ALLIGATOR By Marion Smith

As I sat in our rental townhouse in the Landings on Skidaway Island, Ga., I was mesmerized with the sight before my eyes. The lagoon behind our place seems so peaceful and serene, drawing me to sit on the bank and enjoy the beauty of the surroundings. Then I notice a ripple in the water- maybe it was a turtle surfacing to get some air. But, no! All of a sudden I am able to distinguish 2 big eyes.

This is definitely no turtle! I ran to my husband saying, an alligator! There is an alligator right in our back yard! I rushed back to continue my viewing, never taking my eyes off the rather large reptile. He moved through the water with grace and ease, barely making a ripple at all. His eyes were alert, looking for prey to devour. He would come upon his next meal as it was totally unaware of his presence ,gobbling it up and satisfying his hunger.That is one way Satan attacks people. He is such a smooth operator- sneaky and almost completely disguised, as he swims his way over to the unsuspecting prey on the bank of life. He makes no big ripples in this instance, but just eases himself closer and closer until he can attack us. Then he grabs us in sin and devours us, licking his massive jaws afterwards. He uses his huge teeth which are made of lies, corruption, greed and self absorption to lock around our hearts with an unrelenting grip.

There is only one way for this death grip hold to be broken, and that is through Jesus Christ. He can take that sneaky Satan and turn him right over on his back- completely immobilizing him just the way a professional alligator wrestler can do with an alligator. Jesus is victorious and sin is defeated! I am thankful I have asked Him to be there for me. To live in my heart and wipe away my sin - once and
forever. Jesus IS my champion!