The Deceiver

Yesterday afternoon just at dusk, I had a silent visitor to the backyard.  I thought I saw the neighbor slinging a coat over my back fence.  Looking a little closer, it was a large owl that had quietly landed and was looking for an unsuspecting dove on the ground under the bird feeders.  Because I feed the birds, I also have a black-and-white cat, a hawk, and now an owl.  All of them are looking for a meal ... well, all but the cat.  Milo the cat is well-fed and just looking to kill for sport.  The predators remind me that Satan himself is a predator, sneaking about looking for an easy mark: me!  It could be a day when I am discouraged or frustrated.  He could make a cute girl cross my path.  He could make a friend offend me in an innocent way that just grows into an altercation.  Satan is a master of deception, because nothing that he has to offer can compare to what the dear Lord has in store for me.  Peter knew Satan’s attacks all too well.  He said in I Peter 5:8&9, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith …”  Hey, our weapons are not steel and gunpowder; our weapons are spiritual and found in the Lord of heaven who loves us so much.  Satan will lie to you, but only the dear Lord really loves you.  So, watch out for the predators and trust in the Lord who really loves you.