"Not So Fast"

I think Steve Higginbotham is a great writer.  I enjoy reading his weekly devotional e-mails called, MercEmail.  You can read his latest articles – along with other good study material – and subscribe to his MercEmail list at www.preachinghelp.org

Earlier this week, Steve sent out another MercEmail entitled, “Not So Fast.”  He shared a story and made a splendid application about the dangers of jumping to conclusions too quickly.

About an hour after Steve sent this latest edition, he followed it up with another e-mail to all of his subscribers.  Here is part of the content of the message:

Well, I did it again.  Why is it that every time you make fail to proofread your articles, you see the mistakes about 2 seconds after you hit the "Send" button?

It's not that I know grammar, for I religiously follow the following ten rules in my writing.

1. Don't use no double negatives.
2. Make each pronoun agree with their antecedent.
3. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
4. Don't use commas, which aren't necessary.
5. Try not to ever split infinitives.
6. Always use apostrophe's correctly.
7. Don't write run-on sentences they are hard to read.
8. Corect speling is esential.
9. Mixed metaphors are a pain in the neck and should be thrown in the lake.
10. Unnecessary use of the word “that” is a mistake that many people make.make.

So you see, it's not a matter of knowledge, just a matter of performance.  Sorry about that! :-)  

Then Steve included a revised edition of the article in the remainder of his e-mail.
 

As you began reading his list of rules, did you immediately note the problems in grammar, punctuation, and spelling?  Of course, we realize he was making a point in a humorous way.  What a clever way of demonstrating some of the rules of English by also showing the ways that the rules are broken!

Yet, perhaps we need to understand another lesson: we ALL make mistakes!  Despite our best efforts, we mess up.  “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
 

But God still loves us.  In fact, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  Because Jesus died for us, we can have forgiveness for our sins and receive the gift of eternal life.

God will grant forgiveness and give the gift of eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized into Christ (Acts 2:38).  He will continue to cleanse those who continue to walk in the light of His Word (1John 1:7).

Before we start pointing out the mistakes of others, stop and think.  Not so fast!  Remember, we ALL make mistakes and we ALL need to submit our lives to the Savior so that we can be forgiven.

Won’t YOU?