I am not writing the devotion I intended to write.
Instead, there is news I want to share with you.
We found out where that giant snake got to.
It all happened last night.
We were sitting in our lounge room about 9pm, when my friend SCREAMED!
I looked down on the floor, and there only inches from our feet was the snake!
It was slithering across the lounge room.

That snake was NOT down in our yard,
it must have doubled back and sneaked right into the house.
It could have been in the house for maybe two days.
Earlier in the night I had heard a sound of breaking glass.
I was tired, and I didn't look around much to find out what it was.
We found out later that the broken glass,
came from a vase being pushed down from an overhead cupboard.
The snake was there curled up sleeping.
Hidden away behind boxes and books.
That giant python had been in my own office!
Right behind my chair, above my head, for perhaps days!
I had my back to it for many hours a day, as I was writing.

How did we get rid of it?
Well, God was good.
I rang the local police station,
and told them we were alone in the house with a large carpet python.
Then two uniformed officers came to help us.
They had truncheons, heavy metal clubs.
They had big gloves on. They had special torches.
It was coiled  up in a corner with my guitar etc....
One brave police man got my guitar, and held the snake's head down with it.
Then he grabbed the snake behind the head, and it coiled around his arm!
Then he took it back down into our bush.
Do you know we could get fined $5,000 dollars if we killed that thing?
We are praying hard that it will not come back.
That snake could have stayed all winter in our house!
But God caused it to move! It wanted to "hibernate."

What can I make of this experience?
Well, I can see that Christians can certainly have troubles -
just like any other person.
But I can see that my God cares for us, in the middle of danger and trouble.
Nothing happened to any person, dog or cat in our house.
The kind policemen came right away to help, and they comforted us.
All the time the snake was there it did no harm.
I had no terrible experience, like having it drop on my head!
Or biting my face!
Now that would have been hard to get over!
And I can see that God could be saving us all from dangers,
that we never ever realised were there.
We will never know till we get to heaven,
how many times God has saved us from danger.
The car that didn't hit you.
The house robber that went somewhere else.
The vicious dog who ran behind a building,
and you walked by and never even knew it was there.
GOD is protecting you! He is keeping trouble away.
I would like you to pray with us.
Even if you are across the ocean in another country you can pray with us.
Isn't it wonderful.
I want you to thank God for taking the snake away, and keeping us safe from it.

We can praise God together for His care of you, too.

"Dear Heavenly Father. Thank you for Your protection from the python. Thank you, Lord, for all that You save us from every day. We know Your angels protect us from many dangers, and we don't even realise it. Keep us all safe today, and help us to trust You more. Amen"

There is hidden spiritual protection happening to Christian believers!
The Bible reveals these things. I will show you one incident in God's Word that is thrilling. It is found in 11 Kings 6: 15-17. Elisha was fighting the Syrians, and they came and surrounded the city with masses of horses and chariots! Elisha's servant was terrified and said, "alas, my master! how shall we do?" And Elisha asked God to show the young man the spiritual protection He was providing for them. God opened the eyes of the youth, and he saw thousands of angels in the mountain, with horses and chariots of fire! They had come to fight with Elisha.
Read ALL about it in 11 Kings 6:8-23.
The Lord made the Syrians blind for awhile, and Elisha led them away from Israel to Samaria. And the enemy was captured. Elisha's God is our God. He is STILL a God of miracles.