"Look Out for Snakes....."

I spent part of my growing-up years in the country on 15 acres of beautiful land. One of the adjustments you have to make pretty quickly from living in the city is the presence of wildlife. Wild deer, wild dogs, all kinds of different insects, spiders, and other country critters. Snakes were definitely something I wasn't used to looking out for in the city but that changed real quick when I opened the barn door and a massive bull snake was climbing up the wall.

From those days on, I learned to be on the alert for snakes. Some of the snakes one could be convinced were good to have around because they acted as great rodent control. However, there were the snakes that we knew if we accidentally stepped on or ran into, their poison could put our lives in danger pretty quickly. The problem is snakes are great at hiding, camouflaging themselves into their environments, and navigating very well in the darkness. Most of them don't really make a loud noise, put off a potent smell, or do anything to tip an unsuspecting person off of their coiled presence.

However, I did grow to appreciate finding their skin. That's right, every once and a while you would stubble across a long snake skin in the pasture or by a building. That was the tip-off. The sign that whoa, there is a snake here and I need to proceed with caution. The skin was a great way to realize their approximate size and maybe even what kind of snake it was. All of a sudden, the clever, well-hidden snake's existence was exposed.

It can be extremely hard to know who the snakes are in your organization, relationships, and church. They adopt such clever tactics, disguises, and techniques to keep their presence from being discovered before it's too late. The thing about snakes is once their presence is known they realize they are in real trouble. They will do whatever it takes to avoid capture and to slink into a dark unreachable place far away from the reach of their pursuers.

Thankfully, for the truly discerning, God gives His children insight into what's hiding in plain sight. Sometimes, it's so hard to discern but the Holy Spirit can help you find a "snakeskin" that awakens you to the snake in your midst.

Jesus, showed us a great example of this in the scriptures. He knew the elite religious class at the time, the Pharisees had the people largely fooled that they were the very epitome of righteousness but in fact, Jesus exposed to the people who they really were. He said to them..

“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?"

Matthew 23:33

Pray God gives you wisdom to see the snakes in your midst. Jesus admonished His followers....

"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16

From the Garden of Eden to the present the Snake and his deminion of followers have proven to be very dangerous and have poisoned countless souls with well-crafted lies rendering them lost for eternity. For the Believer we are to be encouraged! God promises to His children..

"You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent." Psalms 91:13

"I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you." Luke 10:19

Be shrewd in your observation because the snakes in plain sight may not be wearing a biker gang vest but pharisaical priestly robes. Be bold, be courageous, be wise, and oh be on the lookout. Look out for snakes!