It would be great if there wasn’t any lying and stealing, but alas, the world is full of such. Telling the truth is just like stepping on a rattlesnake to some. They just cannot bring themselves to do it! Keeping their hands off the property of others is just too much temptation, and they feel obligated to take what isn’t theirs.
We could spend a long time trying to explain why there is lying and stealing. However, we won’t do that because both are condemned by the Bible. Rather than talk about why people lie and steal, we want to tell people to just stop (Ephesians 4:28; Romans 14:9-10, 3:21; 1 Timothy 1:10; John 8:44; Proverbs 19:22, 13;5; Matthew 15:19-20; 1 Peter 4:15; Luke 12:33; Prov. 6:16-19; Colossians 4:9-10; Eph. 4:25). There is no way that those who lie and steal will go to Heaven—they are going to go to Hell, if they don’t repent (Revelation 21:8, 22:14-15, 9:21; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. “The wicked borrows and pays not again, but the righteous shows mercy and gives” (Psalms 37:21).
How many times have you heard of people becoming enemies because someone borrowed money and didn’t repay? It is shameful that some people think that they can get free money from others. Now if a giver is feeling generous and tells the borrower that the money doesn’t have to be paid back, it then is a gift. But if a person said, they would loan money, then the borrower must pay it back. And if a borrower cannot pay back the lender before the due date, he shouldn’t be borrowing. Also people shouldn’t borrow in the spur of the moment. There needs to be a plan of repayment before getting the money. That way, the borrower will not be causing problems for the lender, because the lender has his own obligations, and he doesn’t need a dead beat, so-called friend, adding trouble. So the moral is, “Do unto others as you want them to do to you” (Luke 6:31). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services Joe Paterno, the legendary coach of Penn State, had a great football career and did wonderful things to make State College the town it is today. Attempting to follow the works of this man will not be easy, but Penn State must go on. As great as Mr Paterno was, he lost his job because the officials at Penn State said he made one mistake. “He didn’t do enough after hearing the report on child molestation.”
Moses was also a legendary figure in Bible history, and he, like Paterno, was a great leader and did many things for Israel. But he also made one mistake that cost him his entrance into the Promised Land (Psalm 106, 32; Deuteronomy 1:36-38; Numbers 27:12-14, 20:7-12). So Moses didn’t set a foot into the land of milk and honey, but we have assurance that he will be rewarded by God because he is on the honor roll of the faithful (Hebrews 11:23-29; Matthew 17:1-4; Heb. 3:2-5; Revelation 15:3). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services Go back to the second week in January, late on a weekend night. A young man, walking with two female friends in Center City Philadelphia is beaten and killed by three thugs in front of traffic and people! Imagine the gall of these men to get back into their car, drive off, and go on with their lives the next day and weeks after. Even after pleas from the police and the community, these men still go on with their lives and don’t see the need to turn themselves in and face the consequences of their sin!
But now, they are all in jail! And how? One of the men had the nerve to boast on his job about how he and his “boys” beat up a young man in Center City. Imagine this man boasting, rather then being remorseful, confessing, and turning himself in. Yes, the Bible is right— pride does go before a fall (Daniel 4:28-37). Hope to hear from you or see you at the services. |