Snakes Alive!

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. II Corinthians 11:3 NIV

"Rick, there's a snake in the henhouse!"
Yes, I raised the door to gather the eggs and was met by a huge black snake.

I really didn't want to kill it, but I did want to eat the eggs. 

We grabbed a rake and a five-gallon bucket with a lid. Rick twirled the snake on the rake

like spaghetti, dropped it in the bucket and I slammed the lid on it. Rick took him to the swamp about a mile from the house and turned him loose. 

So, what will the snake eat now? Anything smaller than itself. Often black snakes strike and stun their prey, then swallow it whole, mice, squirrels, lizards, little ducks, chicks, and other snakes. That's usually a helpful thing, but not when it slithers into my henhouse!

Eve was stunned by a seemingly harmless creature. The serpent asked her about what God had said. It wasn't that she didn't know. She was surprised by the serpent's trickery and didn't know how to answer, nor did she walk away. How often we know what is right, but we let the surprise and the appeal of the moment lead us astray. It's hard to walk away. That's why the apostle Paul was afraid we may be letting things lead us away from our devotion to Christ. 

How have you been stunned by Satan's trickery? What suggestions do you have to free yourself from the situation? 

Hey Kids:

Seen any snakes lately? 

Summer is a great time to get out and discover God's great creation. He gives us many examples of tricks and traps in mature to make us better able to understand His word and Satan's tricks. 

If we watch nature we notice the food chain. Often animals and some plants use trickery to obtain food. Keep your eyes open. You'll be surprised what you notice. And watch out for snakes. 

Draw pictures, take photos, keep a journal of animals and the traps they lay. How can you relate their actions to the traps Satan lays for us?

There are some great kids books that demonstrate how nature has traps. 

Here are just a few. Even if you have read these books lots of times, it might be fun to go back and look for the traps and how they were or could have been avoided.

The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

Old Black Fly by Jim Aylesworth

Mud Walk by Joy Cowley

Blessings, 

Gail