Traps - Your Present Doesn't Have To Be Your Future

And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. I Corinthians 6:11

This week I didn’t get to make soap as I had intended, but I did come across the biggest writing spider I have ever seen. There she hung beside the downspout. She made squiggles down the middle of her web as she positioned herself look like another flower. Surrounding the downspout were purple coneflowers, day lilies, black-eyed Susans, and butterfly bushes planted in mounds along a split rail fence. Bluebird houses and birdfeeders lined the fence. Hardwood trees of every description brought shade just on the other side. The spider paused to attract her morning meal of bees or butterflies or a juicy grasshopper. Patiently she waited. She had put the handwriting on the wall for some unsuspecting bug.

When I was a kid our parents and grandparents told us if a writing spider wrote a name in a web that person would die! Nearly scared us to death. Every time we saw a writing spider we checked close to make sure she hadn’t written our name. Writing spiders were nearly as good as ghost stories for a good scare or tea cup fortunes to tell us the future. Somehow  adults aren't as interested in their futures as children. We adults tend to live for the present.  

The world puts forth its attractions, spinning a web to catch the unsuspecting; giving us the line that “It doesn’t get any better than this”. The unsuspecting cannot see the handwriting on the wall that says “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.” Daniel 5:27.

However there is a way to escape the web weaved to deceive. Jesus says “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6). When we repent of our sins and turn from the world to Jesus Christ, He writes our names in His book. Now, there is the place to see your name written. Revelations 21:27 says, “And there shall in no wise enter into it (heaven) any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they (the saved) which are written in the Lamb’s book of life."

So how about you? Has Jesus written your name in His book? Maybe you think you are beyond hope. That’s another trap of the world. I Corinthians 6:9,10 names some of the traps the world lays for us, but it doesn’t end there. Read on to verse 11. “And such WERE some of you:” Your present doesn’t have to be your future.

Hey Kids

Have you watched a spider spin a web?
Maybe you’ve read The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle.

Have you noticed the animal that kept hanging around the web when the other animals left? What happened?

Look around your yard this week for spider webs. Stop and observe for a little while.

What can the spider teach you about hanging out in the wrong place or with the wrong friends?

 

Father, help us to be aware of the traps the world offers and may each of us turn to your Son to find our secure future.  In Jesus name. Amen.

             

What Does It Take to Get the Prize?

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

Eric Carle is one of my favorite authors. I love The Very Hungry Caterpillar who eats too much, tries to do better and then seemingly dies but becomes a butterfly- a new creature. Isn’t The Very Busy Spider great in that the fly hangs around and hangs around until hanging around in the wrong place gets him caught in a web that costs him his life. Eric Carle has so many life lessons in such simple stories.

The other day, I was reading Pancakes, Pancakes to my class. It seemed the boy in the story was going to way too much trouble just for a pancake. When he asked his mom for a pancake for breakfast, she said he had to cut the wheat. When he took it to the mill, the miller had him help thresh the wheat. When he finally got home, he had to gather eggs, then milk the cow, then churn the butter. Then he had to tote in firewood. All this for one pancake? I think I would have gathered the eggs and fried a few. But this boy had something we all need. He had perseverance. No matter how hard the job or how long it took, he kept working until he was able to achieve the prize – a pancake! There was also an extra sweetness when he reached the goal. Mom had strawberry jam in the basement for the pancake.

Paul tells us that he presses toward the mark. He has a goal to reach so he can win the prize. He realizes that he has a high calling from God in Christ Jesus. We know God has a purpose for us to accomplish in this life. If not He would take us to heaven as soon as we were saved. He has a high calling in Christ Jesus for all of us. Paul’s life wasn’t easy. He was shipwrecked, chained, and beaten, but that didn’t stop Paul from preaching the gospel. He had that quality of perseverance. He took his calling seriously. No matter what happened he would achieve the goal and win the prize of heavenly rewards.

I have lots of unfinished stuff in my life. I have crochet projects that need finishing, paintings in progress, stories that stop in the middle, and clothes that need folding just to name a few. I wonder how often have I given up on something God intended me to finish for His glory? What am I missing out on? If I can’t seem to get through the little things how will I handle the major problems of sickness, or finance, or death? With God’s help we will persevere.

Got any stories of God’s help in persevering? Won’t you leave a comment?

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