CHANGING WORDS

     “That was one of the funniest sermons I've ever heard.” Randy over heard Tim telling his wife. Moments later, Randy quietly slipped out of the church foyer and hid himself in the supply closet hoping no one would find him. “Maybe,” he thought to himself, I'll be able to find myself a one way trip to Tim-Buck-Tu.”

      It was there in the supply closet, Randy was found several hours later mumbling to himself, “I just don’t believe it.” over and over again. “Randy? Is that you?” came a female's voice. Randy tried to cover up but was unsuccessful and soon Rhonda Clay was pulling him to his feet. “What are you doing in here?” she asked, I thought you would have gone home long before now. And, what don't you believe?”

      “Didn't you hear the sermon?” Randy asked. “Sorry,” Rhonda said, “I didn't make it to church this morning because I had to work at the hospital. So, what happened, did someone paint more green graffiti on the church building?” “This was even worse.” Randy stated. “Worse?” Rhonda said in surprise, “Did they actually destroy part of the church building?”

      “No.” Randy said, “The building isn’t any worse than last week.” “Did you find out who painted it?” Rhonda asked. “No.” Randy shook his head, “But this week they or he or she or who ever it is did something even worse.” “well, if they didn't break anything,” Rhonda said, “What could be worse?”

      “Somebody changed my sermon!” Randy said and tried to hide again. “Changed your sermon?” Rhonda asked, What could be so bad about that?” “Do you know how embarrassing that is?” Randy asked “If I would have known before I started preaching I might have been able to fix it. But oooooh.” “How did it happen?” Rhonda asked.

      “I don’t know for certain.” Randy replied, “I keep my sermon on the computer and somebody reworded all the Bible verses on me. Did you know that Noah’s wife was the size of the ark? And did you know it snowed for forty days and lights? By the time I got through all the verses my entire sermon was a mess. What an embarrassment. I'll never be able to show my face again.”

      “Well,” Rhonda said, “If it's any comfort, I not only heard your sermon was the funniest one you have ever preached, but it was one of your best, and it can't be near as embarrassing as what happened to me this morning, but, I can't stop being a nurse and you can't stop being a preacher.” “I guess your right.” Randy said stepping out of the closet, “I just hope something worse doesn't happen.”

      And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." - Genesis 2:16-17 (ESV)

    

      God said something, He gave a command and something happened to it. Later in scripture God had given other commands and something happened to them as well. You might think they were disobeyed, they were, but something else happened to them – they were twisted.

      Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.' " But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:1-5 (ESV) - Satan said you shall not surely die...

      Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, " 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and " 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.' " Matthew 4:5-6 (ESV) – Satan said jump and you won't get hurt...

      And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?" And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, " 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men." And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.' But you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban' (that is, given to God) — then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do." Mark 7:5-13 (ESV) The Pharisees sad Corban and invalidated God's word....

• Jeremiah got after those who changed God's words - Jeremiah 23:36 But you will never again say, ’The message of the LORD,’ because the only message you speak is your own words. You have changed the words of our God, the living God, the LORD All-Powerful. (NCV)
• God said - Don’t add to these commands, and don’t leave anything out, but obey the commands of the LORD your God that I give you. Deuteronomy 4:2 (NCV)
• We have Paul's Example - 2 Corinthians 4:2 But we have turned away from secret and shameful ways. We use no trickery, and we do not change the teaching of God. We teach the truth plainly, showing everyone who we are. Then they can know in their hearts what kind of people we are in God’s sight. (NCV)
• Peter speaks of those who twist things to their own destruction - 2 Peter 3:16 He speaks about these things in all his letters, in which there are some matters that are hard to understand. The untaught and unstable twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures. (HCSB)

     We need to keep God's word – God's word. We shouldn't try and twist it, change it, etc to say what it doesn't say, to use it to try and justify evil, wrong doings, our ways.

      Here's Something To Ponder

• In what ways might you be tempted to change God's words to justify yourself?
• In what way have you twisted others peoples word to your advantage or their hurt?

IT'S HARD BEING LAZY

     It's that time of year again. The time of the year when people are hard at work getting ready for winter. Tim and Florence Henderson were doing just that. They were pulling the last of their produce from the garden, racking leaves, covering their windows with plastic and so on and singing as they worked. Little did they know, someone was hiding in their garden shed.

     As Tim and Florence entered the shed to put some stuff away, they were talking about how good it felt to get outside and work. When they said the word 'work,' someone, hiding under a pile of gunny sacks called out “Did I hear somebody say a nasty four letter word. You could get in big trouble for saying such things.”

     “Harold Peterson!” Tim called out rather loudly pulling the pile of gunny sacks to the side, “What are you doing hiding in my garden shed?” “What are you doing using nasty four letter words?” came Harold's reply. “I haven't said anything wrong.” Tim replied, “And you didn't answer me. What are you doing in my garden shed?”

     “Yes you did!” Harold exclaimed not wanting to answer the question, “You said 'work.'” “There is nothing nasty about work.” Tim replied, “You should try it sometime. If you really want a nasty four letter word I can give you one.” “You can?” Harold grinned, “What is it?” “Lazy.” Tim told him.

     “Lazy?” Harold exclaimed, “That's five letters.” “No, Harold,” Florence spoke up, “It's four. L A Z Y. You should have known that if you had been paying attention in spelling class.” “I can think of another reason he should know it.” Tim added. “Why?” Harold demanded. “Because it's your first name.” Tim said, “Now why are you in our garden shed.”

     “I am not lazy!!” Harold shouted back. “And that's why you blew up the sewer?” Tim asked. “I had a very good reason for not wanting to clean my bathroom.” Harold said. “What?” Michael Henderson said coming into the shed to put something away, “Afraid you would be attacked by space aliens?” “Very funny!” Harold scowled, “And why not?” Florence asked.

     “Because it was too big of a mess.” Harold claimed. “And why is that?” Florence asked. “Because I never clean it.” Harold answered. “Because you lazy.” Tim chipped in, “When was the last time you worked hard?” “Just last year I cleaned my entire bedroom.” Harold boasted. “You cleaned your room?” Florence started to ask but was interrupted by Tim “Hey!” he said, “ What are you doing out of your room anyway. I thought you were grounded till the end of the.”

     “I had to escape.” Harold claimed, “Or my mom was going to put me to work.” “Well,” Tim grinned, “What do you think we are going to do with you? I think it's time to put you to work. We need some help tilling the manure we got from John into the garden.” Upon hearing those words, the Henderson's found they had a new back door in their shed.

     Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Matthew 25:1 (ESV) In Matthew 25, Jesus is telling us about the coming of the kingdom of heaven. In the first 13 verses He talks of being ready, then in the next 17 he talks about being busy while waiting in the parable of the talents.

      "For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, 'Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' But his master answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

Matthew 25:14-30 (ESV)

     Think about it. The lazy servant was punished not rewarded. You do not find the word lazy in most Bible translations but what you do find is the words sluggard and slothfulness which basically means lazy.

• Laziness brings poverty - Proverbs 24:30-34 - I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. (ESV)
• Laziness bring hunger - Proverbs 19:15 - Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger. (ESV)
• Laziness brings death - Proverbs 21:25 - The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor. (ESV)

     We may not always like the idea but we are to work – it's part of the curse in the Genesis 3:19 - By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. (ESV) We should take Paul's advice in 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 and aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may live properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one. (ESV)

      Here's Something To Ponder

• Do you ever work hard to get out of work?
• How do you feel after doing work?

I’M NOT ME

Even children are known by the way they act,- Proverbs 20:11(NLT)

     Teachers need to have patience, and when you’re the teacher that has to deal with the antics of Harold Peterson everyday, you need to have a lot of patience. Not only do you need a lot of patience, you need to be constantly on the look out for what ever Harold may be trying next as was the case one October morning.

     It was almost time for school to start and Florence was sitting behind her desk going over the day’s schedule when a young man wearing a mask walked into the class room. “Hello, everybody,” He said in a deep voice, “I’m new here!” “Take your seat, Harold.” Florence said as she looked up at him “We need to get started.”

     “Harold?, Who’s Harold?” the boy responded with his deep voice, “Can I meet him?” “Harold,” Florence replied, “Stop using that fake deep voice, take off that silly mask and sit down.” “I’m not Harold,” the boy claimed in a normal voice, “I’m, I’m, I’m George Frankenstein Robert Spookaschmitzal the Third”

     “Where did you come up with such a ridiculous name?” Florence asked as she shook her head in disbelief. “From the movie I was watching,” The boy started to say but quickly changed his story to say he got his name from his parents. “So,” Florence smiled, “You are Harold” “No!” the boy responded, “I’m not me, I mean, I’m Peter Thadeus Sandyberg the Fourth.”

     “What!” Florence exclaimed, “ I thought you said you were George Frankenstein Robert Spookaschmitzal the Third?” “Fine,” the boy growled, “I’m Harold but I’m not the Harold Peterson you know.” “I think you are!” Florence told him and than she told him to sit down.

     “How can you possibly think I’m somebody I’m not?” Harold quizzed his teacher. “Well,” Florence giggled, “Since you asked... you still smell like the skunk that sprayed you last week,” “That’s aftershave!” Harold injected, “You’re not old enough to shave,” Florence continued, “And besides, I don’t know too many pumpkins that talk.”

     “Pumpkin? What pumpkin?” Harold responded. “You’re wearing a pumpkin mask, Harold.” Florence giggled again. “What!!!??? NO WAY!” Harold shouted as he pulled off the mask “I guess I better go find my sit.” He finished saying as he headed to his desk. “I have a better idea” Florence said as she got up, “Let’s take a trip to the principles office - again”

     “I hope he’s not still mad about the water balloons I put above his door? Harold said as he turned and headed toward the door. “So, “Florence chirped, “That was you?” “Oops,” Harold cringed, “When will I learn to keep my mouth shut.” “That’s okay,” Florence added, “I think he already knew it was you.”

     Have you ever worn a disguise? People, kids and adults, often dress up in costumes or disguise this time a year as they party for Halloween. Sometimes we disguise ourselves for fun, sometimes because we don't want to be known.

     As God was laying down the laws for the Israelites, He made it know that there were some people that were not to be aloud is Israel. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a wizard or a necromancer, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. - Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (ESV) In this list, one of the people God forbids is a medium which is a person who communicates with evil spirits or spirits of the dead. If one were to be a medium in Israel they would have had to disguise themselves but look who was actually wearing a disguise.

      Now Samuel was dead, and all the Israelites had shown their sadness for him. They had buried Samuel in his hometown of Ramah. And Saul had forced out the mediums and fortune-tellers from the land. The Philistines came together and made camp at Shunem. Saul gathered all the Israelites and made camp at Gilboa. When he saw the Philistine army, he was afraid, and his heart pounded with fear. He prayed to the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him through dreams, Urim, or prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium so I may go and ask her what will happen.“ His servants answered, “There is a medium in Endor.“ Then Saul put on other clothes to disguise himself, and at night he and two of his men went to see the woman. Saul said to her, “Talk to a spirit for me. Bring up the person I name.“ But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has forced the mediums and fortune-tellers from the land. You are trying to trap me and get me killed.“ Saul made a promise to the woman in the name of the LORD. He said, “As surely as the LORD lives, you won’t be punished for this.“ The woman asked, “Whom do you want me to bring up?“ He answered, “Bring up Samuel.“ When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed. She said, “Why have you tricked me? You are Saul!“

1 Samuel 28:3-12 (NCV)

     

     To some it up. The enemy is gathering, God won't talk to Saul so Saul disguises himself and goes to a medium and asks for Samuel, Samuel appears and Saul is found out. I'm sure lots could be said about this story, but the point I would like to draw from it at this time is that you can't disguise yourself from God.

     Even with others, when we try to disguise ourselves, in time our real self with make itself known Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-20 Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So you’ll recognize them by their fruit. (HCSB)

      Here's Something To Ponder

• Are you disguising yourself so the real you can't be seen or known?
• What kind of fruit do people see you as producing?

STUCK IN A RUT

Trust in the LORD with all your heart Proverbs 3:5a (NAS)

      Many family's have boys and many of those family's have a boy named Michael. One of those families is the Henderson's. On a normal day, Michael Henderson is full of energy running here and running there not because he can't sit still but because he loves to run but running isn't the only thing he loves. Michael also loves any type of sports.

     Some of his favorite sports include soccer where he plays as a halfback running all over the field, track and field, and American football where he loves being a wide receiver and is always running long to try and catch a pass. But lately he hasn't been loving much of anything, not even running.

     Like many sports fans, Michael has favorite teams form each of his favorite sports and when it comes to football his team is, well, he doesn't want to talk about it. Not only did his favorite football team not make it into the playoffs but it had the worst season it had ever had. As a result, Michael has just been moping around the house as if the whole world was coming to an end.

     Michael also has a mom, her name is Florence, and she's getting tired of seeing her son moping around the house. She's tired of telling him he has to get out of bed and he has to go to school and he has to do his school work and on and on. If it had only been a couple of days she would have had no problem but it has been over a month since the end of the regular season.

     Florence was also tired of his excuses for his moping around. “It's all the coaches fault, I can't manage my time right anymore, or, It's all the running backs fault I can't pick anything up, or it's the defenses fault I'm getting bad grades, or I'm too embarrassed to show my face.” and on and on went the excuses, always tied to his favorite team's poor performance.

     “Michael! I'm giving you an ultimatum.” Florence finally told him. “Either you quit moping around and start doing as you're told or I'm not going to allow you to join the track team this spring or the soccer team this summer.” When Michael heard that he about flipped out. “You can't do that!” He protested. “Not only can I,” his mother told him, “I'll also sign you up for ballet.”

     The thought of having to wear a tutu gave Michael the shivers and the next day he was out of bed bright and early, he cleaned his room, did his school work and joined the cross country ski team. “I'm glad you're back to normal.” his mom told him that night and he had to agree, it was great to be back to normal.

     Do you ever get stuck in a rut like Michael, one of moping around because someone or some group let you down? They didn't preform to your expectations? All too often we tie are selves too closely to people and leave God out of the picture and find ourselves being let down and in trouble with God.

     It's sort of like Isaiah said in Isaiah 31:1 - How terrible it will be for those people who go down to Egypt for help. They think horses will save them. They think their many chariots and strong horsemen will save them. But they don’t trust God, the Holy One of Israel, or ask the Lord for help.(NCV)

     One such man in the Bible who put his trust in men even though he new God's power was King Asa. We can read about him in 2 Chronicles 16. - In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign, King Baasha of Israel invaded Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from entering or leaving King Asa's territory in Judah. Asa responded by taking the silver and gold from the treasuries of the LORD's Temple and from the royal palace. He sent it to King Ben-hadad of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus, along with this message: "Let us renew the treaty that existed between your father and my father. See, I am sending you a gift of silver and gold. Break your treaty with King Baasha of Israel so that he will leave me alone." Ben-hadad agreed to King Asa's request and sent his armies to attack Israel. They conquered the towns of Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all the store cities in Naphtali. As soon as Baasha of Israel heard what was happening, he abandoned his project of fortifying Ramah. Then King Asa called out all the men of Judah to carry away the building stones and timbers that Baasha had been using to fortify Ramah. Asa used these materials to fortify the towns of Geba and Mizpah. At that time Hanani the seer came to King Asa and told him, "Because you have put your trust in the king of Aram instead of in the LORD your God, you missed your chance to destroy the army of the king of Aram. Don't you remember what happened to the Ethiopians and Libyans and their vast army, with all of their chariots and horsemen? At that time you relied on the LORD, and he handed them all over to you. The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. What a fool you have been! From now on, you will be at war." (NLT)

     At the end of the chapter we read of the results of his trusting men to the very end - In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Even when the disease became life threatening, he did not seek the LORD's help but sought help only from his physicians. So he died in the forty-first year of his reign. (NLT)

     According to Jeremiah 17:5 This is what the LORD says: "Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans and turn their hearts away from the LORD. (NLT) Michael tied himself to his favorite team, his team let him down and he got pulled down with them. Now I don't think there is a problem with having a favorite team but we need to be careful not to become tied to them, we need to be tied to God or as the Psalmist wrote - Some trust in their war chariots and others in their horses, but we trust in the power of the Lord our God. Psalms 20:7 (TEV)

      Here's Something To Ponder

• Are you relying more on man or God?
• When people fail you – do they pull you down?