{"id":22710,"date":"2018-03-24T03:30:37","date_gmt":"2018-03-24T10:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=22710"},"modified":"2018-03-22T14:16:38","modified_gmt":"2018-03-22T21:16:38","slug":"march-24-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2018\/03\/24\/march-24-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"March 24, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cNo\u00a0temptation\u00a0has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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\u00a0way\u00a0out\u00a0so that you can endure it.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>1 Corinthians 10:13<\/p>\n

Another Lesson From the Crusher<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I\u2019ve been crushing concrete and asphalt into road base again recently and I\u2019ve observed something. There\u2019s nothing worse than a piece of lumber that got missed being picked out of the rubble pile and made its way into the impact crusher. When that wood comes out of the machine, instead of it being one whole piece that can be taken off the conveyor belt with ease, it comes out splintered into many fragments of various sizes\u2014some lumped together and some scattered all over the crushed material. Try as I might, I can never get all the pieces off the belt as the material rolls by and those tiny pieces contaminate the finished road base product. To prevent this contamination, the first line of defense should be to pick out the lumber when it first comes into the rubble pile. If that doesn\u2019t happen, the second line of defense is for the first picking-station laborer to get the wood off the belt before it goes into the impact crusher. If that doesn\u2019t happen, well\u2014one can hope the piece doesn\u2019t splinter (sometimes it doesn\u2019t\u2014yeah!) but most likely there is going to be a mess at my second picking-station.<\/p>\n

This is much like David\u2019s life when he sinned with Bathsheba. His first line of defense should have been to look away from her when he saw her bathing on the roof. Oops\u2014\u201cthe woman was very beautiful to behold.\u201d <\/em>The second line of defense should have been to go into the palace after he saw her and go about the business of a king. Oops\u2014\u201cso he sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, \u2018Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?\u2019\u201d <\/em>And into the \u201ccrusher\u201d he went. Then David sent messengers, and took her, and she came to him\u2014and so on. You can read the rest of the story in 2 Samuel 11 & 12 to find out how his life was \u201ccontaminated\u201d from this event.<\/p>\n

The lesson is to watch for temptations. Diligently search the \u201cloads coming into the rubble pile of life\u201d for things that can contaminate. Pick out the trash and throw it away. This takes work and sometimes long, hard work. I\u2019ve spent many days and hours searching the truckloads for wood and other trash before the loads get put into the crusher. When tempted, call out to God for help. He will be there to guide and direct you through what\u2019s tempting you. And if you fall into the \u201ccrusher\u201d, be like David\u2014\u201cI have sinned against the LORD\u201d<\/em> (2 Samuel 12:13). Confess your sins and God will forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9).<\/p>\n

\u201cHeavenly Father, thank You so much for Your grace and mercy to help us from falling into temptation. We want to see the warning signs and obey them. Help us to be diligent in the search. Help us to pick it out before it becomes a big mess. Help us to confess when we \u201cfall into the crusher.\u201d Thank You for Your grace and mercy to live with the consequences of our sin. You are so good to us. In Jesus Name, Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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