Watch out for Snakes

Special reader give away

The peace of the morning spent relaxing on the back deck was suddenly interrupted by an unexpected event. A threat rose against us which required immediate action. A snake had hidden itself beneath the gardenia bush in the flower bed nearest the deck striking at, but missing, our little dog.

Snakes are not unusual on our property as much of our two acres remains heavily wooded. I have an uneasy treaty with them. They are allowed to remain unharmed as long as they remain in the woods and pose no danger to us. The snake in my flower bed had violated that accord on two points. It was near our back door and it was a poisonous copper head. Action was necessary.  Unfortunately, the blade on my shovel was dull and though justice was carried out, it wasn’t swift. I fought against the enemy valiantly for many hours-okay maybe minutes-before he was finally vanquished. Had my blade been prepared the enemy would have been defeated instantly.

We may not all have literal snakes posing dangers in our world but we most assuredly have snakes in our lives. There is a great enemy who comes against us as slippery as any serpent. He comes against us with defeated talk, temptations, insecurities and fears. He attacks us with distortions and untruths seeking to doubt, distort or deny God’s power and sovereignty. When our blade is sharp from quality time spent in the Word and in God’s presence, he is easily dispatched. When it is dull, like my shovel blade, the fight is prolonged and damage can easily be done. There is no doubt that he is already defeated in the final battle but in the interim he can cause damage if we are not prepared to fight.  

Our children are just as at risk as we are ourselves. We can help them keep their sword blade sharpened by reading the Bible together, memorizing scripture, discussing Christian issues, and praying together. The more readily the Word comes to mind, the more easily the enemy can be crushed.  

Special reader giveaway- (now closed)

In honor of back to school, one reader will receive a set of DaySprings Back to School collection of binder, notebook, folder and spiral notebook. They have reminders of faith on the front and inside have scripture references to help them through their day at school. To enter the giveaway, simply post a comment listing your favorite class when you were in school along with your email. A winner will be chosen by random and notified via email.  

UPDATE:
And the winner is Louette De Jäger! Congratulations.