A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Send a message to Stephen & Brooksyne
Wednesday,
July 29,
2020
Waterville
Bridge, Appalachian Trail, Lebanon County, PA
Click on
photo to enlarge
"Kill
The Spider!"
Message
summary: We do well to
seriously heed the words of the Holy Scripture. What
unwholesome or harmful matter(s) are you playing
around with? We appeal to you, take decisive action
and put it to death. Kill the spider!
Listen
to this message on your audio player.
"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5).
Listen
to this message on your audio player."Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5).
Early
yesterday morning we stopped to visit a large group
of temporary employees who are working in a huge
abandoned warehouse that was previously a Bethlehem
Steel mill in Lebanon, PA.The working conditions are rather challenging with the extreme summer heat we're experiencing. But especially catching Brooksyne's attention was the report that large rats have been spotted on the premises! Coming into work one morning employees discovered during the night the hungry varmints turned over a garbage can looking for goodies. Mice and their bigger cousins, rats, have always put fear in Brooksyne as we've had too many of our own experiences with these destructive rodents.
Then
we visited our second company where Brooksyne
visited with several ladies in an open office area.
She told me this story as we were biking later that
morning before heading to our third workplace:
"I was visiting with Jen when I noticed
her eyes getting as big as saucers. She was no
longer making eye contact with me but shifted them
to the wall behind me. Then I heard another woman
ask in an exaggerated tone, "WHAT IS THAT?" as she
was also staring at the same wall. By their actions
I was wondering if they were witnessing an
earthquake in slow motion. I turned around to see
what was getting the ladies attention when I saw
another employee seated at her desk holding a paper
napkin in her hand, but motionless.
Then I spotted the
unwelcome intruder clinging to the center of the
oversized white board that leaned against the wall.
It appeared to be a wasp. Then it dawned on me as to
what was putting the fear of God in these ladies. I
asked if anyone had a flyswatter to which they all
shook their head and replied "NO!" Then I saw the
napkin in Lauren's hand and asked if I might have it
to which she surrendered. I quickly covered the
intruder, squeezed the life out of it, and tossed it
in the trash can. I chuckled as I was leaving the
circle of friends and said to them, "Thanks for
letting me be a participant in your dramatic
rescue." Upon leaving I thought to myself, I sure
hope I pinched the insect hard enough to kill it, as
I wouldn't want it to come back to life, fly out of
the trash can, and overpower these women again with
no hero to rescue them this time :)."When
Brooksyne told me that she immediately killed the
intruder it reminded me of the attitude we must have
toward sin. We must heed the apostle Paul's
forthright words in our daily text: "Put to
death, therefore, whatever belongs to your
earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust,
evil desires and greed, which is idolatry"
(Colossians 3:5).
We consider those who "play around" with a destructive behavior or attitude in life. Initially it seems harmless and of little consequence. (Satan's devices are always portrayed as "harmless" since he's a master masquerader completely obscuring the harmful consequences). But in time the individual's proclivity to sin grows and overpowers him or her until it becomes a very destructive and uncontrollable force.
Let's consider the story of a man who prayed that God would forgive him for his addiction—but didn't repent or stop sinning. He regularly went forward at the end of the worship service to kneel and often prayed, "Lord, take the cobwebs out of my life". One Sunday morning his pastor, tired of hearing the same old prayer, knelt beside him and cried out, "Lord, kill the spider!"
It often takes radical action to break a sinful habit. We need to do more than ask God for cleansing each time we succumb to temptation. We must take whatever steps are needed to get the cobwebs out of our life and that requires our getting rid of the spiders. We must confess our sin and determine to be done with it.
Then we must feed our mind with God's Word and do all we can to stay away from the people, reading material, media or other sources that tempt us to sin. That's what Christ likely meant when He said, "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out" (Matthew 5:29). Kill the spider and you'll get rid of the cobwebs. Remember this important distinction: admitting (confessing) the sin is an essential step but we are also called to repent and eradicate the sin by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We do well to seriously heed the words of the Holy Scripture. What unwholesome or harmful matter(s) are you playing around with? We appeal to you, take decisive action and put it to death. Kill the spider!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, I ask you
to help me to be serious about dealing with
everything that hinders and the sin that so easily
entangles me. Help me not to play around with these
matters that can become a stronghold and
destruction. Put to death any desire or behavior
which resurrects my earthly nature. I want to be
separated from that which is evil and wholly
consecrated to You. It is in Jesus' name I pray.
Amen.
We consider those who "play around" with a destructive behavior or attitude in life. Initially it seems harmless and of little consequence. (Satan's devices are always portrayed as "harmless" since he's a master masquerader completely obscuring the harmful consequences). But in time the individual's proclivity to sin grows and overpowers him or her until it becomes a very destructive and uncontrollable force.
Let's consider the story of a man who prayed that God would forgive him for his addiction—but didn't repent or stop sinning. He regularly went forward at the end of the worship service to kneel and often prayed, "Lord, take the cobwebs out of my life". One Sunday morning his pastor, tired of hearing the same old prayer, knelt beside him and cried out, "Lord, kill the spider!"
It often takes radical action to break a sinful habit. We need to do more than ask God for cleansing each time we succumb to temptation. We must take whatever steps are needed to get the cobwebs out of our life and that requires our getting rid of the spiders. We must confess our sin and determine to be done with it.
Then we must feed our mind with God's Word and do all we can to stay away from the people, reading material, media or other sources that tempt us to sin. That's what Christ likely meant when He said, "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out" (Matthew 5:29). Kill the spider and you'll get rid of the cobwebs. Remember this important distinction: admitting (confessing) the sin is an essential step but we are also called to repent and eradicate the sin by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We do well to seriously heed the words of the Holy Scripture. What unwholesome or harmful matter(s) are you playing around with? We appeal to you, take decisive action and put it to death. Kill the spider!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, I ask you
to help me to be serious about dealing with
everything that hinders and the sin that so easily
entangles me. Help me not to play around with these
matters that can become a stronghold and
destruction. Put to death any desire or behavior
which resurrects my earthly nature. I want to be
separated from that which is evil and wholly
consecrated to You. It is in Jesus' name I pray.
Amen.
Audrey,
owner of the second company we visited, told
Brooksyne to stop by her house at the end of the
lane as she wanted her to have a fresh arrangement
of flowers she picked earlier that morning. After
Brooksyne walked around the back yard viewing the
many kinds of flowers, Sharene walked out of the
house with this beautiful arrangement and handed it
to her. Sharene has worked for Audrey for about ten
years and said she loves to be around the flowers
every summer that Audrey and Ken plant in their
front and back yards as well as the warehouse just
up the lane.
Between
chaplain visits in Lebanon County yesterday we
rode our bikes through Swatara Gap.
A
unique feature of the Swatara Rail trail is that for a long
section it uses an abandoned highway, essentially a road to
nowhere as we found out when we tried to go
farther after the trail cut off to the rail grade.
The
I-81 bridges at Swatara Gap, Blue Mountain. I-81 was
built in the 1960's and we suspect it replaced the
old abandoned highway that is now a section of the
rail trail.
Waterville
Bridge was built in 1890 and used for many years
in northern Pennsylvania over Pine Creek in
Waterville before being disassembled and erected
over the Swatara Creek as a non-vehicle bridge for
the Appalachian Trail.
The
remains of a lock in the Union Canal.
Send a message to
Stephen & Brooksyne
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA