As I was getting breakfast this morning I gazed out our kitchen window and noticed the beautiful flowers that are growing on our Angels Trumpet Bush.![DSC_1393[1]](http://darlingdownsdiaries.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/DSC_13931.jpg)
They are just lovely but they are terribly poisonous, and may lead to death if ingested.
So as I was gazing there thinking about how beautiful the flowers were but how bad they were for us it got me thinking about things in the world.
Some things in this world are the same, beautiful, lovely but poisonous to our body and our soul.
I think we just need to turn on our televisions to see a lovely show or movie only to be bombarded by poisonous commercials selling things that will poison our hearts.
We only need to step into the stores to be bombarded with pornography and the likes.
2 Peter 2:18-19 For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.
The beautiful things in the world may seem right but if they take us from God and our relationship with him they are poisonous.
Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
We need to keep connected to God, to be reading His word to stop ourselves being conformed to it.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Have you heard how to boil a frog (because a frog will just jump out of hot water). What you do is put the frog in a pot of cold water and let him swim around. Then you turn up the heat and slowly raise the temperature of the water until it is boiling hot. The frog has adjusted to the temperature as it was slowly heated and doesn’t realise that now he is boiling and then he is dead.
This is what can happen to us, slowly, slowly we allow things into our lives, they become the norm, then we allow another thing and little by little we are overcome by the ways of the world.
We need to be aware and alert to what is happening around us, we need to check back with the word of God to see what He says about different issues.
Lets keep our eyes on Jesus who is the way the truth and the light.
Hebrews 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
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You definitely hit the nail on the head with this!
I don’t know if you see much from American stations, but it is pretty poisonous with all the booze commercials, everything is sex or foul mouthed things, anti-Christian, all about pleasing self, all about “me”. The magazines aren’t any better if you thumb through secular ones. Radio is horrible too, unless you get into the very conservative stations. One that we listen to is VCY America network (which you can stream at vcyamerica.org and they have folks who call in to their station from Australia, England, and New Zealand) based out of Wisconsin that doesn’t have any advertisements, but is hymns and preaching from conservative pastors, and a couple of talk shows that are live and touch on topics from a biblical world view. The network has a local station about 30 miles from us that we pick up easily on the little radio in the kitchen, and it plays most of the day. Your kids (and you and hubby) may like the kids’ programming they have too, it is very clean and definitely biblical based, and some are radio programs that are classics from the 60’s and 70’s, like Sugar Creek Gang, Ranger Bill, and Sailor Sam. One I listen to as often as I can is the Unshackled program, from Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, that tells true life stories of people who’ve gotten saved after hitting the low spot and how their lives changed and what the Lord had them do afterward. That program is the longest running radio drama in the country.
Angel trumpet flowers are beautiful, and you’re right, they are poisonous. So are our favorite bushes, the holly, and wisteria. Many mushrooms here look like the ones we hunt, but aren’t–they are very close to the real thing, but are deadly. Looks are so deceiving!
Sin is the same way, the devil dresses up sin to make it look so good, and it’s so poisonous. Nothing good comes from sin no matter how pretty and dressed up it is!
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I will see if I can get that Radio network here. We do have Christian Radio but it is difficult for us to get and I would probably prefer more of a conservative approach. We don’t have the television connected any more we just use it for DVD’s, even these you have to watch so carefully.
We have mushrooms growing here at the moment, but I must admit I hesitate in picking them in case they aren’t right, I have heard really bad stories about eating the wrong type. My husband assures me if I pick the ones out in the open paddocks they are okay, so I will have a look this week.
You are right though that things can be so deceiving and look so good and tasty, but boy you can end up in trouble.
Hope you have a great week. Blessings
What a great post. Sin can look so beautiful, and can sneak up on us, so we really do have to remain diligent and be daily in the word.
Thanks so much for the reminder. And that flower is very beautiful indeed.
Thanks Miranda for your encouraging comment, the flower is beautiful, but don’t let the animals near it. Thanks for stopping by. Blessings
Oh, dear friend! This is such a good, edifying, timely post! So very true! The commercials are just horrible. We don’t even have television in our home, because of this very thing. It is one thing to control what you and your family watches, but there is absolutely no control over the filth and trash in the commercials. David said he would not set anything wicked thing before his eyes, and I think this is a safe way to live. We are in a very evil and perilous time, and, as you so clearly said, sin is so deceptive and the enemy makes it look so pleasing to the eye, but oh, the poison behind it! I enjoyed reading this SO much and thank you for speaking the truth here. We NEED to hear this! God bless you abundantly. 🙂
You are so right and I agree with the not setting anything wicked before our eyes, we so need to be doing this. Thanks for your encouraging comment. Blessings
I so totally agree with you on this one. There is so much trash in the world that we and our children simply do not need to be exposed to. And if you have the choice, why would you look at it? I am in an awkward position in that hubby does not agree with me and thinks that I am stifling them, mollycoddling them, and trying to hide them away from the ‘real’ world. I think if that is the real world, then it is my duty to shield them from it. It is hard to be different from the majority, but it is so necessary.
Yes I agree Jayne, it is hard to be different but God calls us to be in the world and not of it. I can image it is difficult when your husband doesn’t agree with you, but keep on praying and submitting and remember God is in control. Thanks for sharing your heart and for blessing me with your comment. Have a great week. Blessings
Romans 12:2 has been on my mind lately. Have you read it in The Message? If not, you should – it’s quite encouraging. I’m glad to be your neighbor at SDG.
Thanks Kristin, I have the Amplified but will have a look at the message when I get a moment. Thank you for letting me know. Thanks also for your comment and for stopping by. Blessings
Linking up with you today at Motivate and REjuvenate, but always enjoy reading your posts wherever I find them. Some of our best thoughts come to us when we’re looking out the kitchen window! Thanks for this insightful and practical word!
You are so right Michele, maybe if I cleaned my window my thoughts would get even better :-). Thanks for stopping by and for encouraging me. Blessings and have a great week.
It’s so funny, when I started reading this post I was thinking to myself that, “It really hasn’t dawned on me that trumpeter trees/vines are poisonous.” I am sure if I thought about their classification and looked into it, I would have figured it out. It’s just that they are so attractive, pleasing to the eye, and innocent, that my mind didn’t go there.
And that’s probably just why you picked them, eh?
*Some* sins are like that aren’t they? We just don’t think about where they are headed or possible consequences. Like your frog.
Thank you for reminding us to continually be looking into things instead of blindly accepting their beauty and possibly, bringing them home, and even planting them in our own gardens in our own homes.
(Although I still plan to enjoy my vines 😉 .
May we also be ever attentive to those who wish to acclimate us to the wicked sins of this world. Perhaps that will be my prayer for all of us Sisters here as I lay me down tonight…
Blessings,
I think that would be a great prayer dear friend and I would appreciate it for me anyway. I agree we need to be EVER attentive that is more the point. Evil is all around us, but greater is He that is in us than He that is in the world. What a blessing that thought is and so encouraging that we are not walking this path alone. Sleep well. Blessings
Great post. It’s a challenge raising children today with the allure of all that looks good, but is not good for us from food to clothing to technology. My mother used to say that what is tolerated in one generation is accepted in the next, and I believe that to be true. We must stick to God’s truth about what is beautiful, what is lovely, what is pure…and think on these things.
You are so right Dr Michelle, and I appreciate your mothers quote and I truly believe it to be right. We must stick to God’s truth, that is so necessary. Thank you so much for sharing your insight with me and for your comment. Thanks also for linking up each week. Have a great week and blessings to you.
Great reminder! The frog in the pot analogy is something my husband and I often discuss. We are getting so desensitized that many of us are blurring the lines between appropriate and ungodly. Thank you for sharing this on the Art of Home-Making Mondays!
Thanks Jes for your comment the frog analogy is something my husband and I have been discussing a lot too. We have to stay in God’s word and be alert the the way of the world. Thanks for stopping by. Blessings
True words, good counsel. I once heard a quote from C.S. Lewis – essentially he said that the opposite of good isn’t evil, it’s *twisted good*…
And yes, isn’t that just the way the enemy of our soul works? He takes a good thing and twists it *just so* to accomplish his evil purposes to steal, destroy, and kill.
We are constantly bombarded with sin-filled messages that are destructive to our souls. May the Lord help us to turn from the beautifully poisonous things in life.
GOD BLESS!
Thank you so much Sharon for sharing your thoughts with us. I agree that prayer is so important “May the Lord help us to turn form the beautifully poisonous things in our life”. Thank you and let us keep on praying. Blessings to you and yours.
This is so true, and I think it is important to have frequent reminders, as we get comfortable with things which we shouldn’t, or slip back into our old ways so easily if we are not consistently guarding our hearts and minds. Thanks for sharing.
You are so right Gwen, how quickly and easily we get comfortable. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, blessings.
What a great post! By the way, the reason the angel trumpet flowers (and leaves) are poisonous is that they have naturally scopolamine which is also known as the date drug.
It is a very popular plant here in Ecuador and has many cultural connotation. For instance people plant it to their gardens to keep bad vibrations (bad eye) out of their lives and homes.
It was also used by indigenous people to put the babies to sleep. You put few leaves under their matress or pillow and they will sleep and not bother you during the night. Or they don’t exactly sleep but are in a drugged state. I would not recomend this practice.
The angel trumpet plant and the flowers were also used by shamans to achieve spiritual states. It is also still used as popular remedy by the shamans. But you need to know how to use it or it can be fatal.
Today it is used as date drug and also to steel from people. You can dry the leaves and the flowers and then grind them into power. It contains so much scopolamine that it will knock the person out cold (and can also cause death if used too much). People use it because it makes you lose your will. If someone drugs you with the powder you will do exactly as they tell you. Including empty your account, give away your carkeys and your car, anything…
And you won’t remember afterwards what happened. So you can’t even recognize the perpetrators.
It does resemble the sin a lot.
Wow Joanna, I did look up about this plant and it’s uses but you have really opened my eyes, quite a scary plant in the wrong hands. Thanks for the heads up and sharing. Blessings to you.
Hello Terri, I love this article. Sin sips in slowly and then it takes over.
Thank you so much.
Many Blessings
You are so right Ifeoma, sin slips in slowly, something to be so aware of. Thanks for the comment. Blessings
Love this post…your open, honest, down-to-earth writing about God’s work in your life is delightful ❤️
Thank you so much Beth for your kind and encouraging comment. It means so much to me when you stop by. Have a great week and thanks again. Blessings
I love how you just made this so simple and to the point. The comfortable things of the world can certainly be poisonous!! Thanks so much for this not so subtle reminder. Blessings!
Thank you so much Tiffany for your kind comment, we all need reminders I think, it is so easy to slip into things that just aren’t good or right for us. Blessings to you and yours.
What a wonderful post! This is all so true… it happens in little ways… coveting after seeing some beautiful successful person advertising something…. dissatisfaction w/ what God has blessed us with…. comparisons…. and so much more. We need to keep our focus on the Lord and His Word…and weed out the world’s influences. Thank you for a great post… I am pinning it. 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging comment, I like you garden analogy, in weeding out the world’s influences, that is so true. Thanks for sharing and for stopping by. Blessings
Love the frog parallel! We are bombarded with sin and it can slowly creep into our lives when we are not careful. We must stay in the Word as He uses it to protect us and help us guard from sin. Thanks for sharing this message.
So thankful for God’s grace and forgiveness!
Thank you Emily for stopping by and for your comment. You are right we must stay in the Word and hold close to His teachings. Blessings
The frog picture got me – I love it. I too often think of all the pretty things that can swallow us up in this world. I love the picture to go with it though!!! Thank you for reminding me that sin is usually a slow fade.
Thanks Kim for stopping by and sharing with me. You are right sin is usually a slow fade. Blessings
Yes, that kikker ( frog) -story is told also to me in Dutch when I was young! I think christians worldwide are telling that to their children.
Wise blog and thank you so much for the wise lesson in it!
Thank you Ariella for you kind comment and for sharing with me today. Have a great weekend. Blessings
I definitely see where you are going with this. A perspective I have about the flower is this: The flower is beautiful. The poison does not negate its beauty or its purpose. However, when the flower is used incorrectly, that is when the problems arise. When we use sex outside of marriage or to fill a void that only God can fill, then we get in trouble. It doesn’t negate the beauty of sex itself, for it was created for a purpose. It is the misuse of sex that allow for sin to poison us.
Yes that is exactly right Jen, thank you for sharing that with us your wisdom. Have a great weekend. Blessings
As I started to read about the flower, I immediately thought of the story of the toad. Then you included it 🙂 May we be ever mindful about what we take in. It can happen to any one of us. Blessings!
Thank you so much Joanne for sharing your thoughts with us and yes that is my prayer too, may we be ever mindful. Thanks and blessings
LOVE this post, and your illustration of the trumpet flower is one of the best I’ve seen. Thank you so much for sharing this at Grace at Home! I’m featuring you this week. 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging comment, thank you also for featuring me I am so honoured. Thanks for hosting each week. Have a great weekend. Blessings