"He Said What!"

"Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole." (John 5:14-15 KJV)

  "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." (Revelation 22:18-19 KJV)

 Tell me that is dealing with the Book of Revelation only, because there are some serious infractions that I see all over the place in my own life! Not to jump too far ahead, but the end of this chapter really does not give percentages or portions; it is pretty much yea and nay! Also, I couldn't help but think about my own life, 38 years ago, where it might have been that I quite believing the Word? Not that I don't believe the Bible is the Word of God, because I do with all my heart; but somewhere alone the line, I started adding and taking away whatever I felt good about changing: FYI. 

 Let's backup a few verses and revisit something this certain man might have said: "He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed, and walk." Really! Because if I am not mistaken, Jesus clearly said, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." Big difference, or little difference? You tell me on a scale of one to ten; which one of these is the True Word of God! Do you know what that does to the credibility of God's Word? 

 I spent almost all day and night praying about this, as well as the health of my mom and dad; actually Marianne's mom and dad, but there is really no difference. Marianne and I prayed for hours together, and she never tired of praying! And, as God is my witness, when I would begin to pray for her, she would take her gaze off of me and sigh very loud, looking the other way! 

 I took my NLT and opened to John Chapter 5; reading slowly and correctly, correcting myself on every single word, I explained this story to her and illustrated for her how I felt it was very important that we understand: Don't mess with God's words! Do you know what that means? Do you know who the author is that rewrote certain Scriptures? Maybe only by changing one or two words; but one word can change the whole meaning of the Book! 

 Without getting to carried away with myself, because I know it can drag on and on: I am a people person; always have been, probably always will be. It is not that I like to hang out in big crowds or anything, but I watch people's lives: sometimes, almost intently; maybe even too much, if you maybe get my meaning. I find that if you study people too long, you start judging their character or the way they care too much about themselves. 

 By the way, if anyone might observe me taking notes during the message; you just might notice that I have this stupid habit of writing notes down before they have been given. What a stupid man I am! I have always done that too when talking to people; finishing their sentence for them, while usually getting it totally wrong. You would think by now I would learn a lesson. The verse above has given a little motivation: Read the Bible first, and then talk about it; not the other way around! 

 I truly believe what I have been told about the fall: Adam sinned, Eve was deceived, and Satan lied. That said, I also believe that Eve was deceived twice; by the Serpent at the tree, but before that, by Adam, who touched and handled the fruit! Hate me if you want, but she is a woman; if the man will not take care of his house, she will create some way to get it done. But, she needs to get it right! But don't take my word for it, Adam did name his wife Eve, after the fall. (Please forgive me, Lord! I just can't stop this sinning habit of mine.) 

 Really don't know how much more of this I can handle, but I love what it does, more and more! Maybe you did not get the saying my mom said, but it had to do with: You made your bed, now lie in it! Or is it lay; no, I'm pretty sure it is lie...  

"Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:1-5 KJV)