Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Snake In the (Church) Grass

Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Job 2:2(NLT)
One time Jesus entered a house, and the crowds began to gather again.  Soon he and his disciples couldn’t even find time to eat.  When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away.  “He’s out of his mind,” they said.  But the teachers of religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said, “He’s possessed by Satan, the prince of demons.  That’s where he gets the power to cast out demons.”  Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration.  “How can Satan cast out Satan?” he asked.  “A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse.  Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart.  And if Satan is divided and fights against himself, how can he stand?  He would never survive.  
Mark 3:20-26NLT)                                                  
It was, as Yogi Berra put it, déjà vu all over again!  Just before our worship service this past Sunday there was a report of a snake in the copy room…specifically, the serpentine visitor was curled-up in the printer.  We’re on a tight schedule scurrying from an early service at our first congregation, so I hadn’t arrived yet.  By the time I got there, ol’ Slewfoot had been evicted from the sanctuary. 
Now, the last thing a pastor wants to hear just a few moments before the worship service is something as disturbing as a four-foot-long black snake seeking asylum in our building.  (Pastors hear enough of the difficulties and trials of life to choke an average-sized team of plow horses; worship ought to be uplifting and celebratory).  The last time this happened (about 15 years ago) the church member came to me literally three minutes before the service with this on her lips….uh, preacher; we got a problem here.  I’ll probably write about that one tomorrow.
So, what does this have to do with the plot against Job and Jesus casting out the devil?  I’m glad you asked.
People are not surprised at all when a seedy, back-alley bar, abortion clinic, or house of ill-repute is called a Satan’s den.  But there’s always something on the scale of uneasy surprise, indignation, or even volcanic-like anger, if you suggest Satan might be on the church membership roll.  I’ve seen it!
To the point – doesn’t it make sense?  Satan already has the corporate bigwigs who are making it impossible for the poor to get out from under the weight of not having enough.  He has the Hitlers, Sadaam Husseins, and the Jeffrey Dahmers or Ted Bundys; they gave-in to Beelzebub long ago.  If there is any credence at all to the concept of spiritual warfare, that Satan is doing whatever he can to trip-up and capture Christians, why would he stay home from church on Sunday mornings?  I would venture a guess and suggest the slithering slime-ball never misses a service! 
Notice what the Apostle Peter cautioned:
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  1 Peter 5:8(NLT)
So, yes, indeed…Satan is hiding in church!  If it were not so there wouldn’t be so many arguments and so much petty pride and attitudes.  People’s feelings wouldn’t get hurt so easily and leave the one place Jesus said we ought to gather.[2]
Satan is not only IN the church; that buzzard is RUNNING IT these days!
(Now save the cards, letters, and emails…I didn’t just call your pastor the devil; I only meant to call attention to the fact that Satan is engineering all sorts of discord, delay, discontent, and any other kind of disruption he can to the church’s ministry and mission.  Although, he probably does do it through more pastors than we might imagine!)
These days I don’t get very rattled when a snake is found in the church building; it serves as a good reminder that the unseen snake, Satan, is still on the prowl.
For You Today
Peter’s advice to be on guard is a non-negotiable must for the Christian who wants to live and serve Christ faithfully.  We do that by worshipping and fellowshipping with our family of believers in the church, Bible Study, constant prayer, giving, and being a living witness for Christ in the community. 
That’s the kind of activity that will chase Satan Snake-Eyes out of the church!
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image: Photo Courtesy of Julie Stickler
[2] And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.  Hebrews 10:25(NLT)

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