Week Thirty-Three, 2018

THE TRAP

By John Grant

Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 1 Corinthians 7:5

Recently we acquired a new puppy. She is cute as a button and full of energy. Puppies are fun, but come untrained, so these past few months we have been training her. She has her own dog crate, where she goes for the night and whenever we are gone or she needs to stay out of trouble.

The problem has been getting her into the cage. When she knows it is time she is hard to catch. Sometimes I wish I had an old-fashioned dog catchers net. But then we figured a better way by putting a treat in the crate so she would go in. We could then shut the door behind her. Now she knows a treat will be there and even when she is far away and we say “kennel up” she will run to it.

Satan is much like that. He baits the trap with goodies for us to follow and sooner or later the door shuts behind us. He uses all types of things…. People, money, power, etc. It is like baiting the mousetrap with cheese.

At some point, we have all fallen into the snares of evil. Oh, the bait looks so good. Surely the world won’t label the traps from Satan, but the Bible will. Paul tells us in 1 Timothy 6:9, “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.”

Satan’s three greatest temptations are flesh, tempting God and discontentment. Jesus said, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”

Discontentment is a clear pathway for Satan to capture and place you under his command. We live in a world where billions are spent on advertising each year and the main goal is to make you unsatisfied with what you have. Easy credit, keeping up with your next door neighbor and the like are all used by the devil to lead you into destruction and once you get there, he slams the door behind you.

If you are not content, you want to own the whole world, all what is in the world, you are on your way to falling into Satan worship. Whenever you are tempted by good things or bad, ask what Jesus would do.

Temptation is mentioned thirty four times in the Bible and similar words many more. Whenever you are tempted, turn first to the Bible for guidance. It will save you many a heartache.

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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES

There’s an old story about the preacher asked to teach a young boys’ Bible Class in the absence of the regular teacher. So He decided to find out how much they knew about the bible.

After asking a few simple questions like, “Who made the earth, sun and stars?” he asked them, “Who knocked down the walls of Jericho?”

All the boys acknowledged their ignorance. None of them could tell him who knocked down the walls of Jericho.

At the church’s next business meeting, the preacher expressed his dismay at the young boys’ lack of Bible knowledge, “Not one of them knows who knocked down the walls of Jericho.”

The group was oddly silent until finally, one man spoke up. “Preacher, this appears to be bothering you quite a lot. But, I’ve known these boys since they were all born and they’re all good boys. If they said they don’t know, then I believe them. Let’s just take some money out of the repair fund, fix the walls, and forget about it.”

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PERSECUTION

Christians today are persecuted in 139 nations around the world. It is estimated that four to five acts of religious discrimination worldwide are directed against Christians. Countries that were previously relatively moderate or avowedly secular have stepped up their hostility against Christians.

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QUOTES YOU CAN USE

In The Words Lincoln Lived By, Gene Griessman tells of a time during the Civil War when a group of clergymen met with President Lincoln. One of them commented, “I hope the Lord is on our side.” Lincoln replied, “I am not at all concerned about that, for I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord’s side”

Serenity is not the rule of the Kingdom. Servanthood is. Ken Whitten

I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18

God didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people alive. Ravi Zachariah

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©2018 John Grant | Florida State Senator (Ret.) | 10025 Orange Grove Drive | Tampa, FL 33618