"Have We Been Deceived?"

It's not the Chicken!


My daughter and I had gone out one evening for our typical weekly date night together when we usually eat something quick and easy before going somewhere special or maybe to pick out a movie to take home and watch with some snacks. I'll not mention the name of the restaurant but we had picked up a couple of sandwiches around 6:30 pm and we had done some running around before heading back home. I had already been having a sharp pain in my stomach for about thirty minutes when Cassidy said, "I think I might throw up!" and I asked her what was wrong. She told me her stomach had been feeling bad for awhile and it was starting to really make her feel sick.

It didn't take me long to figure out that something was wrong with the food we had eaten because we had ordered the same sandwich and we both had stomach aches. That's when I decided to stop by the place we had bought the sandwiches and warn them that something was wrong with their product. I went back and asked for the manager to make sure it wasn't ignored. When the manager came up, she asked me what was wrong and I told her what had happened. She then proceeded to inform me that we could not possibly be sick from the food and it must have been something that we already had before we ate. I explained to her that we were fine before and we hadn't eaten anything except oatmeal much earlier in the day. She again assured me, "It's not the chicken!". I was actually still hungry and I could have just as easily believed her and ordered another one, but something deep inside told me that I had better listen to my stomach which was now rolling and rumbling and sending sharp pains through my abdomen!

Having worked for a couple of years as a volunteer EMT-I on a local rescue squad, I had gained the experience and knowledge to know how quickly we came become ill when something toxic or poisonous is put into our stomachs.

Even though the manager was saying that it wasn't their food and she assured me that it was something else that we had been around before, I didn't believe she was really knowledgeable about the things she had been telling me so I questioned her. The manager then told me that this is what she was taught when training for manager of this restaurant. I asked her if she had any other education resources that would prove this and she kindly admitted that she did not. It was at this moment that I understood that she was only telling me what her employers had told her to say when someone complained about their stomach aching. She did sound very convincing and most people would have accepted her reply but I was an unusual customer. I questioned her answer because of several reasons.

First of all, I was experiencing the painful consequences. Secondly, I had acknowledged the proof that both I and my daughter were sick. Thirdly, I had saw the problem based on past experiences in the rescue squad volunteer work. How could I have chosen to buy another sandwich based on her statement?

I guess I could have listened to my hunger and went ahead an bought one more sandwich pretending that it wasn't going to bother my stomach or I could have decided that it was coincidental that we were both sick and listened to the manager with a cloudy mind and took that chance or lastly I could have ignored all the times I saw people on rescue calls that had consumed a medicine or food and gotten sick within hours of consumption.

You may be thinking by now, "How stupid would that have been to go right back to the same place to eat?". You are right! It would have been really dumb of me to do that! But think about this for a minute!

How many times do we do this in our lives when we explore or experiment with the things that our Lord says is forbidden fruit?

We experience the pain inside when we take of the fruit because we begin to decay from the moment we indulge and self destruction starts inside of us first. We know what it has caused in the lives of other people before and even now we might be choosing to ignore the proof. We have knowledge as the Lords children through His Word and studying what it teaches us, yet we decide to listen to the voice that is saying," It's not the chicken! It's something else you had!".

We get told that our problems come from everything except sin these days! It's from your up bringing or your education; your church or religious training; from the people you know; your job; your bad luck or sometimes were even told that problems come from God or the church!

Beware!

I repeat, "Beware!" of the deceitful lies of Satan to trick us into repeating the same mistake over and over until we finally get to the point that we cannot function at all! Satan wants to bring us to this dead end street where we feel paralyzed and useless! God didn't come to hold you as a prisoner and useless!

God came to save us from this deceitful lie that Satan uses to trick us into trying over and over until we are too ashamed to ask for help from our Savior that we had available all along! Let's read about this,

1Corinthians 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

When I was a young child of about six years old I had become bored while waiting on my parents after church one night at a church in Memphis Tennessee. My father was a new Christian and had made allot of new friends at this church so naturally they hung around, sometimes after the building was locked up, talking with other believers.

One night as I stood there out in the parking lot, I noticed that the corner of the building had bricks that stuck out further than others and I thought about how much fun it would be to just climb up on that corner a few bricks and jump back down. You will need to understand that I was very short as a child and it was quite thrilling for me to get up on something that made me higher than other people! As I wandered away from the rest of the people standing in the parking lot, somehow I wasn't noticed. It must have had something to do with the fact that I was so short and that it was night time. As I neared the corner of that church building, my pulse rate began to speed up a little as I looked at the bricks sticking out about an inch more than the rest of the bricks and it was like this about every three bricks. It really looked like a bit of a challenge!

I began to think about how it was going to feel to be as high or higher than everyone else there! My pulse speeding up even more, I decided to go ahead and climb the first couple of bricks! Boy did it feel good to be up about three feet higher! It was so easy to do and it felt great so I climbed up a couple more bricks. When I looked down I thought about how great this felt and how easy it would be for me to just jump back down as I was only about four feet off the ground.

I was having so much fun! I decided to go on up a few more steps and then a few more. By now I was higher than all of the adults and could see the tops of their heads from where I was! It was such a great feeling to be the tallest person there, but I looked up and saw the second floor railing and thought how much fun it would be to climb up to the rail and climb over. That's when I started climbing, not thinking about the dangerous situation I was getting into. After I had went a little further, I paused to look back down and it really shook me up! I realized then how far I had gone but the challenge was still there in the back of my mind to make it to the second floor railing, so on up I went, brick by brick. I know this sounds crazy but to a six year old it made perfectly good sense! I mean, I even thought about how proud my dad would be when he finally had seen what I was able to do!

Finally, as I began to near the second floor level I began to see things from a different perspective. The railing that had looked so close to the corner of the building from the ground was now about three or four feet away from where I was and it was impossible to reach the railing without letting go of the bricks! I was stuck! If I had continued with my plan to reach the rail i would have fallen to my death most likely and wouldn't be writing this right now! the next thing that I realized was that I couldn't find the brick under my foot to step back down onto as I tried to back my way back down the corner to the ground. Then to add to the excitement of this whole experience, my mother and father had started calling my name! The next thing I know they are all calling my name and I am stuck holding on for dear life too embarrassed to say anything. By this time, not only was I not able to find the brick beneath me, I was beginning to feel paralyzed with fear! I felt as if I was loosing my grip and couldn't even yell for help!

But I didn't fall, thank God! As everyone was making their way around the building and going out of sight, I shouted in total desperation,"Help! Dad! Help me!". My mother and father heard my small voice calling out in panic and they looked around in all directions. I called again with everything I could, " Dad! Over here dad! Please help me! I NEED YOUR HELP!". I saw his eyes meet mine and I knew I was in big trouble but I also knew he would somehow save me from the mess I had gotten myself into! He ran over and stood underneath of me with his arms held open and told me to climb back down. I told him how I had tried to, but couldn't find the brick and I began to cry as he stood there looking at me.

It seemed like forever! I was looking at him and I needed his help but he couldn't get to me and I couldn't get to him! I kept waiting for him to save me somehow as tears flowed down my face in total desperation! I had followed my desire just a few steps at a time, never intending to get into something that I couldn't get back out of.

Isn't that kind of how it is when we start toying around with temptation? We just take a step or two and we see what it's like to feel just a little of the excitement that comes with going outside the boundaries that our father has laid down for us. We find ourselves going a little further and a little further until we begin to think, "I'll just go this much further and it will be ok because I can reach that rail when I get up there". Then we go a little further and find that the temptation that drew us this far isn't safe at all for us or our children and we can't figure out how to get back down. It all seems too complicated now because it will be embarrassing to seek help or to confront the other person involved or to admit that it was wrong to sneak out gambling or admit that we have an addiction or maybe ashamed to admit and ask forgiveness for blaming and abusing a spouse or your children! Whatever it is; as hopeless as it may seem; there is always an answer if we will cry out to our Father! Admit that we have messed it up and let your heavenly Father show you the way to get it all under control! But don't be surprised if He just asks you to let go of your life and trust Him!

Yes, that is what happened to me that night! There was no other way for my father to rescue me from my hopeless condition except for me to let go! He had told me that he would catch me and he had told me what I needed to do. But I could not be rescued until I was willing to understand my helplessness; put aside my pride and admit that I needed help; and most important, to trust my father enough to catch me when I let go of the bricks that I had been hanging onto in desperation and fear.

My father continued to repeat himself over and over, building my confidence in him, "Just let go and fall back, I'll catch you! I promise, you won't get hurt! Just let go and fall back! I'll catch you! I promise, you won't get hurt!". As he stood there braced and ready to catch me, I finally let go of the one inch brick veneer and closed my eyes only to feel the safe arms of my father catch me! When he caught me I was expecting to be scolded or maybe even punished on the spot but it wasn't at all what I expected. My father held me tight and kept holding me in an embrace that went without saying," I love you son, I am glad that you are safe in my arms!".

I have to admit, my father kept a little closer eye on me after that but it was fine with me because I never wanted to get into that kind of situation again!

Let's look into our hearts today and see if we have been lured away from our heavenly Fathers refuge. Let's take a moment and see if there is something that has trapped us in a never ending hopeless cycle. If so, let's just accept the rescue plan that God has for our lives and trust Him enough to let go and trust God to safely catch you in His arms. Feel His embrace that says, "I love you child, I am so glad that you are safe in my arms!" God loves you so much that He never wants to condemn you; He wants to save you.

John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Let's pray,

My Jehovah, I ask you today to make our vision clear so that we can see if we have begun to climb the wall of discontent or the wall of human desires in our lives. If we have begun to play around with the idea of something we know to be forbidden by our Father, let us see it clearly and act on it before we get too far and it is very hard to get back into your embrace. For those who have gone way too far and are trapped today or who are facing something much bigger than they can handle in their life, I ask that You would give them the confidence to let go and trust You with their life! I ask all of this in Jesus name. Amen.