His Presence Still Speaks by Alan Wilson

Author:Alan Wilson [Wilson, Alan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-07-17T13:51:19+00:00

Chapter 42

Bait and Switch

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour, resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

(1 Peter 5:8–9 NKJV)

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

(John 8:44 NKJV)

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

(John 10:10 NKJV)

His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it.

(Revelation 12:4 NKJV)

Advertising is such a tricky business. It is against the law to advertise a cheaper product only to falsely switch to a higher-priced item once the customer comes into the store. The cheaper product was never really available to begin with. The salesclerk upsells the customer to the higher-priced item after they are told the cheaper item is no longer available. In reality, the enemy generally does the same thing to believers when it comes to spiritual deception.

The enemy studies you to understand what you like or what moves your emotions. He cannot read your mind, so his attacks are in stages. The seed of your discontentment must be planted by the enemy for you to move toward the object, idea, or situation of emotional desire. This desire could be a natural, God-given desire that is a blessing, like love or fellowship with other believers; or it could be wrong, like fornication. So the idea is meditated and focused on within the imagination for it to grow each day until one day you’re willing to act. The twisting rationalization by the enemy slowly wears down your patience to receive the desire that it causes thoughts of frustration for the Lord, and going outside the will of God seems to become reasonable since, in your opinion, it is a legitimate need. The trap has been set, and emotions have made the commitment or plans. The enemy now has you making a mental idol of that desire. Does this sound familiar?

The enemy is a pseudo-lawyer at heart and longs to bait a person out of the covering or protection of God. A great example of this bait and switch would be the need for love. So say a girl sees a guy who is attractive, and she wants to talk to him as friends. The girl is married but does not receive any affection or attention from her husband at home. The enemy sees an opportunity to meet that need illegally, and later those two are having a sexual affair, and they wonder how they got there so fast.

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