Sunday Mornin' Hope : Black widow spiders

by Psalmist November 15th 2014, 7:01 pm

1 Thessalonians 5:22 - Abstain from every form of evil.

Today my family and I were cutting, splitting, and stacking firewood for the winter when we spotted a male black widow spider. I took some pictures of it with my phone. Josiah, Jordanne and I watched it eat a grub worm.

The Bible says to stay away from every appearance of evil. Some people try to see how close they can get to a fire without getting burned. Getting close to evil things can poison you in several ways. Watching something stupid can really mess your mind up. Listening to something evil will cool your affection towards Jesus.

A few years ago I was a chaplain at the local jail. I spent some time with a man that murdered his girlfriend and her kids. It was a gruesome murder scene. At one time he was raised in church but got away from God and started letting the things of the world poison him. I asked what he was doing before he murdered this family. He told me the night before he did this he was listening to death metal music, drinking, and doing drugs. He totally lost control. He was poisoned by the things of this world.

The devil is a thief and he comes to steal, kill, and destroy. That man lost his normal life and will likely face a death sentence. The devil wants to kill you too. Sure you can handle a poisonous spider's venom and live. Your body will swell up and the flesh will rot away. But why suffer with pain. Run from poisonous spiders and other things that will hurt you. And run to the good things that will bless your life. Fill your life with wonderful people and activities. You're worth it!

If you could only see the damage what spiritual spiders can do in your spirit. Well maybe you can. As a Christian you can tell when you've been poisoned by things of the world. You get lazy and critical. You stop going to some church services in the week and your Bible starts collecting dust. Your prayer time gets shorter and shorter. When you see someone in church that looks a little different, you make comments. You might think the pastor preaches too long and always talks about YOUR money.

So, put away those stinking thinking thoughts and see the good in everyone. Pray with and for those that you don't understand. It's not your responsibility to agree with everyone. Hey! I don't agree with myself sometimes. But I go forward and enjoy people and keep myself from getting offended. This week you will be challenged on the road and in your daily walk. When someone cuts you off or points to you with the wrong finger, let it go. Just smile and pray for them. Start singing a good song and dwelling on the good things God has given you. Let Jesus and His love dwell in you to the abundance. Let it overflow like a cup running over. I hope you have the best week of your life and have many opportunities to help others. Bless those who curse you and it will be like coals on their head. I'm praying for you.

Oh yeah, the spider? Well Josiah squashed it.