So how did you start your week?  I started mine in the dentist’s chair having a broken crown replaced.  In an attempt to make it as pleasant an experience as possible, they decided to administer nitrous oxide.  This chemical compound meant to produce a euphoric sensation may work for other people, but it sure didn’t work for me.  As a matter of fact, it had the reverse effect.  This stuff commonly known as laughing gas made me feel like doing just about anything but laugh.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love my dentist.  And the new crown is great.  But no more nitrous oxide for me!

The experience made the think of how often the world promises one thing but delivers another.  The Hebrew writer called it, “the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13).  It started with Eve in the garden when Satan encouraged her to eat the forbidden fruit.  He told her that her eyes would be opened and she would have a greater knowledge of good and evil.  Eve believed the lie and ate.  And sure enough, her eyes were opened.  But not in the way she expected.  They were opened to all the guilt, shame, and ugliness of sin.

Satan makes sin look so attractive and appealing.  Just remember: you can have what you want, but you won’t want what you get.  Just ask Samson as he grinds grain in the prison house of the Philistines.  Or David as he kneels beside the grave of his infant son.  Or Judas as he fastens the hanging rope to the tree.  Sin always over-promises and under-delivers. 

So be wise.  Fill your mind with the truth of God’s Word.  God’s Word hidden in your heart will help you stand strong in the hour of temptation (Psalm 119:105).  And the next time Satan comes along with some line about how fun and exciting sin can be, listen close for the hissing sound.  It’s the sound of a serpent!

Pastor Todd