Jesus said, "Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing will ever harm you."
Luke 10:19 (HCSB)
Imagine with me what it was like this month when my husband, an avid Christian outdoorsman, was getting ready for deer season. As he opened up our camper door (the deer hunter special) and was about to work on a leak under the sink, he was shocked to find a 4-5 foot rattlesnake skin...eeeekkkk! (see picture) Marshall called me right away on my cellphone and he said to me "I just had something VERY shocking happen to me..." What Happened? He began to describe to me what he found when he opened up the sink area of the camper there was this huge snake skin... but we couldn't help but wonder...where is the SNAKE!?! :-0
After looking around the camper (probably with a large baseball bat or gun, we could soon have holes in this camper) for the creature that shed his skin, Marshall realized that the snake used a small crack under the camper that led into the area under the sink to slink its way in and then slink right back out with the goal of shedding the skin and getting back into the West Texas cactus land...(no need to share with you that the deer lease is now in Arkansas-not only because it is closer to East Texas with the gas prices what they are, but surely there are not any rattlesnakes looking for a place to shed their skin!!)...
Then, my husband showed me the snake skin...it didn't matter how much I prepared myself... a snake is a snake...and a good snake is a dead snake to me!!! As I looked at the snake skin, Luke 10:19 came to my heart (as a HUGE comfort) and a vivid example of the TRUTH from GOD'S PROMISES that because of His Authority in and through our lives..."NOTHING will ever harm you"!!!
As a witness for Jesus Christ, there have been key times in my life that I have been reminded of this PROMISE! When we obey God and are obedient to share Jesus with others...it will cause some people around us to feel uncomfortable and often act like a snake. As believers we will experience scare tactics/persecution from the enemy, often referred to as "the serpent" in God's Word, because he does not want us to be a witness for Jesus and he sure does not want anyone to be SAVED!!! The Good News is that God goes before us, with us, in us, behind us...and fights every battle and wins every spiritual war. I have experienced spiritual warfare from even some people that were acting like "snakes", why? One reason may be that something in their life was missing so they "shed their sin" off on me to try and stop the ministry that God was blessing in my life (if the enemy can't destroy us from the outside world he will try and destroy us from the inside The Body of Christ-The Church)...
What are some of the things that God taught me through all of those snake filled pits in my path? *Nothing will ever harm me! *Keep pressing on! *Keep forgiving! *Keep praying! *Keep serving God alone! *Keep sharing Jesus...and most of all leave the results up to God, your protector from all the serpents in this old world! One of the greatest things I prayed was that I ask God to keep me from being "a snake" in anyway! Dear Lord, please help me remember what it felt like to be in the snake pit and please keep me from ever attacking anyone else that is serving our King of Kings and Lord of Lords!! Let's be very careful in the Body of Christ to build each other up and cheer each other onward in Jesus...THANK YOU for sharing JESUS with others that need HIM and be assured that NOTHING will harm you!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzhFyNp3Ja8 (one of my FAVORITE songs of PRAISE & THANKSGIVING that is also a tribute to one of the greatest evangelists~Billy Graham!!! THANK YOU LORD!! Keep Sharing Jesus~Nothing Will Ever Harm You!!)
