Pythons and Swords

Last night I went to Tilabari with one of my disciples to see one of his disciples lead a small group in Bible Story telling. When we arrived in Tilabari, we got a rare treat. There was an enormous crowd at the edge of the village and Nasib was waiting for us nearby. He explained that some of the villagers had caught a large snake and asked if we wanted to go see before we started our small group. So we went.

When we arrived there was a large crowd around a very large snake. This thing was at least 11 feet long. It was a python (I believe a Burmese Python). Nearby there was a goat that it had killed, but not yet eaten. The villagers were waiting for the forest department officials to come and relocate the snake.

Just so you can get a better idea of the size, Here's a picture with the people in the background:
So that's the deal about snakes, let me tell you about swords. Jyotish was leading the small group and was supposed to be telling the creation story. When he arrived, he hadn't prepared well. He couldn't remember which days what happened. While he was fumbling through telling the story, a lesson came to me from God's Word.

I shared with the students how important it is to learn God's Word. They really need to learn the stories they'll be telling completely. I reminded them that God's Word is called a sword (talvar in Hindi). I told them that if we're going to battle it is important that we handle the sword properly and hold it tightly, not allowing it to be removed from us. I reminded them that in 2 Tim. 2:15 it says an approved workman who doesn't need to be ashamed handles God's word accurately. I told them that this is akin to learning the story and telling it exactly right. How can we make good observations and applications from a story if we don't tell it right. I told them to get to practicing handling their sword reminding them of the promise in Joshua 1:8 that if we don't allow the book of law to depart from our mouth, but meditate on it day and night so that we're careful to do all that it says, that we will then make our way prosperous and successful.

Please pray for Nasib and Jyotish as they lead this group of 7. Pray for their 7 disciples, that they'll handle God's Word like a sword.