The diving bell spider [Argyroneta aquatic] is found in northern and central Europe and northern Asia and lives entirely under water.
Just like land spiders, it needs oxygen to breathe, so it occasionally surfaces to bring back a bubble of air that sticks to its hairy abdomen, and then it deposits the bubble into a little silk air tank spun for the purpose. The ‘diving bell’ bubble is actually a gill which sucks oxygen from the surrounding water, allowing the spider to remain underwater for up to 24 hours.
South America hosts a curious little underwater spider that carries a bubble on its back. It remains underwater for hours, but breathes air from above.
When it returns to the surface, it is perfectly dry,
unaffected by the water in which it lives.
Not a drop of water
will have penetrated its capsule.
These spiders live IN the water
but they live SEPARATED from the water
maintained by a supply of life from ABOVE the water.
Isn’t this a picture of the Christian life?
WE are living IN the world
but when we take our ‘air bubble’ of the life from ABOVE
we are not contaminated by the world in which we live.
In 2 Corinthians 6
Paul warns that believers and non-believers have no agreement
and likens it to the fact that darkness and light cannot exist together.
He calls us to
“Come out from among them and be SEPARATE and touch not the unclean”
James 4:4 makes it unmistakably clear:
“Friendship with the world is enmity with God”
1 John 2:15-16 says:
“Do not love the world or the things in the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
Ephesians 5:11
“Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness
but rather expose them.”
Jesus Himself said: John 15:19
“You are NOT of this world, but I have chosen you OUT of this world”
Of our own selves, in our own strength, we are unable to resist the influence of the world. Everywhere we go we encounter the work of the devil in belittling the truth of the Gospel and undermining the standards of wholesome living. It even pervades our homes via the TV set and even the daily news.
BUT PRAISE GOD that in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit,
we HAVE the means of victory.
We live IN the world – we must, for our ministry is there.
We are called to show Jesus Christ to the world,
but when He is on the throne,
dictating our thoughts, motives, desires and actions,
we will NOT be contaminated by the world around us.
We need to ensure we take our “air bubble” of air from above
– the enabling and power of the Holy Spirit –
with us and allow HIM to work in us and through us.
Mr anon says:
# The devil is a master artist: he paints SIN in very attractive colours.
# If you don’t want to trade with devil, stay out of his shops!
# If you stand on the Word, you cannot stand with the world.
God says:
# Friendship with the world IS enmity with God.
MEETING IN THE CLOUDS 
Howdy! I could have sworn I’ve visited this site before but after looking at some of the posts I realized
it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m certainly delighted I discovered
it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back regularly!
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Hi Angela,
I enjoy the lessons/analogies you present in your posts! Earlier this evening before reading your post, while speaking with my eldest sister on the telephone, we were discussing this very subject. We were discussing what it means to be in this world, but not of this world! How do we live in this world successfully, and not become contaminated with the sin of this world? In and of ourselves, this is impossible. But thank God, once we have been filled with the Holy Spirit, we have been empowered to live above sin, and to walk in newness of life each day! However, we must allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit of the living God! Truly, it was as if you were a fly on the wall! :-) God bless you!
Paulette
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Remember the old song “This world is not my home”? Maybe because the world is becoming less and less attractive, and maybe because I am getting older, but that song seems more true than ever.
We are in a battle, but we have our full armour supplied and we are guaranteed victory – ‘more than conquerors’ – when we allow Him to have control.
PS I really don’t fancy being a fly! Spiders eat flies.
Christian love and prayers
Angela
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About being a fly on the wall, point well taken! LOL!
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Neat analogy in this post, I like it. We do need to be careful of what goes in, because it affects what goes out.
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Yes, like the slogan when computers first arrived:
Garbage in = Garbage out.
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The need for us to guard against sin on our lives is of utmost importance. Sometimes it seems like it is impossible to do… but thank the Lord… He has given us assurance we can overcome this sinful world THROUGH Him BY Faith….1John 5:4 (KJV) For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith.
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Yes Rob, praise God that we are guaranteed victory when we allow Him to have control. Sadly, we too often go it alone, and we fail – but is our fault, not His. He has provided, but we haven’t, in faith, used His provision.
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Mentor Angela . . .what a great picture of what we are to do, taken from God’s creation. I love these kind of devotions! He gives us His word and He gives us examples of what it looks like in action. :) God bless you as you take in His air from above today and show Jesus to those around you. love and prayers!
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Debbie, we rejoice in all His provisions, and when we use them we are mightily blessed and we praise Him for the experience . . . but sadly, all too often we fail to take what is ours and go ahead in our own strength . . . and we are the losers: we miss out on the abundance of peace and blessings that come with obedience to His will.
Won’t it be wonderful when we can serve Him wholeheartedly, with no distractions . . . and no failures!
Meanwhile, let us take His “air” – His power, His enabling, His love – with us into the world.
Angela
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Wonderful message meetingintheclouds and very True, our Love for others shows if we are in darkness, we are even to Love our enemies but we don’t have to agree to their poison….. those spiders better stay in the water or I’m out of here, Lady Die also has this strange attraction of taking spider photos but like you is very strong on God’s Truth, we laugh about the spiders but not about the pollution in the world. I love your analogy of the air bubble thank you.
Christian Love Anne
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The pollution of the world is very real – and increasingly so. The devil has no shortage of ‘bait’ to lure people into his traps.
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