Bait

I like to fish.  Well, let me rephrase that.  I like to catch fish.  I do not have the patience to fish like my papaw did.  Papaw Epperly would buy a bag of peanuts, dig a can of worms, and fish all day.  And like me, he would catch nothing.  He would bait his hook, kick back with his bag of peanuts, and enjoy the outdoors.  But unlike me, he had the patience to sit and wait, and wait and …  well, you get the picture.  So, depending what you are fishing for, you use the proper bait.  Bluegills, you need worms.  Bass, you need minnows or lures that look like minnows.  The bait is critical.  Hey, Satan knows what kind of bait to use when he is trolling for suckers - the kind with two legs.  Satan knows better than to use money to tempt me.  I would never fall for that trick.  But Satan does know to appeal to my pride.  Now that’s how Satan gets at me.  That’s the bait that he uses for this sucker.  But although Satan may bait his hook to tempt me, I am still safe.  That is until my own lust causes me to take the bait.  James said in James 1:14, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.”  Satan tricks me with his bait, but it is up to me whether I fall for his bait or not.  Actually, I am my own worst enemy.  Paul said it best in Ephesians 6:10, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”  We must be prepared when we go against Satan because he is wily.  He knows just what bait to use.  So don’t help Satan out.  Don’t fall for his bait.  Let the Good Lord control you.  Trust in Him.  Don’t be a sucker.