Snakes Alive!

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2

He threw his hand up quickly and I knew what that meant. Snake!
"Get my rifle, Mark," Bill said calmly as he climbed down off the tractor. I was following him on his 4-wheeler as we were coming out of the bottom pasture and up the sandy road. Bill dealt with the deadly serpent with a couple of quick shots to the head.

Bill is one of those rare individuals who can do just about anything he sets his mind to. Smart as a whip, he is a humble country man who I liked from the minute I met him. We have become fast friends and spend a good deal of time together during hunting season. He has been a great role model for SteveO, and I count it a real blessing to have him involved in his young life. My Mom attends church with his family, the type of folks who are the backbone of the goodness of the South. His work ethic shames me, as he will just show up at my folks' place with yard tools just to "keep busy". He can operate a chain saw and a pole saw like you use a knife and fork. While Bill was busy plowing the fields recently, I was busy taking pictures of the river. Ok, I did do some work. Last year, while planting our food plots I could barely lift a hammer, as I was recovering from a surgery. This year, I was hauling 50 lb bags of seed and fertilizer. At one point, I picked up a seed bag, threw it over my shoulder and began to thank God for my recovery and the great health that I now experience! Another "pray without ceasing" moment.

If you don’t like snakes don’t click on these links. We have a couple of rattlers in Alabama, the Eastern Diamondback and the Timber. The one Bill made short order of was a Timber Rattler, which I don’t see as often in the wild. As we always do, I was about to cut off the rattles as a souvenir, but decided to stomp the serpent’s head a few times to make sure he was dead. (A snake tends to "reflex" for a good while after he has assumed room temperature.) So I gave him two heels to the head, which looked like an IHOP pancake by then, and on the third stomp, he STRIKES at me! Bill chuckles as I start doing the Texas Two-step. Tells me he actually cut the head off of on of these jokers and the BODY struck at him!

We threw that mean, nasty thing on the bushog so I can show SteveO a Timber. He kept a safe distance from him, and told me that he doesn’t need to know what one looks like, if it crawls on its belly, it is going meet its demise. You might be thinking that we are upsetting the ecosystem, but I am more concerned with upsetting our nervous system. A friend of mine was bitten by a Diamondback and he had permanent nerve damage for the rest of his life, and suffered from depression and fibromyalgia. Human life over animal life all day long. No sympathy for the serpent.

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These encumbrances in life. What a pain. Distractions, irritations, pesky problems that steal our time to "pray-talk" with our Master. Sin that so easily entangles us; our selfish acts that keep us from the eddy pool, that special place of fellowship with God. When we think we’ve licked ‘em, by stomping on their head, they reach up and strike at us again. I guess we will always be dealing with the distractions of life, as we all have bills to pay, stress to deal with, and discouragement to tackle. These things are constant.

The other constant, however, is His love for us and the need we have to worship Him and thank Him for the blessing in our lives. Although He loved them both, Jesus sure gave us a good example of this concept by comparing Mary to Martha. He is telling me to stomp those encumbrances with my feet by spending time at His feet!

The tempted, the anxious, the fearful, the discouraged may all find new hope and good cheer that our Heavenly Father is faithful. He will ever be true to His pledged word. The hard-pressed sons of the covenant may be sure that He will never remove His loving-kindness from them nor suffer His faithfulness to fail.

A.W. Tozer
The Knowledge of the Holy









Mark
Prov 17:22