We have all done things that we are not proud of. You have probably heard the saying, “If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.” If you haven’t, it means that if you aren’t willing to suffer the penalty for what you do, then don’t do it. But even knowing that…..we all can just tilt sideways and mess up. But us messing up does not mean that God still can’t help us overcome it and even do mighty things.

There are many examples in the bible about this same thing. One guy becomes a fleeing felon and a fugitive. His name was Moses. He murdered a man and buried the dead man in the sand. Once the Pharaoh found out, he was after Moses and wanted to kill him. Moses fled, a fleeing felon, and hid in a nearby country for 40 years. He was a fugitive. But those 40 years Moses learned a lot. And God was with him and used him in a great way. I bet you have been through some “stuff” too. This is about how to get something out of things that go wrong.

We have all done things that we are not proud of. You have probably heard the saying, “If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.” If you haven’t, it means that if you aren’t willing to suffer the penalty for what you do, then don’t do it. But even knowing that…..we all can just tilt sideways and mess up. But us messing up does not mean that God still can’t help us overcome it and even do mighty things.

There are many examples in the bible about this same thing. One guy becomes a fleeing felon and a fugitive. His name was Moses. He murdered a man and buried the dead man in the sand. Once the Pharaoh found out, he was after Moses and wanted to kill him. Moses fled, a fleeing felon, and hid in a nearby country for 40 years. He was a fugitive. But those 40 years Moses learned a lot. And God was with him and used him in a great way. I bet you have been through some “stuff” too. This is about how to get something out of things that go wrong.

“Sold Down The River” means a profound betrayal. The river was the Mississippi or the Ohio. The term came from pre-civil war slave trade where slaves were sent south, down the river in a boat, to be sold. An article on NPR by Lakshmi Gandhi, said it was almost certain death as the slaves were housed and worked under brutal conditions to harvest cotton. In a boat, taken from your family, not knowing for certain what would happen, downstream you went. This was obviously a difficult time for our country and for those that were forced into this way of life.

At about 3 months old, Moses was put in a small boat, an ark, separated from his family, put into the Nile River in Egypt. He was fleeing an edict from Pharaoh to throw all make children into the river for them to die. God’s people were growing too numerous and Pharaoh was afraid of them. Not knowing where he was going or would end up, Moses was sent down the river not to be sold into slavery, but to save his people from slavery.

“Sold Down The River” means a profound betrayal. The river was the Mississippi or the Ohio. The term came from pre-civil war slave trade where slaves were sent south, down the river in a boat, to be sold. An article on NPR by Lakshmi Gandhi, said it was almost certain death as the slaves were housed and worked under brutal conditions to harvest cotton. In a boat, taken from your family, not knowing for certain what would happen, downstream you went. This was obviously a difficult time for our country and for those that were forced into this way of life.

At about 3 months old, Moses was put in a small boat, an ark, separated from his family, put into the Nile River in Egypt. He was fleeing an edict from Pharaoh to throw all make children into the river for them to die. God’s people were growing too numerous and Pharaoh was afraid of them. Not knowing where he was going or would end up, Moses was sent down the river not to be sold into slavery, but to save his people from slavery.

Medical studies have shown that too much stress can cause many problems. Mayo Clinic says, stress that's not dealt with can lead to many health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, obesity and diabetes. WebMD says further that stress can cause mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attacks, and strokes. Obesity and other eating disorders. Clearly too much stress can kill you. I see me in a couple of these. Our world is full of stress. Now some stress has been shown to improve performance, but long term chronic stress is not good for you.

So how much stress is good or bad? Can we succeed in stressful circumstances? Yes, we can and the bible has a great illustration of Success Under Stress. It is about his people, Israel, under stress in Egypt and it shows how we too can have success when under stress.

Medical studies have shown that too much stress can cause many problems. Mayo Clinic says, stress that's not dealt with can lead to many health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, obesity and diabetes. WebMD says further that stress can cause mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attacks, and strokes. Obesity and other eating disorders. Clearly too much stress can kill you. I see me in a couple of these. Our world is full of stress. Now some stress has been shown to improve performance, but long term chronic stress is not good for you.

So how much stress is good or bad? Can we succeed in stressful circumstances? Yes, we can and the bible has a great illustration of Success Under Stress. It is about his people, Israel, under stress in Egypt and it shows how we too can have success when under stress.

Thursday was the 4th of July. Fireworks, Food and another holiday. It was started when our country, The United States of America, declared independence from British rule. It took about 100 years for the process of leaving Britain to become established. And we had to declare it, in the Declaration of Independence.

In that document, the second sentence is a remarkable explanation of what America stood for, individually. See just how much scripture is connected with this sentence and what it means to Christians. And what it has to do with you and your independence from sin and death.

Thursday was the 4th of July. Fireworks, Food and another holiday. It was started when our country, The United States of America, declared independence from British rule. It took about 100 years for the process of leaving Britain to become established. And we had to declare it, in the Declaration of Independence.

In that document, the second sentence is a remarkable explanation of what America stood for, individually. See just how much scripture is connected with this sentence and what it means to Christians. And what it has to do with you and your independence from sin and death.

You may have heard the saying, “They have a RAP sheet a mile long.” A RAP sheet is a Report of Arrests and Prosecutions. A written document for an individual based on fingerprints. There is also a number for each individual called an Offender Based Tracking System (OBTS) that is assigned to them. With the right clearance or position, you can look back into someone’s arrest record. You could see those things about others that could be surprising, embarrassing, or into areas that someone would not like to share.

The Bible is a written record also, and there are some notable characters that have a RAP sheet. People like Adam, Cain, Abraham, Moses, Noah, David, Peter, and Paul. And there are more. A RAP sheet here is a record of wrongs they committed. A record in the Bible. We might also have a RAP sheet on others that have wronged us. A record in our mind of past hurts, betrayals or injuries. Things about them that we have stored up and kept in our mind. See what God thinks about RAP sheets.

You may have heard the saying, “They have a RAP sheet a mile long.” A RAP sheet is a Report of Arrests and Prosecutions. A written document for an individual based on fingerprints. There is also a number for each individual called an Offender Based Tracking System (OBTS) that is assigned to them. With the right clearance or position, you can look back into someone’s arrest record. You could see those things about others that could be surprising, embarrassing, or into areas that someone would not like to share.

The Bible is a written record also, and there are some notable characters that have a RAP sheet. People like Adam, Cain, Abraham, Moses, Noah, David, Peter, and Paul. And there are more. A RAP sheet here is a record of wrongs they committed. A record in the Bible. We might also have a RAP sheet on others that have wronged us. A record in our mind of past hurts, betrayals or injuries. Things about them that we have stored up and kept in our mind. See what God thinks about RAP sheets.