taught the junior high school boys Sunday School class. Doug loved Mr. Mike and respected him as a man of God. But Doug was confronted daily with the peer pressure that Mr. Mike so often talked about. Doug couldn't seem to find any Christian friends at school so he hung out with guys he met in gym class. One day afterschool, Doug's group of associates showed up at his house. "Hey, what are you guys doing here?" asked Doug. "Didn't you say that your parents out of town?" one answered. "Um...yes." Doug was uneasy. "Well, we're here to hang out. You got Nintendo?" Doug's parents told him not to have anybody in the house while they were gone but he said, "Yeah, I do. Come on in. We can order a pizza." The group of boys tumbled into the house. Doug felt like a regular host. They boys played video games for a while when one said, "Hey, I got some stuff that this guy gave me." "What stuff?" Doug inquired. The boy showed Doug and small packet of white powder. "This will rock your world." Mr. Mike repeatedly told the boys the dangers of drugs but Doug was too cowardly to tell the boy to get out of his home. The boy said, "Here try it. This is what you do." All the boys looked at Doug with anticipation. He felt compelled to take the drug and did. Doug had a seizure and fell straight back on the floor. The boys tried to revive him to no avail. Instead of calling 9-1-1, they ran out the back door and through the woods. When Doug's parents came back a few days later, they found their son dead on the floor of the family room. Doug was burnt to a crisp. ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to jesus_is_lord-unsubscribe@listbot.com Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb