SNOWY OWL

This morning the worst-best and I went for a walk. As we’re walking along I’m crying out. Completely heartsick, grieving, seeking answers, begging for eyes and ears to open, asking for the Lord to come and deliver, even so come, right? No, wait — stop. Not yet. We need more time.

As we tromp through the soggy soil, limbs whacking, burrs sticking, briars  briaring, through soaked eyes, I spy something up ahead on the other side of the creek. Tears can be distorting, but Holy cannoli! This simply cannot be happening. It’s a Snowy Owl!!! Do you see it? A once in a lifetime chance. It’s just crazy. I snap the shot. My heart pitter patters as I think about running to the house to call The National Audubon Society. I already have visions of the worst-best gazing into the sun streaked sky in her perfect worst-best pose for the article. Better yet, I’ll call the Peterson of Peterson’s Field Guide to Birds of North America. Peterson’s going to trip.

I try to quiet you know who, and we tiptoe – I tiptoed, she clomped, and we inched closer. Closer, closer, closer. But wait! Something was not right. The Snowy Owl was not moving. My heart sank. My first thought is that it’s dead and frozen into an upright position! Oh no, poor bird. My second thought is that maybe it’s deaf and it just can’t hear us. Oh no, poor bird. Ok. If it’s deaf it must also be blind because it would head out if it saw us. Oh no, poor bird. We keep inching.

I should have known something was not right. The worst-best and I are anything but quiet in the woods, the Snowy Owl had plenty of warnings – slobber sounds, panting, tags tinkling – and the dog wasn’t being very quiet either. We round a stump, catch a side view, and sink in disappointment. It’s not a Snowy Owl, it’s a rotting tree limb. Oh my goodness, we were so disappointed. There goes Peterson’s. No posing for the worst-best for the Audubon article.

Agatha Christie once wrote: “Things are not always what they seem.” Duh! Clearly. My Snowy Owl was a decaying tree limb in disguise. What a goof I am! I was easily confused. Why? Because I don’t know my birds. You see, when I got home and checked out the Field Guide, I learned that the Snowy Owl is actually an artic bird that nests in Alaska, Northern Canada and Eurasia. Shenandoah, we’re not in the arctic anymore. Isn’t that such as life?

I hope you will be patient with me as I keep on talking like a fool. Please bear with me. I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. For I promised you as a pure bride to one husband, Christ. But I fear that somehow you will be led away from your pure and simple devotion to Christ, just as Eve was deceived by the serpent. You seem to believe whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach about a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed. 2 Corinthians 11:1-4

The Bible tells us over and over again that things are not always what they seem. Do not be deceived. Just as Peterson’s Guide must be our authority for birds in North America, the Bible must be our authoritative guide of God’s Word. Afterall, He is the author which makes Him the authority. The Word of God, the Absolute Truth, tells us over and over to be on guard.

Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. Take a firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. 1 Peter 5:8-9

Do we know when Satan’s attacking? If we are in Christ, we should assume that Satan’s always lurking. Are we on guard or are we content?

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 1 John 4:1

Yikes! Those are some strong words from The Word. How do we know if the message we’re hearing is really from the Lord? If we know our Bibles, we will know. If we know the heart of God, we will know. If we believe Jesus’s teachings, we will know. If we seek, we will find. Don’t be mislead. Satan is crafty. He uses our lives against us. He uses are weaknesses against us. He uses our fears against us. He uses our lack of knowledge against us. He uses our complacency against us. He uses everything ungodly about us against us.

Do we believe everything we hear or see? Trust but verify. Who said that? Trust what you hear, but verify. Trust what you see, but verify. Verify everything in relationship to the teachings of The Word of God. We are all responsible for working out our own salvation and not relying on someone else or something else to do it for us.

Just like Paul taught the Colossian Church to follow the Word of God, he teaches us too:

Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. Colossians 3:16

Start with the words of Christ. Allow them to live in your hearts and make you wise. Use these words to teach each other. Be thankful. Be on guard. Be a student of God’s Word.

Please, please, please don’t ever take my word for it. We are all responsible for ourselves. Read your Bible. Know your Bible. Live your Bible. Obey your Bible. Check every word you hear against The Word. Things are not always what they seem.