Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Warning - Snake Alert

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8

Dan Evans, a missionary friend of mine, who ministers to an indigenous tribe in the Philippines sent an email update on his ministry this morning, which included, among other things, a report of finding two snakes in their compound. Here's his account of the event...

Below is a photo record of today’s encounter with a snake in our compound. The man who helps me around the farm, yelled for help in the tractor shed. He had found a very large poisonous snake trying to devour a small Python. When he appeared, they broke up and retreated to separate corners of the shed. He was able to bag the Python (so his family can eat it tonight). I used my pellet rifle to chase the larger snake into an open area where I was then able to kill it with a shotgun. This is the largest snake we’ve yet encountered, measuring about eight feet in length. It’s body was as large as my arm, and it’s head nearly the size of my clenched fist. I’m just glad I didn’t stumble on to this nasty critter in the dark (it was found between our generator and truck). A local villager was bitten by one of these last year and died within 20 minutes.




Oh, man...snakes just creep me out! I can't imagine living where I have to think about them all the time. Hmmmm...that makes me think - Satan took the form of a snake in the Garden of Eden.  No surprise there - snakes often lurk just out of sight, waiting for their prey to carelessly stumble into their territory so that they can strike and devour.

Sounds oddly close to the scriptures that tell us that Satan is always on the watch for someone that he can devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

Perhaps we would do well to live as you live, ever mindful of the dangers that could be lurking in the shadows, just waiting to strike. After all, 1 Peter 5:8 does say that we are to be alert!


--------------------------------------------------------
(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)