My son was getting ready for a special gathering at his place and wanted some help with lawn mowing. It was a windy, hot day, so I was sporting shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt. He had trimmed under some of his pine trees and I mowed what must have been poison oak. The wet, chopped up leaves brought an itchy rash to every area of my skin that was exposed.
Lesson learned. I will take much better precautions next time.
The Bible describes a life that is lived away from God is like poison oak or ivy growing in us:
Deuteronomy 29:18 Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.
Here are three spiritual lessons I learned from the poison oak patch:
1. Knowledge would have prevented much of the contamination. Knowing that our adversary, the devil, is a tempter and cares little about our well-being can prevent us from his contamination.
2. Coverage would have brought protection. There is spiritual armor that you must put on each day to protect you from poisonous attacks and infections.
3. Don’t itch. When you get the itch to do something wrong, don’t itch! Itching spreads the infection and keeps healing from happening.
Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Lesson learned. I will take much better precautions next time.
The Bible describes a life that is lived away from God is like poison oak or ivy growing in us:
Deuteronomy 29:18 Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.
Here are three spiritual lessons I learned from the poison oak patch:
1. Knowledge would have prevented much of the contamination. Knowing that our adversary, the devil, is a tempter and cares little about our well-being can prevent us from his contamination.
2. Coverage would have brought protection. There is spiritual armor that you must put on each day to protect you from poisonous attacks and infections.
3. Don’t itch. When you get the itch to do something wrong, don’t itch! Itching spreads the infection and keeps healing from happening.
Ephesians 6:10-18
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
RSS Feed