At our house, there is almost nothing that is disliked more than a spider. It makes no difference that they are helpful in catching insects and so are good to have around. Most of them end up dead.
Spiders do not really bother some people, including me, but maybe that is because I do not live in Africa or South America. They have really large spiders in those countries. I have seen pictures of some that are nearly six inches across! Some of these big spiders are poisonous. Anyone bitten by one of these will die if they cannot reach a doctor or hospital quickly.
There is a story about a missionary in Africa who had an experience with one of these large, poisonous spiders. As he was coming into his house, he found one on the floor. He went back outside and found a straight stick about six feet long.
Instead of killing the spider with it immediately, he stood about five feet away and began teasing it a little by touching it lightly with the end of his stick. As he drew the stick back toward his legs and away from the spider, it suddenly jumped onto the stick. The spider tried to bite the stick, and the missionary could see the poison running down the stick. He killed the spider quickly, and then realized how foolish he had been to “play” with something so dangerous.
The spider had been very accurate in its attack on the stick. If it had decided to attack the missionary’s leg instead, he most certainly would have been bitten!
Perhaps you would know better than to tease a poisonous spider, but are you playing with something that is even more dangerous—SIN? Sin is a deadly enemy—telling a lie, disobeying, or doing something secretly that you know is wrong. These are just a few of Satan’s traps to lead you to an everlasting punishment. God says, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:44Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. (Ezekiel 18:4)).
How can we be free from Satan’s power? Escape is only through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ whom God sent into this world to be our Saviour. God’s way of escape for you is to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)). It is “the blood of Jesus Christ [God’s] Son [that] cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:77The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. (John 1:7)). We must believe and accept the Lord Jesus as our Saviour to be saved and set free from our sins.
ML-04/07/2013