Camping too Close to Sin- Christianity.Com

Wendy Pope http://www.crosswalkmail.com/zrvbtnfftf_aqltklyllzk.html

"Abram settled in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom." Genesis 13:12 (ESV)

Devotion:

"You play with fire you are going to get burned" is something I heard all the time growing up. It was my parents' way of warning me of potential danger when hanging around with the wrong crowd, or going places I should not go. Of course I thought my parent's advice was outdated and out of touch with my generation. I had no idea how wrong I could be.

I don't believe Lot intended to fall into the immoral activity and evil practices taking place in Sodom when he chose to set up his tent in the valley. The valley near the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah was lush and beautiful. Lot chose to live in the area because it was a wonderful place to raise livestock.

Sodom and Gomorrah became so infiltrated and consumed with evil, war broke out. Lot and his family were captured and taken prisoner. When rescued by his Uncle Abraham, the Bible tell us that Lot went right back to the "edge of sin." Although the Bible does not give specific evidence of any immoral activity by Lot, I wonder if something about the area, other than the lush green beauty, fascinated him. Why would he return there after coming so close to losing his life?

Unfortunately, I can understand Lot and his decision to stay near the "edge of sin," and to return to the "edge of sin." I have camped on the edge too often in my life and find myself going back to the same campsite over and over again. Why? Sin feels good, if it didn't, we would not keep going near it.

This is how the enemy traps us. If you play with fire, you are going to get burned. Sometimes you only get singed, or you may only come away smelling a little smoky, but you are tainted nonetheless.

God loves us so much; He doesn't want us anywhere close to sin. He will bring destruction -- sooner or later -- to the means of the sin in our lives. He did this for Lot. God set out to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham begged God to save Lot and his family. Because of God's love for Abraham, and I believe for His love for Lot too, He sent angels to rescue Lot and his family. As they were leaving, God sent destruction to Sodom and Gomorrah.

As I read Lot's story, I no longer judge him like I once did. Now I choose to learn from him. When you are too close to sin:

* You are bound to get seduced. Sometimes we like to live right on the edge of sin and flirt with it. The enemy entices us while on the edge, hoping we will cross over and stay a while.

* God will give you an opportunity to be rescued. The rescue might not look like a "typical" rescue but nevertheless He will provide a way out.

* It is hard to reach out and accept the rescue because the grip of the stronghold of sin becomes tighter and tighter with each passing day on the edge.

* Once you are rescued, don't look back. The first time Lot was rescued, he went back to the "edge of sin." In the second rescue, his wife looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt. Don't look back, but look toward your freedom.

What about you? Have you chosen to set your tent in an area that seems lush and green? Perhaps it is at the water cooler where workday conversations are not appropriate. Or maybe you are looking in the wrong place for "Mr. Right." Has the mommy-and-me playgroup become too gossipy? Are you "too close" to the edge of sin? Do you need to be rescued? Cry out to be rescued and when you leave, don't look back.

Dear Lord, I want to ask You to forgive me for staying too close to sin. I admit that I need Your help to leave. Will You come and rescue me? Thank for You for always being there when I need You. I bless Your name. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

In God's Hands - Christianity.Com Devotion

This one reminded me of you, Lauren! ;-)

Tracie Miles <http://www.crosswalkmail.com/dbzcgygccb_esmrtmnmmzt.html>

"When I am afraid, I will trust in you." Psalm 56:3 (NIV)

Devotion:
As I aroused from sleep, my first thought was, "Uggg. It is going to becold outside." But to be honest, my anxiety wasn't so much about thecold mountain weather, but about my teenage daughter's safety that day.

We had been planning the trip for weeks and the girls were so excitedthat their snowboarding day had finally arrived. The wind was cold andthe snow was slippery, but the sun was shining, the mountains werebeautiful, and the enthusiasm of three teenage girls outweighed theirshivers. We had arranged for them to take a one-hour snowboarding lessonthat morning, as this was their first time on the slopes. Once we gotthem bundled up in their coats, scarves and protective gear, we partedways as they walked off with the rest of the group to begin their lesson.

Suddenly, I felt this little rush of panic come over me. It was afamiliar feeling, because for the past 15 years I have mastered the artof worrying about the safety of my children. When there is even the mostremote possibility one of them could be hurt, my mind floods with irrational thoughts about what could happen in the worst of circumstances.

What if she has trouble getting onto the ski lift properly, and slipsand hits her head? What if she can't get off the lift quick enough atthe top of the mountain, and falls off and gets hurt? What if she fallsoff the lift seat while hoisted five stories up in the air? What if shegets too close to the edge of the slope and falls off the side of themountain? What if she gets separated from her friends and panics allalone? What if she breaks her arm/leg/neck? What if ...

As I said, irrational thoughts. Unwarranted panic.

Since I could not run up the ski slope after her, looking like a crazed,over-protective mother, I headed back to the lodge. There I found myselfpraying a simple prayer something like this: Oh, Lord, I cannot be withher today. I cannot protect her. I cannot watch after her. She will beout of my sight, at the top of a mountain, far from my reach. Only Youcan see her. Only You can protect her now. Please keep her safe.Instantly I felt God's reassurance, and heard Him quietly speak to myheart, "Put her in My arms Tracie. Entrust her to Me."

Although I secretly preferred to hold her in my own arms and keep hersafe, just like when she was a little girl, I knew I had to entrust herfully to God -- just not on the ski slope, but every day of her life. I am a mere human, but God is a sovereign and powerful God. Any physical protection I could offer her pales in comparison to the spiritual protection given from our Savior.

As each of my children grow and live, I know they will face new dangers.Peer pressure will be heavy, temptations will prowl, people will hurttheir feelings, dangers may cross their path and life may be hard. Ourmodern culture will cause them to face challenges and decisions that Idid not have to deal with as a child. My comfort must come frombelieving that they will be in God's hands, and that He will always bewith them, no matter where they go. Not just on the top of a mountain,but every minute of every day in every circumstance.

Do you know that the word "children" appears over 450 times in the Bible? Our children matter to God, and He loves them, even more than welove them. Being a parent allows us a window to see God's amazingperspective of that love.

Dear Lord, forgive me for forgetting how much You love my children andthat You are always with them. Thank You for surrounding us with Yourangels. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

MORE AND MORE Office Politics: The Power of Email

What did we do without email?!?!?! Apparently nothing!!! Last week, I came into work only to discover "the network was down." What does that even mean??!! Apparently it means no email. :)

All other programs worked!!!

Breaks with friends from other departments seemed nearly impossible! I couldn't message anyone on our messanger system... I also couldn't use the email system, or the outlook address book to merely look up their phone number.. I was LOST!

One of my co-workers took a coffee break when he got to work and realized that there was no email access. The Starbucks line at our work was OUTRAGEOUS!!! Apparently everyone had the same idea.

And everyone was at a stand-still. :) Awesome... all day..... awesome...

I knew I loved email, but I had no idea its affect on my life! :)

“You should blog about that!”

I love this. Since I have been going on random tangents lately, and telling stories from the past, people will give me a topic and tell me to blog about it. This will even be AFTER we discuss the subject for 5-10 minutes! We just laughed about the entire situation, and now the person is telling me to type it up and put it online.

Don’t take this the wrong way. I looooove to blog about things that are going to make people laugh. I wasn’t called Tiff Times Ten growing up for no reason! I can exaggerate things to a level that is so ridiculous only the jury for the O.J. Simpson trial would believe me.

I also have been known (on occasion) to say the most inappropriate thing known to man. Sometimes I say it because I truly believe it. Other times I say it just to get a rise out of people. This trait has taken my parents on a whirlwind, especially when it comes to the topic of pro-creating… You probably know where I stand on that issue…. Haha*

So0o0o0 BRING IT ON, PEOPLE! If you have topics you would like me to rant about, LET ME KNOW! You may not want to say it, but you know that I’m ALWAYS in!!!!