The Snake That Bites
Part 1
Part 1
Now Think On This
Steve Martin
"In prayer there
is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get
forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you
refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part.” (Matthew
6:14-15, THE MESSAGE)
Slithering here,
gliding there ventures the long, slimy camouflaged snake in the tall, pleasant
looking grass. Little know of his whereabouts, for most of his work is done in
secret.
Then he strikes. Only
after he bites, and leaves his deadly poison, are the full effects realized. He
could have been stopped at the entrance to the field, would have the stationed guard
been watching, alert at his post. But that didn’t happen.
He came in. Unnoticed.
And did what he has been doing for centuries.
The snake that bites,
releasing his curse - the one that destroys relationships.
The older you become,
the more venom you seem to carry with you, taking the life blood out of your very
life. Unless you have dealt with it along the way, it still lingers in your
veins. From the youthful days growing up, with kids teasing and bullying you;
or the teenage years, when fitting in wasn’t working; you had craved for
acceptance, but got bit instead. The love you desperately needed ended up
killing the new life the two of you had created. Now you hate the one who had
promised to love you.
When you got older, marriage
(if you indeed did what was the righteous norm years ago) started off as the movies
said it would, “living happily ever after.” But somehow the “ever after”, or
even the “living happily” for that matter, ended up not so. When the honeymoon
had quickly ended, followed by a tough six years of enduring the silent, or
often blaring, physical abuse, you were left alone raising the two toddlers,
having to care tiresomely for what was left.
Not so rough for you?
How about those wounds you carry from words spoken to you in years gone by,
even decades, which cut to your heart from your parent, your son or daughter, or
one who you thought was a real friend? Still hurting with its venom in your
veins, isn’t it? Now you get the point.
No wonder people
become so hard. Is it any wonder that life could easily end now, make it all go
away, and be done with it?
When the snake bites,
the venom flows in the blood. Only one Person can remove the slow death. Only
one Person, the Giver of Life, can take away the sting that has left so many
crying out for the real thing. Our desire is to be loved and accepted.
Forgiveness towards those who don’t believe or understand that thus has to
begin somewhere.
It starts with
forgiveness.
Jesus alone, the Only
Begotten Son of God, has the power to forgive, both your own sins and those committed
by the ones who hurt you. He paid the required price on the cross, to obtain
forgiveness from the Father for the original snake bite. That one bite historically
occurring in the Garden of Eden. First the deception. Followed by the outright
lie. Then the bite, piercing into the mind, filling them with damnation.
It wasn’t a storybook
fairy tale. It really happened, and we live the effects of it in our own lives
still today, as the snake continues his evil movement all around the world, in
all the nations.
You have been bitten.
Many times. We all have. It is a fact of life.
To keep the venom from
killing your heart, from tormenting your soul, while removing the joy of the
Lord from your spirit, you must forgive those who have hurt you. You must let
the Lord Jesus heal you, in spirit, soul and body, so you can live again.
Don’t let the snake’s
venom flow in your veins. You can have the Blood of Jesus, which cleanses all
sin, cover yours, and enable you to release forgiveness to those closest to
you, and the ones whom the enemy has used against you. God the Father is a
loving God. His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, paid the price on the damned
cross, so you could be free from the snake bites that have kept you from loving
Him and those around you.
Be free. Receive forgiveness
today. Be forgiven and release forgiveness, so you can love again.
"As the Father
loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments,
you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and
abide in His love.
"These things I have
spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be
full. This is My commandment, that you
love one another as I have loved you.”
(John 15:9-12, NKJV)
Jesus loves you. He means it.
Now think on this,
Steve Martin
Founder
Love For His People,
Inc.
P.S. I would be most grateful if you'd share
this encouraging word with your family and friends. They might need it. You can
easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve
We are blessed when
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can share out of the abundance you have been given.
Love For His People,
Inc. is a charitable,
not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love
of the Father in the nations.
If these messages
minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and
maybe each month, to help us bless families we know in Israel, whom we
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Todah rabah! (Hebrew
– Thank you very much.)
Please share Now
Think On This with your friends.
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Now Think On This - In
the Year of our Lord 06.01.17 - #288 – “The Snake That Bites - Part 1” – Thursday, 12:30 pm
All previous editions
of Now Think On This can be found on this
Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This
Again, I would be most
grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and friends. You
can easily use the social media icons below. Thanks! Steve
The snake is unforgiveness, which turns into bitterness.
Don't let it bite you. Or receive and give forgiveness if he has.
