Have you ever done something that at the time you did it, it sounded like a great idea? For many of us that have done this, we quickly find that that great idea turned into a nightmare with lasting consequences. When I was a boy, my younger brother and I were playing in an old abandoned lot in Queens, NY. We were visiting with my grandmother and decided that watching soap operas all day was not the day we wanted to have.
Going outside, my brother and I searched for something to do on that hot summer New York day. Finding an old abandoned lot across the apartment complex of our grandmother's, we proceeded to break into the building to see what we could destroy. It wasn't like we were destroying anything of worth. . . since it was abandoned and ready to be condemned.
We found an old soiled mattress on the ground. Having a lighter that we stole from my uncle, we proceeded to see what would happen if we set the mattress on fire. We learned, a dry mattress, soiled with who knows what is extremely flammable. Lighting one corner of the mattress, we watched how in a matter of seconds the entire mattress was engulfed with flames.
Running from the scene of disaster, my brother and I sat on the steps of my grandmother's apartment complex watching the fire grow across the street! Panicked that we would set the entire neighborhood on fire, we ran back to the mattress and tried to shut the fire off. Not having any water, we took the mattress and turned it over dousing the flames and putting out the fire.
As smoke billowed from the scene, we ran back to my grandmother's apartment and learned a lesson. What sounded like a great idea turned into a disaster that could have been fatal from someone. In our sermon today, Moses' idea did turn fatal, but GOD. . .I love writing that! God intervened and created something that only He could have created.
Listen, learn, and if you have made an error. . . God can and will overrule it if you allow Him to.
So, until the next time, this is Pastor Tello reminding you that thoughts do change lives.
Pastor Howard Tello