Bible Verse of the Day


2 Peter 1:5-8


For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Ant Pile of Adversity

Tap, tap, tap…..the Lord came a tapping…….

I’ve spoken before about the feral cats that think they own our deck. We keep their cat food in a plastic container with sealed lid inside a closed ice chest. In spite of our efforts to keep it safe and sealed, ants have penetrated the outer ice chest. They are making unrestricted use of the buffet they consider the mother lode.

We can’t put ant killer on or around cat food and have healthy free-loading felines. Tis a dilemma!

Last night, one the male cats brought home a fat, juicy, live and squealing mouse. I kept hearing a strange squeal so I turned on the porch light and saw the young hunter protectively holding his captive in his mouth all the while keeping both wary eyes on his siblings that seemed mighty interested in his prey. This went on for a while. Windows open for cool night air facilitated the symphony of panicked squeaks and squeals.

“Good Kitty, earning your keep, I see. Makes Mama proud.” Yep, gotta protect those hunters with safe, poison/ant-free food.

Back to the Holy Tap – as I was dipping into the cat food for their morning fare, God tapped on my shoulder. “I see it, Lord.”

In pride and arrogance we believed our method would stop the enemy. Yet, there they were - lines of tiny enemy soldiers bustling to and fro, mocking our efforts. In spite of our confident efforts and proud solutions, the enemy crossed over the lines of defense to wreak havoc and plunder our stockpile. We were convinced our defenses were air tight, impenetrable. We were wrong.

The spirit realm is always active, seeking new ways and celebrating the successful old reliable ways, to steal, kill and destroy us. We believe, as Christians, we have an airtight seal around us and we are not susceptible to old beelzabub (Remember, I never acknowledge him with a proper name by capitalizing it.). We can get prideful and arrogant of our place in our spiritual walk, thinking ourselves beyond falling for his trickery.  Deception is one of his tools. We deceive ourselves if we think we are outside of his sights. 
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” (Proverbs 16:18)

One name for him in scripture is ‘prince of the power of the air’…
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

Just as the ants were able to infiltrate our defenses, he can and will make a point to bring us down. Saddest part of that is we assist in our own destruction with our pride and arrogance.
 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.” Ephesians 2:1,2

BUT, we have Jesus!
“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:13, 14

When we think we are so insulated from the enemy, our pride and arrogance is leading us astray. It's a constant battle to keep our pride in check. Get the visual of the ants..it's powerful.

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