The Bait of Satan

 Be careful that your own desires don’t become the bait Satan uses. 

To be tempted is not sin; to yield to the temptation is sin. All temptation is common, it’s nothing new; God is able to make a way of escape; the key is not to entertain the temptation but to look for the escape route. There are many voices in the world and none are without significance or meaning [1 Corinthians 14:10]. . Each voice has a message and every message has a direction, you have to be able to discern the voice and choose the right direction. My sheep know my voice and a stranger they won’t follow [John 10:4-5]. If our desires (motives) aren’t right, that stranger’s voice you follow can be our own. 

Many times we blame the devil, when things don’t turn out the way we want, but if the truth be told many times it’s us. Every man is drawn away by (his own) lust and enticed [James 1:14]. Many times it’s the wrong intentions and motives working in us that cause us to be snared. The adversary just simply manipulates what’s already in us. 

We often study God and his word, we even study the adversary and how to do warfare against him, however, the person we study the least is us. We must know what’s in us and be honest with ourselves. Ask yourself is there anything in me that the enemy can use to manipulate; greed, selfish ambitions, unbelief, bitterness, disappointment, loss, failure, discouragement, loneliness, rejection, and un-forgiveness. These are some of the things the enemy will use to taint our desires.

Things in you the enemy will study and use against you. He will use what he knows about you to bring you into bondage. He speaks to your desires. There is nothing wrong with desiring a thing; it’s the motives behind the desire that causes the problem. In whatever we do, we must make sure our motives are sincere. 

In [John 14:30] Jesus, talking to his disciples says “After this I won’t be talking to you much longer, because the ruler of this word is coming, but he finds nothing in me”. Another translation says “because he has no power over me”. Jesus is simply saying there is nothing (in me) that the enemy can use against me.

The enemy is looking for something to use against you, make sure the weapon he uses is not found in you. When he comes have the testimony of Jesus, “the enemy comes but he has no power against me

-Pastor Ronald Harris.