3-17-2020

Good Morning All, 

  Genesis 3:1a; “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.”

    He was a sneaky guy; quick and slick.  He took advantage in any situation and he usually came out on top.  I met him in college.  Fortunately, some of the upper classmen knew him and warned the youngsters to stay away.  He had a knack for befriending you and convincing you that he was a good guy “just wanted to help you out” and then one day, it all exploded in your face.  He would borrow a car for a “quick trip” then drive it to Minneapolis and back.  He was good; he was very good at what he did.  Once you knew what he was up to; you watched him and never ever trusted him.

   The devil was very crafty.  He didn’t tell Eve to eat the fruit just led her on.  Then step by step, ever so slowly, he nudged her into his trap.  Yes, she went into the trap, but she was no match for the crafty serpent.  He sized her up, laid it on thick and faster than a mousetrap can snap, Eve stepped into sin.

    For this, God sent Jesus to pay the price so that we may not suffer eternally for it.  The devil is defeated; he just won’t admit it.  So, he roams like a “roaring lion” the Apostle Peter says but often, that roar comes from a sneaky guy in a sneaky way and you and I will fall into sin.

    With the threat of the covid-19 spinning us every which way but loose, that sneaky guy is creeping back up on us.  We are trying to live out our faith, to live up to our creed.  We speak the right words; we say the right things, but that sneaky guy is right there.  Yet when the new announcements come out, we think in our hearts “why don’t these idiots figure it out” and the crafty, sneaky liar has got us to place our foot closer to the trap.  We look down our nose and maybe even let out a loud sigh or even a “harrumph” at somebody else’s grocery cart when they have more items then we judge proper.  We wonder about how inconvenient this is and we wonder what those “hooligan” kids will be up to when they are out of school.  We harbor anger, jealousy, arrogance, judgmentalism all wrapped up in a pharisaic, sanctimonious, self-righteousness that even Caiaphas would have called out.  “But I am right!” we think; and that sneaky bugger just snapped the trap and we are caught.  We are caught in a trap of our own making and oftentimes, we don’t even see it and it leads us to pain and bitterness for years and we miss a lot of the joy of being a redeemed child of God.

    Fortunately, Jesus came even for that guy, for you and for me.  He draws us to the cross and to repentance in His Name.  Lent is about going to that cross and knowing that we are no match for that sneaky twerp and without Jesus, we would never leave the trap.  But Jesus opens the trap to release us and to give us hope for salvation and a heart that can be open to loving our neighbor, even when we are right.  Jesus’ death cleanses us to walk in His ways; seek Him out while He can still be found.

Father I have sinned by my own most grievous fault.  Restore me through your holy righteousness.  Draw me closer to You that I may be your servant.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret