Give the devil no foothold by the fire

There is a song sung by Al Wilson regarding a vicious snake and a woman. It goes like this:

On her way to work one morning

Down the path alongside the lake

A tender hearted woman saw a poor half frozen snake

His pretty colored skin had been all frosted with the dew

"Oh well," she cried, "I'll take you in and I'll take care of you"

"Take me in oh tender woman, Take me in, for heaven's sake

Take me in oh tender woman, " sighed the snake

She wrapped him up all cozy in a curvature of silk

And then laid him by the fireside with some honey and some milk

Now she hurried home from work that night as soon as she arrived

She found that pretty snake she'd taking in had been revived

"Take me in, oh tender woman, Take me in, for heaven's sake

Take me in oh tender woman, " sighed the snake

Now she clutched him to her bosom, "You're so beautiful," she cried

"But if I hadn't brought you in by now you might have died"

Now she stroked his pretty skin and then she kissed and held him tight

But instead of saying thanks, that snake gave her a vicious bite

"I saved you," cried that woman

"And you've bit me even, why? You know your bite is poisonous and now I'm going to die"

"Oh shut up, silly woman," said the reptile with a grin

"You knew I was a snake before you took me in.”

Now, based on this little story, is it not amazing how we often allow the devil into our lives and homes, just as the woman allowed the snake into her home? And then we cuddle the ‘snake’ – the devil- by advocating his ways, we comfort him by listening to his lies and we make him feel warm and cosy by the fire by embracing his fallen ways. And yet, when we get ‘bitten’ and ‘betrayed’ by the snake – the devil - we wonder why. Is it not amazing that when we play with fire we wonder why we get burned. Is it not amazing that we wonder why our lives fall apart, yet we forget the devil is poisonous, full of venom and full of lies. Yes, we heed not Ephesians 4:27 that says do not give the devil a foothold. Indeed, as the song also states, we are very silly to believe we can toy with sin and seek the gratifications of this world and we can enjoy the charms and the cheers of depravity and idolatry and iniquity, yet at the end of the day the snake shall bite and we shall pay the price.

Yes, the ‘snake’ comes and whispers in our ears – “let me in, let me in”. For the devil will play on our emotions, manipulate our senses, tug at our hearts, promise us the kingdoms, and offer us the fame and fortunate. He even tempted our Lord. Yes, and so we allow him in, and we wrap him in blankets and we kiss him even goodnight, as we dance with the darkness in the hope of sweet delight and sweet and tender promises of joy. Yet this ‘snake’ shall bite, and he shall betray, as he betrayed Adam and Eve. The devil only seeks to steal, to destroy and kill, and so he shall destroy and kill those whom have embraced him, and welcomed him in.

This is the nature of the snake – vile, deceptive, venomous, cruel, and without remorse.

Therefore, do not be surprised when the snake does bite, for surely the devil shall look you in the eye and say ‘Oh shut up,’ when we moan and his words will surely echo that we knew he was a snake before we took him in. And the devil does it all with a grin, a smile, for he is a snake, and he shall never change.

So do not be fooled, do not be deceived, or do not be dismayed when you see the devil and he wants to come in … Just take one step, and step on its head by the authority of Jesus! Indeed, if we play with fire, we shall be burned. Play with a snake, we shall be bitten.

Let us be wise and seek the truth and seek the Lord.

Prophet Riaan