Today's Sermon in a Nutshell:

.Today's Sermon in a Nutshell:

Once upon a time an Arab is traveling through the desert with his camel. Although it is very hot during the day, the desert gets extremely cold at night. So as the sun is setting, the man quickly sets up his tent, goes inside, and is warm and comfortable. However, as night wears on and it gets chillier outside, the camel approaches the tent and says, “It’s so cold out here, would you mind if I just stuck my nose into your tent to warm it up?”

The man is very obliging and says, “Of course not, be my guest.” So, the camel puts his nose inside the tent. After a little while, the camel says, “It’s still so cold, would you mind if I put my ears in as well?” The man replies, “Sure, go ahead,” and the camel puts his head into the tent.” 

Pretty soon the camel’s front legs are cold, then his hump, then his back legs, and soon his tail. Each time the man obliges by letting the camel in more and more, but soon the entire camel is in the tent and the man is pushed out into the cold because there is no room inside the tent for both!

Jesus wants to reside in our hearts where it is nice and warm, but the Devil wants to get into your heart as well; for the Devil knows that if he can push his way in, he’ll push Jesus out. Therefore, just like the camel in the story, the Devil will not just come barging in, he’ll fool us by entering our hearts little by little – almost unperceptively. It could begin with a small lie here or there, taking something that does not belong to you, using bad words or language, not saying your prayers, or disobeying your parents. Then, before you know it, Satan has taken over and pushed Jesus out of your heart!

It might seem difficult to say “no” to something we know is wrong when others around us are doing it, but Jesus expects us to be strong, to be an individual, to be mature enough to always know the difference between right and wrong and choose wisely and correctly. Remember, if we don’t make the right choices in life, we are simply pushing Jesus out and letting the Devil in!

Fr. John