I said I was not going to do it. Since my retirement from home repair and remodeling, I said I was not going to crawl under houses. It is just not compatible with my seventy-five-year-old body. But I know we have some holes where the kitchen sink pipes come into the house, and I know we have some holes around where the pipes come up for the tub. I know that some long, skinny-tailed uninvited guests can make their way into the house via these avenues. Do something, Jack! I get the steel wool, the half-inch wire mesh, the screws with washers, the power screw driver, the head lamp and the coveralls on, and here we go! The maneuvering room under our house is okay. Some crawl spaces are very tight, close to the ground, and others require a ladder. Ours is such that you can lay there and reach and get the job done. Well, without incident it went very well. I got the steel wool stuffed in the cracks and the wire mesh screwed to the underside of the floor in the appropriate places. Now, I am in recovery. No, it is not in the hospital. It is sitting here typing out this article on my laptop. And if I get tired before I finish this, I will go lay down and relax and rest a bit. Ah, the joys of retirement! I do remember the days when there was no rest for the weary. So, here’s the word for the day. Close those access points by which the enemy can get into your life bringing damage and destruction. Close “open doors” to the devil and of the flesh. I remember the ministry to one sick lady to whom I said that she needed to close “open doors” to the enemy. In time, she did, and in time, her blood sugar level dropped dramatically. The doctor was able to take her off some of her medications. Perhaps the biggest open doors to us all are fear and pride. We are afraid of what people will think. We fear failure. We fear the worst is going to come on us. We fear death. The great antidote for fear is the love of God with reverence to His Word. Love casts out fear, and reverence to God, giving place to the Holy Spirit, makes the promises of the Word of God real to us. When we are more conscious of God’s promises than we are of the obstacle or challenge facing us, then we are closing the door to the enemy. That “stuffs the steel wool” in the little holes, and it covers the big holes with the wire mesh. It keeps the rats out. If we want to keep the rats of sin, flesh, sickness and weakness out, then we need to humble ourselves and deal with the “open doors” on the basis of the blood of Jesus and the Word of God and be at peace and rest.