Be On the Alert

Not everything is nice on Bear Hollow.

Black Racer by the back door. These are beautiful snakes and really aren't interested in people. Every time I see one I think what a nice looking belt a black racer would make.

There are things that eat your roses.

I took this picture just before this guy's untimely death.

:-)

There are things that pinch.


Things that sting.

Things that make you itch.

The darker green leaves with the Roundup on them is the poison ivy.

Things that bite!

What? You don't see it? Here's a close up of the picture above.

It's mate dropped out of the tree when they heard me coming. I of course had my fancy new phone that I got for Cheryl's birthday with me so I snapped a picture before this one dropped down and quickly slithered away into the grasses along the creek.

So why am I sharing this here?

It reminded me of scripture that warns us to be on the alert.

1 Peter 5:
8.
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
9.
Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

I'm not trying to compare a couple of copperheads in the tree or a caterpillar munching on my roses with Satan working to devour us, but even when I am out enjoying the beauty of Bear Hollow I have to be watchful for the things that could harm me.

We have to be the same way in the world. As we are out living our lives we must be "self-controlled and alert." There are things out there that can and will harm us - physically, emotionally and spiritually. Some of the ways we keep ourselves alert are by knowing scripture, spending time in prayer, attending worship and Bible study, encouraging and being encouraged by other followers of Christ.

Much more could be said, but I know many of my readers have short attention spans, so perhaps we'll continue this in another post.

Now go out there into the world and "be on the alert!"