Issue 1479 – Is That a Snake? – June 21, 2024
A couple of days ago, Kathy and I walked the Willband Park trail. It’s an easy, level pathway, and there are plenty of opportunities to watch birds; on this trip, we were blessed to watch an osprey. Bald eagles and great blue herons are common. Apparently, there are bitterns and green herons, but I haven’t seen one.
It’s also the home of garter snakes. They are plentiful and feed on mice and other rodents, slugs, frogs, worms, insects, and other small life forms found in the grassy habitat around a waterway.
On our walk, we saw two garters (not the one in the photo). One was small, and the second must have been three feet long or perhaps a touch longer. It slid off the warm rock where it had been sunning down into the grasses next to the trail.
Now, I confess that I am not a fan of snakes. I have had some nasty encounters with them and will go to great lengths to avoid them. Having said that, I don’t mind garter snakes. I wouldn’t want one as a pet, but I enjoy seeing them in their natural habitat. Garter snakes are not aggressive at all, and in the unlikely event one does bite you, their venom level is so low it won’t do more than cause some minor swelling.
The Bible often uses snakes (or serpents) as metaphors for Satan (see Genesis 3) or his minions.
In Matthew, we reach the disciples being sent out to do ministry. He warns them of persecution to come.
Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. Matthew 10:16-18
The enemy is often depicted as a serpent but camouflages himself with great care. He seldom appears as a vicious, venomous snake, choosing to appear more often as a Christian and often a teaching believer.
He can be hard to spot because he mixes truth with error. We are good at sorting out patently wrong things but less so when we compare truth to almost or mostly truth.
The legendary preacher Charles Spurgeon once said, “Discernment is not simply a matter of telling the difference between what is right and wrong; rather, it is the difference between right and almost right.”
We need to learn to be discerning. The ability to tell the difference between truth and lies comes from diligent study and Holy Spirit-inspired wisdom.
God has given us His Word and the Spirit, and we need to use both. The Bible should be studied individually and in community.
We need to listen with discernment to good preaching regularly. We need to learn what the church has always believed and why they have believed it.
The Apostle Paul commended the Bereans for their diligence.
The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. Acts 17:10-12
Would Paul commend us for the same thing? Can we discern the truth from the almost true? Would we recognize a wolf or a serpent in our midst?
We have the tools and the power, so let’s put them to use.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. Your value in God’s eyes is so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that his plan for heaven will not be complete without you.
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV)