Sin and Armadillos

Yesterday, our Pastor began to preach about sin and how disruptive, even destructive, it is to the life of the believer. Somehow it made me think about armadillos. Especially the one that has determined to make a my property its home.
Armadillos are not cute. They dig up landscaping, completely decimating freshly laid turf-sod. It's just Bermuda, but praise God it's mine! Armadillos love the soft ground and do a most thorough job of uprooting and leaving deep holes in the lawn. Sin is not any different. God clears out the weedy, old lawn. He then replaces it with nice new grass. Then sin comes along to begin to dig that up and make a mess. 
Armadillos are powerful diggers. They love to dig at the foundation of your home and go really deep. This is not only ugly, it's dangerous. I found a couple of huge holes next to my house. I tried to discourage the pest with mothballs. No help. Just made my front porch stink. I went online with the kids that ride to school with us to learn about this pesky creature, only to learn that they have such a powerful stink that it can seep into your home if it gets in deep enough. I also learned that armadillos carry some very serious disease, including leprosy! Oh, no, it's got to go! Leprosy is highly contagious and fatal. So is sin. Hebrews 12:15  ...looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled.
I took a shovel and began to fill the hole back in. That nasty creature redug the hole. The ground was still attractive to it. I found out that the armadillos are mostly blind, and the lady at Animal Services says that they're kind of dumb, too. I finally mixed up a bucket of cement and filled the hole. Animal services said to find its favorite hole, put a trash can there and wait for the armadillo to fall in. They dig well, but can't see or hear well. Then call the office in the morning. Armadillos are nocturnal animals, and like sin, do their worst damage under the cover of darkness. But God makes this promise in instructing us: James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
I am so glad that getting rid of sin is easier than getting rid of that pesky armadillo. I have the Holy Spirit to help me find and get rid of sinful habits and  ways. I now know that I need to hire someone to cut down the thick, dark vegetation that the armadillo may be resting in during the cool temperatures. Where are your armadillos resting?

Go Deep

I hear the announcer say, "Jeff Demps is deep for Florida." He then goes on to describe the athletic gifts and talents of Jeff Demps. After a bit, I realize that the athlete that gets to go deep, is a very well-conditioned, well-trained, and hard-working member of the team. The rookie walk-on does not get to go deep. The lazy one that won't study the playbook does not get to go deep. The one that goes deep has to demonstrate a high level of willingness to sweat more, risk more of themselves, and deal with the pain. Then Coach chooses who will go deep for the team. Coach knows who He wants out there making the decision to run or call for a fair catch. Coach knows who is ready to go deep. The athlete doesn't get to choose. Except to excuse himself. 
I am guessing that Jeff Demps stayed pretty close to the coaching staff, and thereby learn more and eventually share in the glory.
God calls us to prepare to go deep. Some of us won't. Some of us won't bother to show up to work hard. I am currently being really blessed in our Tuesday morning Bible Study. We are going through a study written by Beth Moore called A Woman's Heart: God's Dwelling Place. A recent lesson talks about the altar of sacrifice and the fire contained in it.  Beth Moore states, "Only fire originating from Himself could truly purify and consume, or approve an offering. Therefore the fire must never be allowed to go out. Wood had to be added continually so that the original, divine flame would never be exhausted. God lit the fire, humans had to fuel it." Nothing has changed. Salvation lights a holy fire in the heart of every believer. However, we have to continually fuel and stoke that flame. 2Timothy 2:1-5 teaches us that athletes and soldiers must endure hardship in order to be found fit for service. You've seen the bumper sticker, no cross no crown. But this more than a bumper sticker. This is life.
Mark 8:34 says, When He(Jesus) had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them,"Whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me."
A cross is heavy. Jesus carried the cross-beam that His hands would be nailed to, across his shoulders uphill. The beam represented my sin and yours. He was the sinless, perfect one. The Lord Jesus carried the heaviness and weightiness of our transgression against God on His shoulders. The above verse says that He called the people and His disciples. Some would be willing to go deep. Some would not. Scripture tells us that some walked away when it was time to get to work. Jesus supplies the fire, the energy. The Holy Spirit teaches/reminds/coaches us  in preparation to
 go deep.