Years ago I would walk our dog around the block almost every evening. On the other side of our block was a house where they had three Pomeranians. If you don’t know what a Pomeranian is, imagine a 5-to-7-pound dust mop that barks nonstop.

That house had a chain link fence in its back yard. As we’d come into view, those Pomeranians would start barking. That’s understating it. They would come unglued, eyes bulging, all three of them barking as though the very existence of the planet depended on them.

As we’d cross in front of the house, they’d run around to the other side so they could continue their serenade and bark like that well after we’d gone far enough that the next house blocked us from view.

One day I decided to play a trick on them. As we came into view they began their madness. We passed in front of their house and sure enough they ran around to continue the madness. Then I turned and took a few steps back the other way. They immediately ran back to the other side, I turned again and jogged a few steps until the next house blocked us from view.

From then on, I did that every time. And they’d fall for that temptation every time. Isn’t that how temptation works?

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Have any of you ever been to a corn maze? I instantly liked the idea just for the pun: corn – maize is actually a type of corn. It’s amazing, really. If you ever do go to one, it’s set up like a scavenger hunt and they give you a map. It’s a fun diversion for an afternoon.

But that’s different from the more traditional mazes, whether it’s the ones from ancient times going back to labyrinths or medieval ones with tall hedges or the ones you can do on paper or in a puzzle book. With those there tends to be one goal, one solution, one way in and one way out.

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About two minutes after the Super Bowl was over last Sunday I got a message notification on my phone. It was alerting me to what they called “Way too early odds on Super Bowl LVII (57).” So I’ll ask you, who is going to win the Super Bowl next year? What will the weather be like in November? Where will the stock market close in six months? Interest rates? Inflation? How much hinges on what Russia does or doesn’t do in the next week?

Would you like a sure bet?

Here’s a proposition. If anyone commits to doing exactly what Jesus says in this passage two things will happen: 1. Your reward will be great and 2. You will be children of the Most High. That’s no bet. That is a guarantee.

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