Bitten!

    A workman on a road construction crew told the story of a time when he was working on a project deep in the mountains of Pennsylvania.  Every morning as he drove to work in his pickup he would see a young boy at a fishing hole near the road.  He would wave and speak to the boy each day.  One day, however, as he drove slowly by the fishing spot he asked how the boy was doing and he got a strange reply.  “The fish aren’t biting today, but the worms sure are!” 
    When he pulled into the local gas station down the road a few minutes later, he jokingly related the boy’s comment to the attendant.  For a moment the man laughed, but then a look of horror crossed his face.  And without another word he ran to his truck, jumped in and drove quickly away.  Later that day the man on the construction crew found out what had happened. 
    The gas station attendant had arrived on the scene too late to save the boy who had somehow mistaken a nest of baby rattlesnakes for earthworms and had been bitten to death.  F.Y.I., baby rattlesnakes are born with their full amount of venom.  They may look and seem harmless, but they are deadly.  And so is sin.  It may appear harmless even colorful and cute, yet it contains death.  “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23). 
    Sin is very colorful, enticing, and alluring.  But the consequences are painful & destructive.  Remember the story of Moses how he was raised in Pharaoh’s palace experiencing all the tantalizing sins of the Egyptian culture?  But when he came of age he made a clear decision to “Choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season” (Hebrews 11:25).  Why?  He knew that his decision would pay off in big dividends.  The pleasure of sin is always just for a season then concludes in pain and death.  But the choice to serve God always has an amazing conclusion.  The rewards are remarkable. 
    Near Watsonville, California there is a creek that has a strange name: Salsipuedes Creek.  Salsi puedes is Spanish for “Get out of it, if you can.”  The creek is lined with quicksand, and the story is that many years ago, in the early days of California, a Mexican laborer fell into the quicksand.  A Spaniard, riding by on a horse, saw him and yelled out to him, “Salsi puedes!” which was not very helpful.  He needed help.  The creek has been so named ever since.  This is what sin is like. 
    We need all the help we can get to be rescued.  And that is what Jesus came to do: to set us free from the poison of sin.  His strength will pull us up and out of the mire we are in.  He will clean us up and break the chains of sin that bind us.  For this reason, “Jesus was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8).  He is our Savior.  We are like the boy who was bitten by the rattlesnakes or the man who fell into quicksand.  We need someone’s help!  We need God’s Son Jesus!  For more info you can visit us at www.JoyChristianMinistries.com

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