Be Wise as Serpents in The Year of The Snake

Daily Cross

^“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. “Matthew 10:16 (KJV)

Today starts the Lunar New Year of the Snake. I was born in Taiwan and am familiar with the Chinese zodiac. I remember those holidays well when I was a kid. I’m also familiar with Latin culture because I lived in Argentina, finished school and married. I have lived in North America for 25-plus years now. Because of my journey, I often told the men in the purity ministry that I loved them and saw them as souls with a body, not the other way around. I do that because I know our Lord does the same. He sees our hearts and souls. That’s what we are. The body will decay, and the hearts and souls will live on.

Why would our Lord ask us to be like serpents?

I couldn’t understand that for a while. The serpent of old is the enemy, and he is the bad guy in the Bible and real life. This serpent is the father of lies and has a colossal army of snakes and scorpions (minions) working for him. Why should I learn to be wise like him? I didn’t want to be like the enemy. I only wanted to be harmless as doves. That was me trying to be smart and not obeying every command of our Lord. Our Lord commanded that when He was about to send His disciples out for the ministry. He gave them the power to cast out evil spirits and demons and to heal the sick. Even with that power, our Lord knew the enemy was dangerous and deceitful. Indeed, the enemy deceived one of the twelve, and he betrayed our Lord for 30 pieces of silver. Later, I realized our Lord did not say to be like the enemy. He said to be as wise as the enemy. In a word, don’t be naive. The enemy is wise because he knows the subject matter well. Wisdom is founded upon knowledge. Eve didn’t know she had been deceived. She thought she was getting something special so she could become like God. Adam had no idea either and was naive. I enjoy baseball and soccer. To beat your opponents in professional sports, you need to study your opponents well. Having no clue about the opponents guarantees to lose the battle on the field. Because they study you and they know everything about you, especially your weaknesses. They would attack your weaknesses first, and there is nothing you can do. Many churches still believe the enemy and his minions can do no harm to Christians, and pastors ask their members not to study and pay no attention to this adversary and his minions. I have often been cut off regarding this subject in churches. No one wanted to hear it. I mean no one! At the same time, they invited the New Age into their churches for their practice because they had no idea and were naive. Their battle has already been lost and they didn’t even know.

”Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:11-12 (NIV)

In the Daily Cross, we often remind ourselves to study the enemy and not underestimate him. He has studied us 24/7 for 6,000 years. One thing he cannot figure out yet is love because there is no love in him. Many of his army are in flesh and blood. There is no such thing as a coincidence that many things are happening in the world that may scare you and your family. People grow cold toward each other and like to talk about money all the time and they also talk about God. They mock our Lord in plain sight, and many don’t realize it because their hearts want that, too.

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24 (NIV)

But many faithful are realizing that the time is near for our Lord’s return. All these events are happening at an accelerated speed because the enemy also knows the time is near. This enemy tries to reduce the number of Gentiles faithful before they have a chance to repent so he could delay the appointed time. I think his full campaign started in the Spring of 2020 with the arrival of the White Horse and his representative, the false prophet.

“I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in” Romans 11:25 (NIV),

^“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters, were killed just as they had been.” Revelation 6:9-11 (NIV)

Our Lord sent us out to make disciples. Before starting this ministry, I heard loud and clear: “Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” Therefore, I stay with what I know and have learned from our Lord to testify as truth. I will not tell you what you must do but offer suggestions because it is always about free will. Our Lord would not force anyone to love Him back because love is a decision one makes.

Watch out for the smooth talk from the enemy and his followers this year. If anyone comes in the name of God and offers us entitlement to the earthly treasure in exchange for resentment toward each other, our hearts could become prideful fast. So be careful. Guard your heart like your life depends on it. If you want to put your hope on someone, let our Lord be the One, not any politicians. Also, our families are not our enemies. Choose to lead by example to forgive so you can be forgiven. Someone has to do that to stop the generational sins of resentment and anger; why not this person be you? Remember always to leave room for repentance so the light can shine on our families, and they can also come to our Lord to repent their sins. We leave no one behind. Blessed are the peacemakers! Let’s continue denying ourselves, walk with our cross on the Narrow Road, and always be gentle and humble in heart as the legitimate disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ who listen to no lies and fear no evils.

Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves for 2025. This is the year of the enemy. You may know that Becomelects ministry believes our Lord's return is soon. I believe the year of His return shall be 2027. Readers can search “2027” for related posts in the Daily Cross. In the Chinese zodiac calendar, 2027 is the Year of the Sheep, Goat, and Lamb, all in one letter. I don’t know. It could be a coincidence……

Becomelects Ministry