Ezekiel 33:8
“When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.”
The following is from a dear friend. Enjoy!
A few years ago I met a young man, Robert, who had just arrived in Olympia to go to a vocational college. He was from Reno, Nevada, and had never been to the Northwest. My family lived in the beautiful green countryside of South Puget Sound, Washington, at that time. One of my sons was about Robert’s age and invited Robert to go mountain bike riding on some of the many trails we had in the surrounding woods.
We had an extra bicycle, so Robert happily followed my son through the winding trails for about an hour. It was a hot day and a great day for a cool ride in the woods. During the ride, the two passed through patches of stinging nettles that grew alongside the trails. Each time they came near a patch of the nettles, my son, who was leading the way, yelled back to Robert, “Watch out for the nettles!”
Robert was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and when they returned about an hour later, he was feverishly scratching both of his arms that were covered with little red swollen bumps. Seeing Robert in his discomfort, my son teased, “I warned you about those nettles.” Robert innocently replied, “What are nettles?” My son hung his head down in shame when he realized his error.My son had warned Robert each time about the approaching stinging nettles, but Robert had no clue what he was talking about. There are no such plants where Robert was from and he had never heard of them before. After coming into contact with a Stinging Nettle it can take a few minutes before your skin becomes irritated, so poor Robert had no idea that the tall soft green leaves he had been brushing up against would eventually become pretty annoying.
As believers we sometimes forget that not everyone has an understanding of what God has revealed to us. We are given a new set of eyes when we are born in Christ, and as God leads us in understanding Him more, our spiritual eyes grow stronger. Let us remember those around us who we hope to give a good witness to — and also for those with young spiritual eyes so that they can clearly understand what the message is.
Blessings dear hearts. Draw near to God today, trust Him completely and be a blessing!
– – – Pastor Cecil
360-570-0074
PastorCecil@Daily-E-Votional.com