For my dad, a day without fishing was a wasted day. He would manage, no matter what was going on, to go fishing for at least 30 minutes every day. As I watched my dad catch fish after fish (while I caught nothing), I learned really quickly that no fish will bite a bare hook.

You can’t just throw a hook out in the water and expect to catch fish. You have to put bait on the hook, and a good fisherman knows that different fish like different kinds of bait.

Just like a fisherman knows how to bait different kinds of fish, Satan knows just how to bait you. He knows your favorite flavors and what gets your attention. He knows exactly where your weak spot is—that unmet emotional need, that empty tank, that deep desire.

That’s why you’ve got to think about what you’re thinking about. The hook is sin, but the bait is whatever lie Satan wants you to believe. He knows you’re vulnerable to ideas like: If you do this, you’ll feel better. If you do this, it will be rewarding. If you do this, everything will be okay.

Even when you know there’s a hook beneath the bait, you may still keep nibbling. Why? Because you buy whatever lie Satan is feeding you. But if you think you can keep nibbling without getting hooked, you’re just fooling yourself. The idea that you won’t get hurt is another one of Satan’s lies.

One of the most common lies is this: Whenever you’re tempted, something outside of yourself has tempted you.

But here’s the truth: The real problem is not external.

James 1:14 says, “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away” (NLT).

Temptation starts with our inner desires—those vulnerable spots Satan uses for bait. Those desires lead to sinful actions, and those actions lead to death. What you think determines how you feel, and what you feel determines how you act.

Don’t get in the habit of blaming your circumstances. When you’re tempted, you may think you can’t help it. You can help it! It starts by changing the way you think.

When you’re tempted, stop and ask the question, “What lie am I believing?”

Then replace it with God’s truth. It will always lead to life.

Very sound advice

AMEN!

the devil is a crafty one... the father of lies... one of his greatest forms of deceit comes from using scripture with a twist... example Eve in the garden, we read in the Word of God; Genesis 3:1 where God informs just how crafty the devil is " Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:..." and he goes on to convince the woman to go against what God had said because it was good, and so the first sin by mankind was completed... what is very interesting is when the Lord God took on flesh to redeem mankind out of their sin, He was born of a virgin conceived through the Holy Spirit so that mans sin nature would not be passed onto Him through the seed of man, that during His ministry leading up to the cross, the devil tempted Him, you can read it in the Word of God in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 4 starting in verse 1 "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil", and concluding in verse 11 where the Lord says "then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."... every time satan would temp Him, even using scripture, the Lord would respond with scripture making the devil flee... something to remember; Jesus nor the Apostles never once quoted the New Testament...LOL... then the Lord went onto finish His Passion on the cross, nailed on the cross He took on the sins of the world, died, was buried and in three days God raised Him from the dead, defeating death and satan once and for all... that man by turning from ones sins, and having simple child like faith in His finished work on the cross for them, confessing Jesus Christ is Lord of their life - at that moment be Born Again, saved once and for all... wonderful way to start a Saturday !

Amen brother. Amen. Nice.


No one sets out to be a drug addict or alcoholic. Most “vices” start as a fun an enjoyable “experience.” That is how Satan works. Once his deception takes root, man’s fleshly nature seals the deal.