[whitecane] Wednesday Devotional: SERPENTS AND SCORPIONS
- From: "John Sherrer" <john@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <whitecane@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 22:51:54 -0400
From: seedsower7@xxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:seedsower7@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 11:31 AM
To: John Sherrer
Subject: [fsmi] Wednesday Devotional: SERPENTS AND SCORPIONS
Dear Devotional Readers: Today's lesson is a reminder of who you are and what
you can do. Blessings, SandyC
SERPENTS AND SCORPIONS
Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and
scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power
that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you. Luke 10:19
Do you ever just flip through your Bible or open it up and have it fall
open to a scripture that catches your eye? That’s what happened to me earlier
this week. I was flipping through familiar pages and the above scripture
stopped me. It was well marked in yellow highlighter with a star on the number
of the verse. Since it obviously spoke to me before, I stopped and read it
again. The words serpents and scorpions prompted a question in my mind. Why did
Jesus use both of these words and what was He saying by using them together?
At first glance you can see a huge different between these two creatures.
Scorpions are an arachnid which means they have four pairs of legs. Spiders are
also in this category. However, the scorpion differs from the spider because of
his long tail which ends with a poisonous stinger. I’m sure that you have seen
him in action in movies. He may be little, but his sting can be deadly if the
victim doesn’t get immediate treatment.
The word serpent means snake. The snake is a long, scaly, limbless reptile with
a tapering tail (Webster’s). The reptile is also described as cold blooded. Not
all snakes are venomous, but those which are poisonous can bite you and also
cause death. Both of these creatures can bring death, so was Jesus telling us
to go around and stomp on serpents and scorpions before they can harm us? If
you had on a thick soled leather work boot and came across a scorpion, you
could stomp on him and kill him. Snakes can be captured with a special pole and
you could stomp on them too, but Jesus wasn’t talking about these physical
creatures. They only represent the characteristics of what we fight in the
spiritual. So, let’s look at them a little closer with scripture.
I believe that they represent strategic areas of attack that the enemy uses
against us. The scorpion stings and the serpent bites. These are two distinct
areas of attack. The first area is the scorpion sting. He doesn’t give any
warning. I see the scorpion as the physical assaults on us. Out of nowhere a
sickness or injury occurs. We are suddenly in physical pain. Sometimes it
lasts for a long time, even with medical treatment. It may also come in other
forms like our finances or relationships. It can be a sting caused by a verbal
attack. You can see this in Ezekiel 2:6:
And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid,
though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do
not be afraid of what they say or be terrified by them, though they are a
rebellious people.
The sting may be on top of what you are already experiencing which just adds to
your suffering as we see in 1 Kings 12:11:
My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father
scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’”
The scorpion sting torments people. Many people suffer from diseases like
cancer and autoimmune diseases that have a long duration. Mental or emotional
illness is tormenting as well.
They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power
to torment people for five months.
The serpent presents a different from of attack. Much has been written in the
Bible about the serpent, starting in the Garden of Eden with the encounter with
Eve. From this we can see that the serpent is cunning and calculating by
nature. Most snakes don’t strike unless you get too close to them. Some give
you a warning hiss before biting you. So, we can see that the serpent is
representative of cunning and deception. When dealing with the serpent, we
fall into a trap. It is just as deadly as the scorpion’s sting, but less
obvious.
I personally have come up against this tactic more times than with the
scorpion. The enemy whispers in your ear or blinds you to the truth, usually
because your emotions are involved. You may have felt the scorpion sting and
are hurt, and then the serpent slithers in and seeks to distort the situation
by lying to you. The serpent always tells a believable lie. His bit goes
deeply into your soul and his poison can kill relationships, steal dreams and
destroy your destiny if you don’t recognize it quickly enough. Jesus was
telling you that unlike Eve, you must recognize the presence of the serpent as
an enemy and trample him underfoot before he can bit you. Let’s look at some
scriptures that show this type of attack:
Now the serpent was craftier than any of the wild animals the Lord God had
made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any
tree in the garden’?” Genesis 3:1
They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s; the poison of vipers is on
their lips. Psalm 140:3
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.
2 Corinthians 11:3
For the power of the horses to do harm is in their mouths and also in their
tails. Their tails are like serpents, for they have heads, and it is by means
of them that they wound people. Revelation 9:19
By the above scriptures, we can see that the serpent deceives with words. The
deception of the serpent is all around us. Only through the Holy Spirit can we
recognize it and trample it under foot. Jesus told us that He has given us the
power and authority to trample on these two forms of attack. He has given us
power over all the enemy already possesses (deliverance). He tells us that
nothing shall in any way harm us. One of the deceptions that is widely seen in
the Church in this age is that the devil is harmless and all we have to do is
just love each other and everything will be alright. Yes, love is the
cornerstone of the ministry of Christ, but He showed us that we have a very
real enemy to face. He went to the Cross and took away his power to inflict
death to our eternal souls, but we still have to stop him from destroying and
reaping havoc in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones. Recognizing how
he operates is very important. Knowing what to do when it happens is also
important.
When the sting comes, we stand and rebuke or forbid the enemy to go any
further. We use our authority to declare or command the circumstances around
the attack to change and line up with divine order. For instance, if you are
sick, then the divine order is for you to be healed. We use our mouths to speak
the Word of God into the sickness and healing happens. If we have suffered a
serpent’s bite and been deceived, then we repent. God will open our eyes and
lead us back into His will. It may be a long siege before you see it, but it
will come. Jesus said that we have the authority to stop the forward motion of
the enemy and speak God’s will into the situation. Neither the scorpion sting
nor the serpent’s bite can harm us for very long. We expect deliverance and
healing as a result of the power of Jesus in us and it will come as we stand in
faith and believe God instead of the devil.
The next verse in Luke 10 tells us not to rejoice in the fact that the spirits
are subject to us, but to rejoice that our names are written in heaven. This
simply means that we must never forget where the authority comes from. It is
not by our power or authority that the enemy flees, but by the power and
authority of Jesus Christ which has been delegated to us as Believers. Even if
some of our loved ones fought and lost their battle in this physical world, we
can rejoice because they won the final battle because their names are written
in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
So, be alert dear ones and trample on the works of the enemy before he can
kill, steal or destroy. Learn to recognize the scorpion or serpent before ait
can attack. Jesus gave you the authority and power to stop the enemy. Use it.
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