Scripture
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be notentangled again with the yoke of bondage.
~Galatians 5:1, NKJV
Quote
Nothing should be made legitimate that has the power to control us.
~Calvin Miller
There are four questions, according to Martyn Lloyd-Jones, that we must ask ourselves whenever we are in doubt of doing the right thing:
- Is it beneficial or helpful?
- Will it enslave me?
- Will it hurt others?
- Does it glorify God?
Sin does many destructive things but one of the most frightening aspects of sin is its power to enslave. Wisteria has beautiful blooms and a fragrant smell. It appears beautiful from a distance but it is a deadly killer. It will bring down a giant oak. It is a clinging vine that continues to grow. I have cut through Wisteria that was 8-10 incles in diameter and given time, it will get even bigger. It is in my neighbors yard and I have begged her to let me poison the mess but she refuses. I cannot go against her will, but it will destroy all of her trees and a third of the yard I can no longer mow because the tenticles of this vine which are like ropes. You do not want to drive your mower over them: it will not cut them and they will get wrapped around your blades. It will take you an hour to cut them off: I know from experience.
I was reading a commentary yesterday and it compared sin to a Boa Constrictor. This is the hideous snake that wraps itself around its prey and squeezes the life out of its victim. It is a picture of sin but the wisteria is more so, because it appears attractive and people love it. Perhaps you are thinking: you don’t have to kill it, just control it. Yeah right, I want to see you control wisteria. You may as well try to tame a hurricane. You know what to do with a pine seedling that comes up in your yard? Pull it up and throw it in the nearest fire. You don’t want pines in your yard. You don’t want wisteria on your fence. It will crush the fence and bend it out of shape. Eventually, it will ride it down to the ground. Sin works the same way; over time it will bend, crush, constrict, and choke. You don’t think you can live without it, but the truth is you can’t live with it. It is destructive in nature and has the potential to destroy anyone of us.
Extra
We got a little rain during the night and a lot of wind. Our yard looks like a war zone with broken limbs everywhere. I didn’t see any trees down but we have one that is so rotten that I don’t mow under it and one that is leaning so bad that I keep my eye on while I mow under it. I got a project started yesterday that I want to complete so I am altering my schedule. We will do a Psalm tonight at GP and do Proverbs 31 Sunday for Mother’s Day. We will be talking about the FaceBook mom. Out of respect for my Daddy, I don’t normally use this passage of Mother’s Day.
Christy got to take her beach trip with the family. They got home Monday and she had a chemo treatment yesterday.
God bless you, have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.