[ampaterry]

When we find ourselves among sinful people who respect us, we ought to be particularly careful - even nervous. The hatred of the world, when poured on Christians in the form of persecution, is seldom harmful to our spiritual nature. In fact, it may even be useful at times!
I once read about a beautiful young woman who had to spend a lot of time traveling for her job. A friend asked her if she ever encountered unwanted advances from men while she was alone on the road. She said she had, but was able to stop them with five simple words: 'Are you a born-again Christian?'.
For the most part, the world does not want any part of us. But when it DOES, the friendship of the world is always to be suspected. When the servants of the high priest allowed Peter to warm his hands at the fire, had Peter been a wise man, he would have been afraid that evil would come of it. We are disarmed by kindness, but it is never safe to be disarmed in an enemy's country. "Who," says the old proverb, "could live in Rome and yet be at war with the pope?" Who can have much to do with sinners and not have something to do with their sins? All Philistia could not have blinded Samson if Delilah's charms had not deluded him. Our worst foes will be found among our ungodly friends. Those who are false to God are not likely to be true to us.
Proverbs 12:26 (KJV); "The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour: but the way of the wicked seduceth them."
There was a couple that contacted me over the internet asking my help in locating a place to live in this area. They said God had directed them specifically to Bethany Church to help them in this quest. Judy located a place for them, and they moved in quite close to us. In the first three days they were here, they asked to borrow money from us, asked us to cash a post-dated check for them, and finally drove here and asked me to hide the truck which the bank was trying to re-possess since they had stopped making payments on it. When I explained that doing that is theft, he argued with me until I threw him out of our home.
Walk carefully in this world. Not everyone that speaks the name of Jesus is a Christian.

I will talk to you again tomorrow - and may God RICHLY bless you.