Camouflaged

There’s this photo going around Twitter,  posted by @SssnakeySci, originally taken by Jerry Davis….

Warning…..you will drive yourself nutso! But play along with me for a bit, there is a point.

Can you find the snake camouflaged in the image? Yes, there is a real snake there!

photo by @SssnakeySci via Twitter

Now, let’s be clear about a couple things.

1- This is totally gross and I despise snakes. All snakes, any size, any kind. I can’t be near them, they freak me out! If it were  up to me I would burn them all, but people say we need them for the ecosystem. I am a firm believer they will all be cast into hell one day and surely, Heaven won’t have snakes. (I have no theology for this, just believing this in faith! LOL)

2- I actually love camouflage, in moderation. I live a very boy world, and it was one of the things I could get on board about.

3-  In full disclosure, I was a little annoyed when I realized where God was going to take this week’s post. I had been praying all week about today’s posting and when He asked me to follow this path I did it begrudgingly, all because of the snake. {Review point 1.}

I. COULD. NOT. FIND. THE SNAKE!

Not that my eye is trained to find them, but I hunted and wasted like 15 minutes I could have been sleeping! A little annoyed, I realized God didn’t want me to look at the photo to find the snake, He knows I hate snakes. He wanted me to not find it so He could make a point, and then brought me to Colossians 3: 5-11

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

You see, I want the second part, but fail to do the first part. I want a life of compassion, kindness, humility, etc. but I don’t always put to death the evil desires. The choice is mine. Every thought, every temptation, every word, every action, it’s my choice and my responsibility. When I allow the “camouflage snakes” to sneak into my heart, when I don’t search out sin in my life, when I don’t put evil desires to death, eventually my eyes stop finding the “snakes.”

If I can’t find the “snakes” in my life, I’ll eventually get bit.

Sin has a way of doing that. A tiny drop destroys everything. One wrong step and we find ourselves trapped.

Now this isn’t meant to bring fear or shame into your life. Friends, our shame was scorned on the Cross. Hebrews 12:2 is clear!

This is meant to encourage you to examine your lives, better yet, ask God to examine your life!

Psalms 139:23

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Friends, it’s painful, because what we hide in the corners of our hearts isn’t pretty, but when we let the Healer come in and cleanse us, that’s pretty wonderful. I’d rather be uncomfortable and have Jesus fix my heart, then let the enemy destroy my life with sin.

You know what else I learned about the sneaky snake? Once a “master” points out the snake, it’s pretty obvious to your eye! You see it? It’s gross. So gross. But this morning that sneaky snake taught me so much! You see, it’s name is a Copperhead, and it’s venomous. Not a snake you want to touch….and not one I want around me AT ALL!

I need to treat sin the same way.

Have a great weekend my friends. Love you dearly!

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