Rom 1:29-32 (NIV) They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Jesus, with people who are that evil, sometimes I wonder why doesn’t God just kill them? Teach me that these people are like the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for me. They offer me the “opportunity” to be as evil as I want. They are the choice of me either doing righteousness or doing evil. I must have a choice provided to me.

Rom 7:13 (NIV) Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. Jesus, sometimes I don’t agree with God as to what is sin and what isn’t. If I don’t trust God, I will embrace something that will eventually destroy me. Help me understand that it can be like a slow acting poison; but, if I read the label, I will know what I am dealing with.

Jesus, help me learn from this illustration: The items in the grocery store are labelled. As long as I read the labels, I won’t buy or eat something poisonous that I thought was food. If I were lost in a dense, huge forest and was having to find plants that were edible, I could be in danger. If I had no experience with wild plants, I would have to use trial and error methods. Some nice looking plants out there only require one bite for it to kill me. But, if I found a book laying out there that identified edible plants, I would be SAVED. Teach me that, that is what God and His Bible are doing for me.

Mat 7:13-14 (NIV) Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Jesus, the problem I face is, most people are eating all the spiritual foods that aren’t good for them. When I watch TV, get on the internet, read the most popular books, watch the most popular movies, and listen to what the people around me are digesting, I could be easily fooled into thinking the Bible is wrong.

Prov 16:25 (NIV) There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Jesus, most people trust themselves; they don’t trust God; they don’t trust Your salvation; they don’t trust the Bible; they just trust what they think is best for them. So, the majority of the people in the world are trying to lead me down the wrong path. Show me that I can’t just “follow my heart.” I can’t just “believe in myself.” I can’t just “flow with the traffic.” And, I can’t just “go with the crowd.”

Jesus, Adam and Eve tried to figure out who they could trust and ended up making the biggest mistake of their life. Satan used his Five Step Temptation System on them and they fell. Help me see that I am now back to learning that it isn’t WHAT to trust; it is WHO to trust. John 15:13 (NIV) Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. My body doesn’t want to die for me the spirit being. The people of the world don’t want to lay down their life for me. The devil isn’t going to die for me. Only You did!

1 Pet 5:8-9 (NIV) Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. Jesus, help me learn from this: In conventional warfare, the soldiers wear uniforms identifying who they are fighting for. In terrorist warfare, they will use women and children to fight. That is the situation I am in; who should I resist and who should I trust. There has to be a way to identify my friends and my enemies.

Mat 7:15-16 (NIV) Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Jesus, help me understand, through this illustration, that I can’t trust based on people’s external appearances, clothing, or friendly behavior. Help me realize that they may be family members, church members, business associates, friends, or a spouse. If I trust the wrong person, I can find myself doing things I shouldn’t.

By their fruit you will recognize them: Jesus, teach me that trust has to be earned; I can’t just go around believing in everyone. 2 Tim 3:1-5 (NIV) But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. Jesus, help me recognize “fruit” like this and stay away from them.