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!