23 Apr, 2008

Would you believe a snake?

If you're afraid of snakes, be careful when you look at today's story!

Oregon cop battles python to save pet store owner

EUGENE, Ore. -- A Eugene pet store owner is calling a police sergeant a hero for saving her from the coils of a 12-foot Burmese python doing its best to turn her into a meal.

Teresa Rossiter had reached into a cage to show the huge snake to a customer when it bit her right hand and coiled around her left arm to throw her to the floor.

A friend who happened to be at the store kept the snake off her neck and body while police were called. And when Sgt. Ryan Nelson rushed into the store, he was ready to kill the snake with his knife.

But Rossiter asked him to spare the expensive python, so Nelson put on gloves and pried open the snake's mouth to free Rossiter's hand.

The sergeant and Rossiter suffered minor snake bites, but everybody -- including the python -- are fine.

photo courtesy ap & story heraldnet.com, 4/19/08

2 Corinthians 11:3-4 (NLT)

3 But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. 4 You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.

Who were the "snakes" that Paul was writing about in today's God's Story scripture?

Paul was writing this letter to the early church in Corinth. He was warning them to look out for false teachers. Just like Eve was deceived by the serpent (Satan), believers were being led away from the true Christ by "religious" people who were preaching ideas that were not based on the Truth of God's Word as revealed through the power of God's Holy Spirit.

Satan is the master of deception. Not much has changed in the last 2000 years. Today, smooth-talking, smart-sounding, spiritual-like teachers and preachers are putting out messages that people like to hear, but they are based on feel-good, politically-correct philosophy rather than the inspired, Holy Word of God.

Part of God's Story is that He gave us His Word and His Son Jesus. And that's the Truth!

Remember that if you hang around "snakes", you will get caught...

How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?

  • Be careful where you look for spiritual input. There are lots of celebs, events and even churches that are "big" in the news. They can sound pretty good at first, but they are just another form of "spirituality". Religious? Yes. Truth? No, because they are not based on Jesus Christ and the authority of God's Holy Word.
  • Study God's Word every day.
  • Talk to God about it through prayer. Thank God for His inspired, authoritative, Holy Word. Ask His Holy Spirit to help you learn the Truth and apply it every day in your life. Ask His Spirit to help you recognize what is true and what is false. Ask His Spirit to help you keep your daily focus on the Christ of Scripture rather than on cultural ideas of who Jesus is and who He isn't.

How can we connect today's story, God's Story scripture and our story to others?

  • Ask Jesus to give you a heart of compassion and listening ears as you interact with others. Ask them about their spiritual interests. If they seem open to talking about this topic, you could ask them if they think it's possible to really know what is true spiritually? Listen carefully. Be careful not to jump on them with your perspective, but trust Jesus to nudge you if you should share more about your story and God's Story.
  • If you have a relationship with someone who is really interested in the Bible, you could show them today's story about the snake and Paul's writing. The bottom line is - stay close to Jesus and He will show you how to connect to their stories.
  • Whenever there's a large python that comes creeping into your room, pray for your friends who need to know Jesus. OK, so this won't happen very often, but you could still pray regularly for God to protect your friends and family from that creepy master of deception.
Permanent Link
comments

Ornament

The Daily Bide is brought to you by a team of writers from Youth for Christ/USA. The writers all have various years of experience in youth ministry but share a common bond in serving Jesus and discovering what it means to abide deeply everyday and to connect God's Story with those around them. A number of the Daily Bide writers have also written portions of our 3Story® resources. You can check out our resources at the 3Story.org website or connect with our writers at 3story@yfc.net. If you have a question or a story you would like to share, please reference the Daily Bide date in your email.

YFC works with young people on campus and in the community in over one hundred countries around the world so that they might have an opportunity to become a follower of Christ and be a part of a local church.