Is That Snake Real?

 

Genesis 3:1  Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

The other day, Mom and I went to do one of my least favorite things - wash clothes. We don’t have a washer/dryer here at home, so we take our clothes to the Laundromat in Lovingston. We have done this for years.

So yesterday, we loaded up the car and headed out. When we got there, Mom went in first and then I came along behind her with one of the baskets. After we were inside, Mom just casually says, “Is that snake real?” I turned and looked back, and there was a small snake laying right beside the door inside the building.

He wasn’t moving. I walked a little closer, and he didn’t move. I went outside to the car to try and find something to catch him with (you know I really mean to kill him with, right?). I found an umbrella. So, Mary Poppins went back inside to deal with the creature.

I tapped the umbrella near him several times, and he still didn’t move. I thought I would just empty the tub that the clothes were in, cover him with it, then shove him outside. So right as I approached him to put the tub over him, he moved.

So did I.

So now we are at the point where I am trying to gauge how quickly and efficiently I could crack him with the umbrella; and we are asking ourselves, “Do we really want to do laundry today?” Mom was ready to go at this point, but then we thought about that if we didn’t do something and just left, that someone else might come in and get hurt.

The snake began to move toward the door, and started exiting through a small opening. Awesome! So, I go outside (through the other door) to see where he is going, and he’s not there. Really?

So, to make this long story shorter, he had crawled up inside the bottom of the door. When Mom moved the door, he came back inside. He eventually ended up behind the trashcan in the bathroom and we decided to call for help before somebody (me) got hurt trying to be She-Woman the Snake Hunter.

Animal Control came, took one of those pinchy things like they use on television, and in 10 seconds took care of our snake problem.

How did he take care of it so quickly? He is a professional. He knows what he is doing, and he has the right tools to do the job.

This reminds me of the battle we fight with the enemy every day.

How did Satan show himself to Eve in the Garden? The Bible tells us that he appeared as a serpent. God made the serpent, but Satan used it.

The serpent was subtle; the Hebrew word for this is aruwm, which means cunning (usually in a bad sense): crafty, prudent, subtle (Strong’s Concordance).

Satan is subtle. Do you think he just randomly bumped into Eve as he was taking his daily slither through the Garden?

Matthew Henry’s Commentary says:

  - It was his policy to enter into discourse with her when she was alone. Had she kept close to the side out of which she was lately taken, she would not have been so much exposed. There are many temptations, to which solitude gives great advantage; but the communion of saints contributes much to their strength and safety.
 - He took advantage by finding her near the forbidden tree, and probably gazing upon the fruit of it, only to satisfy her curiosity. Those that would not eat the forbidden fruit must not come near the forbidden tree. Avoid it, pass not by it, Proverbs 4:15.
 - Satan tempted Eve, that by her he might tempt Adam; so he tempted Job by his wife, and Christ by Peter. It is his policy to send temptations by unsuspected hands, and theirs that have most interest in us and influence upon us.
This explains some of the ways Satan tempts us today. We have already discussed in past posts that we should immerse ourselves with Scripture and allow Christ to live through us. If we study Scripture, and hide it in our hearts (Psalm 119:11), then we have the proper tool to fight this enemy when he attacks.

And will he attack? Absolutely.

1Peter 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

How does he do it?

Genesis 3:1  Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Hath God said? Has God indeed said? Did God really say?

The devil attempts to deceive by distorting God’s Word.

Satan lies. And we listen.

And it’s not something new that is happening now, through false prophets, prosperity preachers, and cults. It started in the Garden.

And it continues today.

I was trying to deal with the snake in the Laundromat by trying to figure out what to do myself to take care of him. I could have gotten hurt. I could have just gone home, and someone else could have gotten hurt. Then I realized what I needed to do: call a professional who has the knowledge and tools to deal with the snake.

The Christian must be equipped to deal with the enemy - and we know the Professional who has the knowledge and tools to deal with Satan. Over the next few days, we will go over some ways Satan uses to deceive, and what tools God has to deal with them.

Because that Snake is real.

Where Is Your Joy? Part 2

 

 “From silly devotions and sour-faced saints, spare us, O Lord” ~ Teresa of Avila

Are we sour-faced saints?

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.  Matthew 15: 18-20

Yesterday we talked about negativity, and what we should fill our hearts and minds with. In the verse above, Jesus tells us it’s not about the ritual; it is about what comes out of our mouths from our hearts.

So, what do we do about our heart condition? We must become true disciples of Christ and allow His joy to be our joy.

Adrian Rogers tells the story of a little girl who asked her mother how big God is. Her mother replied that God is bigger than anything; bigger than the earth, than the universe, and even bigger than that. The little girl replies to her mother, “Well, if God is that big, and I am little, when I ask Him to live inside me, then He can’t help but stick out”.

Does Jesus stick out in your life?

Do you radiate His joy?

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation - Habakkuk 3:18

These things I have spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full - John 15:11

As Jesus prayed for all believers:

And now I come to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves - John 17:13

Jesus tells us that it is His joy that must remain in us, and be fulfilled in us.

Oswald Chambers says: “To be a disciple means that we deliberately identify ourselves with God’s interests in other people. ‘That ye love one another as I have loved you…’ The expression of Christian character is not good doing, but God-likeness”.

God-likeness. Not sour faces.

But we think we can’t do it! Life is too hard! The bills need to be paid! Life’s circumstances fill our minds, trickle down into our hearts, and then the excuses come out of our mouths.

And this shapes our attitudes and makes us sour faced saints.

We have an example to follow.

Hebrews 12:1-3  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 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 is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Joy? Endured the cross? These words don’t seem like they go together. The word joy in this passage is from the Greek word chara, which means “cheerfulness, calm delight”.

Jesus had such a joy set before Him that He was willing to do suffer for us. For you. For me.

What was the joy that was set before Him? The finish line. To be set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

What is our joy? To follow His example, and travel this Journey called life, with our eyes looking toward Heaven, to one day be face to face with our precious Saviour.

How can we do this? Matthew Henry says:

“What is our duty with respect to this Jesus. We must, [1.] Look unto him; that is, we must set him continually before us as our example, and our great encouragement; we must look to him for direction, for assistance, and for acceptance, in all our sufferings. [2.] We must consider him, meditate much upon him, and reason with ourselves from his case to our own. We must analogize, as the word is; compare Christ's sufferings and ours; and we shall find that as his sufferings far exceeded ours, in the nature and measure of them, so his patience far excels ours, and is a perfect pattern for us to imitate.”

And rejoice!

1Peter 4:12-13  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

We shouldn’t find it strange that life is hard; the Bible lets us know that if we are Christ followers, things will be difficult. The path is narrow. But we must continue to walk the way He showed us, and follow Him to glory.

With His joy in our hearts.

And remember that He is the author and finisher of our faith: we might have to fight some battles, but Jesus has already won the war.


Jude1:24-25  Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Imagine the day when Jesus can present us to God faultless, because He was our sacrifice and our example, His blood blotting out our sins. He will joy in this; and we should look to the finish line and live our lives in His joy.

Knowing the ending should make us smile.

Get rid of the sour faces.

Where Is Your Joy? Part 1

 

A few years ago, I felt the Lord calling me to lead a particular women’s group at the church I was attending at the time. I considered it a challenge because there was a lot of negativity among some of these women, and at the time, I was suffering from the same disease.

I had prayed for myself and this group, that we would come together as sisters in Christ and work together for the cause of His Kingdom. But I didn’t know quite how to handle the topic of negativity without causing a riot.

We gathered together one Saturday for our monthly meeting, and it was the same. I tried to gain control of the conversation, but even during our devotional time, some of them were making smart comments to each other, being sarcastic, and criticizing each other’s ideas. I watched and listened, and I noticed one thing: the ones who were doing this were scowling. They not only sounded mean, but they looked mean.

I let them go on for a few minutes, then I leaned back in my chair and said, “What is wrong with y’all?” They looked at me like I had three heads; but it got their attention. One of them asked me what I meant, and I said this:

“Y’all look like you’ve been sucking on a bushel of lemons. Where is your joy?”

In my experience, the tendency to be negative seems to be high among Christians. I have had more Christian women (and men) give me the neck twist and eye roll than I care to count. And trust me, I have done the same to others.

Where is our joy?

I don’t know about you, but I have had the tendency to take on the characteristics of those people that I choose to surround myself with. As I grow stronger in Christ, I know that it is His characteristics that I must take on, not the people around me.

I have been one of the nastiest, most sarcastic people that you would ever want to meet. I had a smart comment for everything, and I could neck twist and eye roll with the best of them. I had excuses for it too - my parents got divorced, life wasn’t fair, I was broke, etc.

You name it, I could blame it.

And I loved to be in a group like this. It was a challenge to make a smarter comment than another person, to get the best of someone, to be “right” about everything. I would feed on it.
But as I began to grow, this type of behavior started to irritate me, especially my own. I would feel guilty about things I said to people (conviction), and when I heard others saying hurtful things, it would hurt me, even if they weren’t saying them to me. As I studied Scripture, I began to see that this was not how God wants us to be.


Galatians 5:22-26  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
The fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.

I didn’t see any lemons in there, did you?

Jesus addressed this with the scribes and Pharisees when they asked him about the ritual of washing hands before eating. They were more concerned with the ritual than the cleanliness; and Jesus knew this and had the answer for them:

 Matthew 15:7-20:  Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.  Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.

The things which come out of our mouths come from our hearts. If all of our comments and interactions are filled with negativity and hurtfulness, then these are the things which dwell in our hearts.

But what should be in our hearts?


Psalm 119:11  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

What should be in our minds?

Philippians 4:8-9  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

When we fill our minds and hearts with God’s Word, and keep our minds on good and virtuous things, our actions will follow. Our attitudes and mouths will express what dwells in our hearts.


Matthew Henry says: "In these things he (Paul) proposes himself to them for an example (Those things which you have learned, and received, and heard and seen in me, do - Philippians 4:9). Observe, Paul's doctrine and life were of a piece. What they saw in him was the same thing with what they heard from him. He could propose himself as well as his doctrine to their imitation. It gives a great force to what we say to others when we can appeal to what they have seen in us." (Matthew Henry's Commentary)

Remember our theme that keeps coming up about the True Journey? Walking the talk? This is what Paul did. Paul is saying, “Look at me. I’m not just talking. I am walking. I am doing what I am saying. What you have seen me do, do also.”

Come back tomorrow for part 2!

Do You Stink?

There has been a skunk (or skunks) traveling back and forth by my bedroom window all summer. In fact, they decided to dig a nice hole right outside my window for storing things that skunks store for later.

Now, skunks aren’t unattractive - in fact, they are kind of cute. Especially the baby ones. I’ve seen little kids see them and say, “Awww, look at the kitty cat”. You almost want to pick them up and cuddle them. But don’t let the appearance fool you.

Sooner or later, they will turn around. And you will experience what’s inside that comes out.

As Christians, do you realize that sometimes we do the same thing?

Do we dress up in our Sunday best, go to church every time the doors open, have the ability to speak “Christianese”, and still stink?

Do we know the books of the Bible, have the ability to quote Scripture, sing all the hymns, serve on all the committees, have a fish on our cars, a cross around our necks, and still stink?

I was recently in a store and saw someone that I know is very active in church, even preaches at times. Sometimes when I see this person, they speak to me and hug me; other times they avoid me and go the other way. This time when I saw them, they chose to ignore me and go the other way. Before they turned around, I saw that they had on a t-shirt that said:

“Actions speak louder than words”

This hit me where it hurts.

Right back to “You better walk the talk”.

Now don’t get me wrong. I know what everyone says. Sometimes people are in a hurry, sometimes we have other things on our minds, sometimes we don’t notice people around us, etc. I understand this. But for me, I am trying to break this cycle.

Because these excuses for me show me just how much I need to get my mind off of myself and onto what is going on around me.

We need to show people the Jesus inside us. That smile we give someone might change their day. That 5 minutes we stop to chat whether we know them or not might renew their faith that someone really cares.

Is it God’s fault when we stink? When we make bad decisions that cause our lives to fall apart? When we treat others badly? When we don’t have compassion? When we don’t share the Gospel? When we ignore our brothers and sisters in Christ? When we go places or do things that leave the stench of sin on us?

Pastor Brian Warren of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Tyro, VA, shared this one night at an evening service:

“When you go out and grab a skunk by the tail, don’t blame God when you stink”.

Don’t blame God when you don’t follow the guide to life that He has already given us - The Holy Bible.

He not only gave us a guidebook, but Jesus came to us to save us from sin and lived out His earthly life as an example for us to follow.

One thing I learned early in my true Christian walk is that there is no such thing as a reaction. We choose each action, each response that comes out of us. We are accountable for our actions.

And our responsibility as Christians is to share Christ. Through words and actions.

The Bible often speaks of offerings to the Lord - in the Old Testament, there were burnt offerings. One example is what we see after the Flood:

Genesis 8:20-21  And Noah built an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.  And the LORD smelled a sweet savor; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

Noah had been obedient to the Lord’s instruction, and now he built an altar and offered a sacrifice to the Lord, the Lord regarded this as a “sweet savour, or more literally, a smell of satisfaction” (KJV Study Bible, 1988)

We should be a living sacrifice to Jesus Christ.

Romans 12:1-2  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 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.

Because of His sacrifice for us, burnt offerings were no longer needed. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice to save us from our sins. When we ask Jesus to be the Lord of our lives, He fills us with His Holy Spirit. We should not only live our lives for Him, but allow Him to live through us.

Our lives should provide Him with a sweet savour. Our lives should show the saved and the lost that He lives inside us.

2 Corinthians 2:14-17  Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savor of death unto death; and to the other the savor of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
We take baths to stay clean. We use soap and water to wash our bodies. We use shampoo to wash our hair. Some of us use lotions and perfumes and cologne to enhance our outward fragrance. But if you skip the bath and just put on the smelly stuff, sooner or later, the stink is going to seep out. You didn’t cleanse yourself. You just covered up your stench.

We should do this spiritually also. We should spend time in prayer and communion with God, confessing our sins to cleanse ourselves, and measure ourselves against Scripture. How do we know what Scripture says we should do? We should study God’s Word and live our lives as He has instructed us to do. The Holy Spirit inside of us will emit that sweet fragrance to God, and to those around us. It will show in our words and actions.

But if we just know enough to get by, never praying or spending time with God, believing that we never do anything wrong and just have an outward appearance of being a Christ follower, we have not cleansed ourselves. We have tried to cover our filth with the righteous Word of God, but we have only put it on the outside. The heart is still dirty. And soon that stench will seep out.

As I am writing this, I think of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-46). When Jesus told the people to remove the stone from the tomb, Martha said, “Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days”. I think about us being buried in our sin, about our hearts being dead to the Holy Spirit and to the Word of God.

We stinketh.

So, let’s think about our sacrifice for the Lord. We must live our lives in service to Him and Him alone. When we do this, others can’t help but smell the sweet savour of Christ in our lives.

What is in our hearts is what comes out in our words and actions - we must strive each day to allow ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Our lives must be sweet smelling sacrifices to Jesus Christ; they must not stink.

What Is The True Journey?

I have said over and over that I am starting over; each day I say it's a new day, it's the first day of the rest of my life, etc.

But today is different. See, today I mean it. I recently posted some things on my Facebook status that I will not waiver from:

• The Bible is God's inspired, inerrant Word, from In the Beginning to Amen. His Will is contained in His Word. If you think you get a message from Him and it doesn't line up with the Word, it's not from Him.
• I will not apologize for my faith; and I will not apologize if my faith offends anyone. I will stand up for my beliefs, even if I am the only one standing.
• Jesus Christ is the only way to Heaven.

Jesus didn't promise life would be easy; in fact, He promised the opposite. But I will follow Him all the way.

Today is different. Today means commitment and no compromise. There will be times that I stumble, I know this, but I have to put my foot forward and walk.

Walk the True Journey.

Jesus tells us what the True Journey is: in Matthew 7:13-14, He tells us this: Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. 

This True Journey is not easy; He never promised it would be. In fact, Jesus promised the opposite. Following Jesus is more than being a member of a church, more than wearing a Christian t-shirt, listening to Christian music, and talking the Christian talk.

I will use examples from things I see each day to make my point; not trying to be judgmental, but to show how the world sees us as Christians. I will talk about my failures each day in sharing Christ with others. If we analyze the problem, then maybe, just maybe we can be more and more powerful for Jesus every day in our lives.

Not just on Sunday. Not just on mission trips. Not just at church.

Every second of every day.
 
You've heard the saying, "If you're gonna talk the talk, you better walk the walk".

I heard this the other day and I don't remember where, but it resonated loudly:

You better walk the talk!

That's what the True Journey is about: walking the talk.  It's about knowing that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. It's about knowing that His path will not be easy or popular, but being willing to give all to the One who gave all for you.

I want to challenge you to walk the talk. To hold me accountable for walking the talk.

This life is not about us. It's about Him.

So today, I want to take that challenge. I want to travel the True Journey. And I am going to share that Journey here with you.

As I begin to write more seriously, and try to share each day a lesson from God, I take this personal challenge:

I must stay out of the way - my words must measure Scripturally, and if not found Scriptural, must not be written. I will be responsible to God for those souls who read my words and if I express me, I am wrong. I must express Jesus at all costs, and stand firm on the foundation that He is; and stand firm on the Word of God. I must measure all that I do and say by the Ruler of Scripture. If I do less, I have failed.

So, will you come along with me? Will you travel the True Journey with Christ no matter the cost?

See you tomorrow...