The Two Bears

           Who doesn’t like a teddy bear? They’re cute; they’re cuddly. Unfortunately, sometimes children consign their views of teddy bears onto real ones. That’s dangerous.

            In 1990, two boys climbed over a fence at the Bronx Zoo in New York City and descended into the polar bear compound. Later, workers found their lifeless bodies.

             One writer applied this story to pet sins. All of us are tempted to maintain pet sins. Watch out! Your pet sins can kill!

  

29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell (Mt. 5:29-30.)

Pitching and… the Devil’s Philosophy

            Last night, the St. Louis Cardinals used good pitching to defeat my team, the Texas Rangers, in game one of the World Series. This reminds me of something George Will wrote about in his book celebrating baseball—MEN AT WORK. Among those he profiled, Will wrote an interesting piece on the Los Angeles Dodger (and current ESPN broadcaster) Orel Hershiser.

            Regarding pitching Hershiser believed, “There are two theories of pitching. One is that you try to convince the batter that a particular pitch is coming and you throw something different. The other theory, that you don’t hear as much, but that I use, is that if the batter expects a particular pitch, you throw it, but you throw it in a place where he can’t hit it.”

            Listen to Doug Cecil compare Hershiser’s pitching philosophy to the Devil’s philosophy of temptation, “Isn’t that the way the Enemy works in our life? He knows just what kind of pitch that we are a sucker for and then throws it our way. But, it is just a little higher or just a little bit more outside than where we like it, and most likely we will bite on it every time. After all, it looks so good. It feels so right.”

The Loser’s Card Game

            The story is told that during the Revolutionary War, a colonial spy, loyal to the British, presented himself at the headquarters of Hessian commander Colonel Johann Rall. With him, he carried a top-secret message of highest importance the Hessian military leader.

            The message contained the information that General George Washington and his army had surreptitiously crossed the Delaware River and were fast approaching Trenton, New Jersey—the camp of the Hessian army. To the spy’s chagrin, his request his request to meet with Colonel Rall was turned down. 

            The spy then recorded his information on a piece of paper and asked an attendant to take it to Colonel Rall. The message was delivered; however, Rall ignored it. Instead, he stuffed it in his pocket. Rall was engrossed in a poker game and did not want to disturb his concentration.

            Later, Rall’s day was rudely interrupted… by the muskets of the soldiers of Washington’s army. Washington’s army leveled the Hessians. Many, including Colonel Rall, ultimately lost their lives.

            This event occurred on December 26, 1776. It was the first major victory for the colonial army. They possibly would not have gained the victory had Colonel Rall been alert.

            Satan gains a lot of victories because Christians are not on the watch. Perhaps that’s why the apostle Peter wrote, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (I Pet. 5:8.)

Source: Today in the Word, MBI, October, 1991, p. 21

The Parking Ticket

            Here’s a story that has been passed along to me many times through the years by various people, which alerts me to the fact they enjoy the story:

            A preacher parked his car in a no-parking zone in a large city because he was short of time and could not find a space with a meter. Consequently, he placed a note under the windshield wiper that read, “I have circled the block ten times. If I don’t park here, I’ll miss my appointment. Forgive us our trespasses.”

            When he returned, he found a citation from a police officer along with this note, “I’ve circled the block for ten years. If I don’t give you a ticket I’ll lose my job. Lead us not into temptation.”

Stay Out of Those Places

            A story passed around for a few decades now involves the old TV show HEE HAW. A character on the show, Doc Campbell, sees a patient complaining about his arm, “Doc, I broke my arm in two places.”

            Doc Campbell replies, “Well then, stay out of those places!”

            That’s pretty good advice. The best strategy for giving in to temptation is to regularly visit places that tempt us. Maybe that’s why Paul admonished his readers to flee temptation.

The Devil’s Coattails

        An old preacher grew tired of hearing Christians complain about all of the temptations Satan was placing in their paths. Consequently he proclaimed, “People are always portraying Satan as pursuing them to tempt them. The truth is, so many people are pulling at the Devil’s coattails, he has no time to chase anybody.”

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (I Cor. 10:13.)