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Themes Telling the Truth "NO MONEY!" "No money. No money." The Arab boy looked at me with innocent eyes as he handed me an olive twig. I shook my head. "No, I don't want any. Thank you." He looked at me and then turned to another tourist. It was a very cold, windy, rainy day. We were on top of the Mount of Olives looking over Jerusalem. Many tourists were taking pictures. Some were taking turns riding a camel. As I focused my camera for another shot, I felt a tug at my sleeve. Those big brown eyes locked with mine. "No money. No money." He held up the olive twig again. Again I said, "No, thank you." He hesitated, looked at me again and slowly turned away. The wind whipped around the tour bus as I took more pictures. Suddenly, I sensed someone standing very close to me. It was the Arab boy. This time he just looked at me, held up the olive twig - and smiled. I reached out and took the olive twig and put it in my pocket and thanked him. He smiled again and walked away. A minute or two later he came back. He dropped his head and peered at me through his long dark eyelashes. "Money?" "Money?" I asked. "You said I didn't have to give you money." He started to say something, then turned away - shoulders slumped. More camel riders. More pictures. More wind. More big brown eyes. This time I gave in. "I'll give you money, but not now. When we leave, I will give you some money." He smiled and walked away. However, he coming back, to make sure I would not forget. Finally, I put my hands on his shoulders. "You lied to me, but I am telling you the truth. I will give you money when we are ready to leave. I promise. Okay?" He nodded his head and once again walked away. A couple of times I saw him looking at me. He wasn't sure he could trust me. When the tourists started climbing back on the bus, the Arab boy appeared at my side. His eyes lit up as he saw me take a dollar bill out of my pocket. Before I gave it to him, I hugged him and told him again, that even though he lied to me, I would keep my word and give him the money. He thanked me, shoved the money into his pocket and ran to stand beside the camel. I took one last picture on the Mount of Olives - the Arab boy waving good-bye. One person who always tells the truth is God. When He speaks in the Bible about your sin, it's the truth! When He says the Lord Jesus can take you to Heaven because He died on the cross for sins, it's the truth! You can be sure you have eternal life because, "the God who cannot lie, promised before the world began" (Titus 1:3). Are you sure?
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Woollen and Linen - Examples from the scriptures of those who have mixed truth with error. J G Bellett was a brother from the United Kingdeom who wrote his works in the 1800's. He examines mixtures in the Bible such as the Parable of the Tares, Lot and Sodom, Jonathan and the Palace, the Days of Ahab, Jehoshaphat, Obadiah and others.