The Bait of Satan or the Blessings of God

Bait as a noun is defined as 'food placed on a hook or in a net, trap, or fishing area to entice fish or other animals as prey.' As a verb it is defined as 'deliberately annoy or taunt (someone)'. Whatever one thinks about it, the ultimate purpose of bait is enticement. And the devil is good at dangling bait before God's children.  The Bible says, "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]. " (John 10:10, AMP). These were the words of Jesus and He knew what He was talking about. Jesus came to seek and save the lost and to give them life more abundantly - overflowing life that would create mighty powerful impacts in the lives of many others. The devil (Satan) is only interested in destroying lives and he is very clever. He is not bothered by people getting wealthy because he knows that money has the potential of drawing people away from God. All the devil has to do is convince whoever, that it is okay to give God 99% and not 100%. Well, there is always that possibility that 99% today will gradually decrease to about 40% to 50% in a few months or years later, if care is not taken. The gradual, almost unnoticeable descent into a backslidden state, a lackadaisical existence, a lethargic, unfocused life riddled by procrastination and rendered useless by sheer indulgence into the unholy is the goal of Satan. He is relentless and committed to his diabolical plans and has made up his mind to press on with his evil schemes up to his eternal imprisonment in the lake of fire. 

It is therefore quite interesting that the Bible says, "And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light." (2 Corinthians 11:14, NKJV). That is to say, he masquerades as an angel of light. Wow! The devil puts up an appearance of something that is diametrically opposed to what he really is - evil, the darkest and most debilitating, most dehumanising, most incapacitating, most destructive and most putrid kind of evil. While he may succeed in hiding his true nature, he is utterly committed to his devilish ways. So would you be swayed by the eye-catching bait of the devil or stand firm against his wiles, in the power of the Holy Spirit? Will you be deceived by the lies of the devil or believe the Word of God? Make no mistake about it, if you are not standing upon God's Word, you are embracing the deception of Satan. Satan would even use what may appear to be logically sound and biblically true. Remember that when he was tempting Jesus, he quoted Scripture. "Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In  their  hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”Jesus said to him, “It is written again,  ‘You shall not  tempt the Lord your God.” - Matthew 4:5-7 

Just because something has a verse or two attached to it does not mean it is from the Lord; just because it looks good does not mean it is from the Lord; just because it appears to sort out your bills does not mean it is ordered by the Lord. As a dear brother of mine usually says, 'Not every good thing is a God thing'. The devil is cunning, determined and persistent to propagate his evil schemes. You see, just because something seems okay does not mean that it cannot be part of a diabolical scheme.

In order not to be deceived by the devil, we must find out what God is saying. We must remember that we are not blessed because of the acquisition of some temporal gift, we are blessed because God says we are and because of Who God is. He has declared by the Holy Spirit, "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light;who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. - 1 Peter 2:9-10. If we are a chosen generation, chosen by God, then there is no doubt that we are blessed. God is for us and not against us and that fact is not a function of circumstances. IT IS GOD'S INFALLIBLE WORD.

Satan uses bait effectively; he seeks to excite the senses - what we see, feel, taste, hear and smell. How many of us have been tempted by good food to overeat, yielding to gluttony? How many of us have been carried away by that action movie that we have excused scenes of sexual immorality? How many of us have yielded to the pull of sleep (because it feels good) when we should be praying? How many of us have listened to music that does not glorify God because of what we think is good beat? Bait comes in different forms. How many of us have been tempted to tell a white, brown or even yellow lie? It's quite interesting because some think if the lie is not black or brown or blue, it is okay. Hmm, who colour-codes the lies? A LIE IS A LIE and lies are the speciality of Satan. In modern times, the devil has propagated ideologies (based on lies) like Wokeness, Cancel Culture, Critical Race Theory, etc. and many have been sucked into these philosophies that appear good on the outside but are really weapons of deception of Satan. 

Jesus said told the Pharisees, "You are of your father the devil, and the  desires of your father you want to  do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and  does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." - John 8:44. Every lie has its origin from the devil but Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). God will never, never lead you astray or ask you to lie. NEVER. The devil will not hesitate to encourage you to tell a lie because lying is his master weapon. No wonder we are admonished, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world." - 1 Peter 5:8-9 

The blessings of God become our portion when we obey Him unconditionally. The Bible states, "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be  in the country. Blessed shall be  the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks." - Deuteronomy 28:1-4. God spoke these words to the children of Israel and the idea was that they would be blessed (beyond what they could ask or think) if they obeyed the commands of God. God has not changed and He will never change and these principles hold true today. God is still at work in the lives of His people to enable and empower them to be instruments of blessings in His hands. Hallelujah!

So, let us reject the bait of Satan and cling to the blessings of God. Let us reject the lies of Satan and embrace the truth of God's Word. Let us draw near to God and He will draw near to us. Let us surrender unconditionally to God and we shall be moulded into the image of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

May the blessings of God be your portion as you hearken diligently to His unchanging Word in Jesus' Name.