Snakes

Snakes....I hate them!

While working in my basement office, I heard a faint thud and caught movement out of the corner of my eye. There on the step, was a snake—lying still—stunned by the impact. It had fallen from the foundation onto the basement stairs. It wasn’t a big snake—it doesn’t matter; I hate snakes.  

They seem to appear out of nowhere, startling me out of my wits.

In a split second, I grabbed a pair of scissors, thinking I could either pick it up or worse, cut it in half—I wasn’t fussy. (Note to self: attempting to cut a stunned snake in half “unstuns” him). Both failed. It slithered away as I stood there with trembling scissors in my hand.

This was the second time in a week a snake had startled me in the work room. One caught in the phone wires and hung there writhing. The previous summer a parade of baby snakes slithered past my feet while I sat at the computer. 

It was such a problem, I devised a snake catching kit—nothing fancy, just my version of a Have-a-Heart-Attack-Trap—a small covered box and a pair of tweezers. I caught each baby and took them outside, letting them go in the woods. The only one I couldn’t rescue had landed deep in a spider’s web and wiggled crazily while mama spider prepared lunch.

I wonder if Eve felt this way when the serpent slithered into the Garden and began to sweet talk her into eating the fruit God had forbidden. 

This is Satan’s way. He nonchalantly falls in our path when we least expect it and begins to weave his story. He woos us into believing his lies and half-truths. He tempts us into trying the “apple” while assuring us the consequences are not what they appear.

A few snakes manage to slither into my life too—always when I least expect them. The only thing that will cut them down to size is the Word of God because lies are exposed only by the Truth. You can be sure I won’t use a Have-a-Heart-Trap either—only a Sword will do.

“Take the…Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God…”      Ephesians 6:17

Wage war with His weapons,

Jeanne

Battle Stations

A soldier on the front line is always on alert—they are ready for an attack—prepared with equipment and survival skills they work as a well trained team to face whatever the enemy launches at them.

In the same way, we as Christians are in the battle trenches of spiritual warfare. When we belong to God we face a daily enemy who seeks to thwart everything that God does. The enemy has lost us to the Light of the World, but this doesn’t stop him from trying to disrupt God’s purposes. The enemy will try his best to discourage and distract us from living as God intends…abundantly and with effectiveness.

As we discover what Scripture says about our enemy and about God, the One who is already victorious over Satan.  We learn that God has a plan for us and everything that happens to us, Romans 8:28 says, will work for our good. But the enemy will try to take those same things and work them for his own purposes—Ephesians 6:12 says he schemes against us. So it is important to see and react to things with God’s perspective with the knowledge of His working it all for good so that we don’t fall prey to the enemy’s tactic of discouragement.

We get weary from the stuff that goes on in our lives—physically and spiritually. But we will discover that there are things that we can do in the midst of the battles that will help us turn our eyes to the Lord and experience His deliverance. And, we will see the enemy routed by God’s mighty power.

Look at Ephesians 6:11-12 – Stand firm against the schemes of the devil. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood…but against spiritual forces. 

Look at Jeremiah 29:11 – He (God) knows the plans He has for us… 

Look at Romans 8:28 – He (God) causes ALL things to work together for good...

Battles are part of the Christian’s walk because we are treading in the spiritual realm. We belong to God and the enemy is not happy about it. So he will do anything to thwart God’s work through deception, discouragement and distraction.

Just like those soldiers on the frontlines, we need to work together as a team to encourage and hold one another up, especially when facing intense battles. We have the weapons. We have the survival skills. And we have a Victor in Jesus Christ—who won the battle on Calvary’s cross.

Next time, we will take a look at some sources of our battles….

Until then, Stand Firm!!

Jeanne

* This is an excerpt from theBible study called, Battle Worn, Battle Weary: Finding Victory in Surrender

Cracking a Counterfeit

Image courtesy of Morguefile.com

A local Connecticut news story reports, “State police…cracked a counterfeiting operation.”  I thought this only happened in spy movies. Suddenly, I am more aware of money that passes through my hands, looking carefully at the serial numbers.  The last thing I want is to be fooled into taking fake bills, and even more, I don’t want to use one myself by mistake.

People who are trained to identify counterfeit money need to know the real thing. But, instead of studying the counterfeit, they analyze the real currency.

God’s Word says that Satan is a fake; he is anti-Christ. And, though he presents himself as an angel of light, if you know the Light of the World, the enemy’s attempts at counterfeiting it will stand out. 

Satan tries to counterfeit so he can dupe us into trading God’s way into one that leads us astray. 

Some discoveries I have made include:

• Jesus is the Truth; Satan is the father of lies.
• Jesus is the Lion of Judah; Satan is the roaring lion who seeks to devour.
• Jesus gives life. Satan is the harbinger of death.
• Jesus opens the eyes of those who believe; Satan blinds the unbelieving so they won’t see the Truth.

God’s Word is full of these black and white examples for us to see the truth about the enemy’s desire to trick us. 

Image courtesy of Morguefile.com

God offers love in what Jesus did for us on Calvary. 

The enemy dangles a worldly love that never satisfies and most often destroys. 

Jesus promised the filling and presence of the Holy Spirit, the one who comforts and gives us spiritual understanding. 

The enemy offers misunderstanding, spirituality and false comfort through cults, mystic and new age practices.

God knows our future and tells us we can trust Him to know what is best and for Him to be with us, yet the enemy will entice us to seek answers through mediums, astrology, tarot and other means.

To know the difference between what is good from God and what is meant to distract us away from Him, we need to become so familiar with who God is in Scripture—His character. And, we need to trust that He is working in us, for our best. 

To embrace the counterfeit will leave us wanting, hungry and thirsty but never satisfied.

So, the best way to crack a counterfeit is to know the Real Thing. Don't be duped! Dig into God's Word to discover Who He is, so when faced with the enemy's lie you can stare him down and choose the Truth.

How have you identified the counterfeit? In what way have you come to know what is true about God so that you are more aware of the enemy's lie?

Jeanne