Rejecting Satan's Lures by Randy Rowley, 7/19/08 ©
On 6/7/08 two long time friends (Mark Dillow and Kevin Wall), one new friend (James Bean), and I wade fished the San Gabriel River near Georgetown. We were greeted by an overcast sky with several dark clouds. A few drops of rain hit us when we arrived in a nice middle-class neighborhood. My first thought was Mark was playing a trick on us when he parked between two houses. But there was a trail that led downhill into some woods and Mark started to put his fly fishing gear on so I followed suit. Kevin and James also donned fly fishing gear. I, having never taken up the sport, grabbed my medium casting rod with a spin cast reel, a small box of lures, and a bottle of water.
Soon we were tromping down the hill and through the woods. We reached an open area and then more woods. When we got to this section of woods we could hear running water - Mark hadn't been joking. A short while later we were standing at the banks of the San Gabriel. Mark had told us how clear it is but it was far clearer than I imagined it. My first thought was, "I'm in trouble." My primary quarry for this trip were largemouth bass, which are notoriously hard to catch in clear water.
Mark and Kevin went upstream and James and I went downstream. The river varied between 10 - 20 yards wide and from a few inches to mid-thigh depth. James and I quickly encountered another fisherman. We gave him a wide berth and took a cross-country detour.
We emerged about 100 yards past the other fisherman into a slightly wider section of the river. Between our brother fisherman and us the river became very shallow and funneled down to only about a foot wide. The water careened over a big rock shelf into our deeper pool. And that's where the bass were.
I was elated when I saw the first two bass. They were about 15" long and were slowly cruising about 10 yards in front of me. Only rarely have I fished waters that were clear enough to see my quarry. I threw a clear Baby Torpedo over their backs and retrieved it with short jerks. I pulled it right over the top of them. Neither bass paid any attention to it. It was as if one was saying to the other, "Look Fred, there's a Baby Torpedo! Isn't that cute?"
There were joined by another bass. I spent the next few minutes casting the topwater lure over their backs and futilely reeling it back in. I tried every retrieve I knew. Stop and Go - nadda. Walk the Dog - not interested. Slow jerks - yawn. Fast jerks - double yawn.
It became pretty obvious that I needed to switch lures. I next tied on a bass pattern Rattletrap (a shallow running crank bait). I threw it over their backs and retrieved it at a medium pace. The bass were still not impressed. It was as if one was saying to the others, "Oh look guys - a Rattletrap! I had a cousin hit one of those last Friday..."
Again I tried every retrieve I know and got the same results as I did with the Torpedo - zilch.
Next I tied on a chartreuse Road Runner (a small single blade spinnerbait). This time I thought I heard one say to the others, "Roadrunner! Beep, Beep!"
Finally after about 45 minutes I gave up and moved further downstream. I went about a mile but didn't run into any more bass. Soon it became time to head back. I stopped at the first pool and tried my luck with the bass again and got the same results. Sometimes the bass would swim as close as six feet from me. It was an exercise in futility. The bass knew that those lures were fakes and wanted no part of them. They rejected them.
My fly fishing companions fared better. Mark and Kevin caught about 10 perch each and James caught a couple.
Jesus understood the sport of fishing. When He met Peter and Andrew while they were fishing at the Sea of Galilee He told them (in Matthew 4:19), "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Our enemy the devil also understands fishing. He uses all the lures in his tackle box to catch those who do not know the Lord so that he can keep them as slaves to sin. He uses his lures to catch Christians to keep them from growing and being effective for the Lord.
Some of the many lures that Satan catches me with time and again are named CiCi's Pizza, Mr. Gattis, China Star, and Sea Dragon. I'll be eating like I'm supposed to and maybe even be losing a little weight, when inevitably someone will suggest eating at one of these all-you-can-eat joints (or another) and BAM! - I'll just suck that lure right in. I know what will probably happen if I go but I try to fool myself by saying, "This time you'll stop after one plate." But usually I find myself in familiar territory - in Satan's live well. Sure I enjoy the food at the time, but after the deed is done I begin to chastise myself saying, "You were a glutton once again. You'll never win the battle of the bulge - you'll never get your weight down to where it needs to be." I know that my body is as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (condensed) "a temple of the Holy Spirit" and that I should "honor God with my body." But too often my story is like Paul's in Romans 7:19 (NLT), "When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway."
I've also been caught by lures named Browning, Remington, Burris, Nikon, Castaway, All Star, Shimano, and Garcia. I'll say to myself, "Your binoculars fogged up the last time that you went deer hunting. You need waterproof ones!" or "You have to sharpen your hunting knife too frequently when you dress and skin hogs; it's time to buy a better one." A trip to Academy, Sportsman's Warehouse, or Cabela's later and I have a new prize - regardless of if I had budgeted the money for it and had enough to pay for it. Too often I have forgotten Paul's secret of contentment. He wrote in Philippians 4:12-13, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Paul was not able to be content in his own strength. He was only able to be content because Jesus gave him the strength to do so.
One of the sad realities of our society is we are obsessed with the accumulation of things. We say to ourselves that we'll be happy if we get a new house, truck, boat, 4X4, gun, bow, etc. Then we make the purchase and find that although we might be happy for awhile we quickly go back to feeling like we don't have enough and need more. Paul exhorted us not to do this in Romans 13:13-14 (NKJV). He wrote, “Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." Lusting and craving is indicative of a heart problem. It means that we have not surrendered to Jesus' Lordship in all areas of our lives. We have a God sized hole in our heart and we're trying to fill it with things.
Other lures that Satan catches men especially with are named Playboy, The Yellow Rose, and Debbie Does Dallas. According to Legacy Outfitters, 5 out of 10 Christian men have a problem with pornography. That's 50%! Although they do not say where they got this statistic, I do not doubt it for a minute. Men used to be lured by adult book stores or a strip clubs. Now, all men have to do is to turn on almost any TV channel or go to the local supermarket to see images of scantily clad women. And XXX rated pictures and movies are just a few mouse clicks away.
Some men think that they are not hurting anyone by looking at porn in their own homes. But Jesus said in Matthew 5:27-28, "“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Just like with materialism addiction to porn is a major heart issue of not being content. Many men who are hooked on porn started out by looking at so called "soft" porn. Satan knows that if he tries to addict men to porn without first conditioning their hearts he would rarely succeed. Instead he lures men into addiction one step at a time.
Still other lures that Satan catches mankind with are named Budweiser, pot, cocaine, Marlboro, Lazy Boy, and many, many more. He uses the same techniques that he does to lure people into gluttony, materialism, and lust. He catches us by the scores and throws none of us back. James wrote in 1:16, “Don't be deceived, my dear brothers.” I think that if James had written that sentence in fishing terms he would have used the word “lured.” James knew that there was a lion out there who wants to devour Christians souls. Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be self‑controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” And Jesus said in John 10:10a, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy..." When a fish is lured successfully it can result in its death. But when we as humans are lured by Satan it can result in the death of our souls. Satan wants to have a fish fry and mankind is the fish!
Fortunately for us Christians the Bible is full of examples of people of were lured. David is a prime example of what happens to a man who is lured by lust. It led to adultery, murder, and ultimately the death of two of his sons. Adam and Eve were consumed by envy and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil resulting in broken fellowship with God, removal from the garden, difficult labor, and pain during childbirth. Moses struck out in anger and committed murder and had to flee to the wilderness. He probably would have delivered the Hebrews 40 years earlier if he had not sucked in that lure. Jacob became drunk and, not being able to tell which son was which, gave Isaac his blessing instead of Esau (this was also thanks to Isaac’s deception). Isaac also manipulated the birthright from Esau. Many scholars believe that these two acts resulted in the continuing wars between the Israelites and the Arabs.
Also God has blessed us Christians with gifts that we can use to reject Satan. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:13-17 (NLT), “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
The Bible is very clear on how we can keep from being lured – by knowing what the real thing looks like and fixing our eyes on what God intended.
If we are grateful for God’s indescribable gifts of mercy, grace, salvation, and the spiritual gifts that He gave us then we will be able to keep from being lured by envy and jealousy. If we realize that God gave us our jobs, health, families, and possessions we will be able to keep from being lured by materialism.
If we know what forgiveness looks like then we will be able to keep from being lured by anger, hatred, and bitterness.
If we know what being a real man is all about and know the joy that loving a woman as God intended brings then we will be able to keep from being lured by lust, impure thoughts, pornography, and adultery.
If we are high on Jesus we have no reason to try to find a substitute joy through alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, or food. If we’re in love with Him we will not do anything to defile His temple.
Just like bad habits will destroy us, good habits will strengthen us. Those bass were not in the habit of hitting what was obviously fake to them. They knew what the real thing looks like and what I threw at them wasn't it! In the same manner we Christians should reject Satan's fake lures.
Don't end up in Satan's deep fryer or mounted on his trophy wall. We need to ask ourselves every day, “Am I being lured in any area of my life?” If we are allowing ourselves to be lured then we need to reject Satan's lures, just like those bass, and swallow up the gifts that God has given to us.