it's the little snares

2 Timothy 2:25-26

25Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

I spend quite a bit of time talking about the good dews, how all can be saved, and there is hope for all. Last week I talked about Joy, why we don’t have it, and how we might regain it. One of the things that came up was our desire to sin. This week I want to spend some time on the battle that is waged daily inside of us.

As Paul tells Timothy above, the devil sets traps for each of us daily. The devil will not lose our soul to the Lord because he did not try hard enough. One of my favorite stories that show this is….and I don’t remember where I heard it, so I can’t give the credit where it is due…. The devil was talking to three of his demons one morning, and the demons were excited, the first told a story about how he got a powerful man to turn on his peers, he swindled millions form them, and had turned his heart with greed. The devil was not impressed. He looked at the demon and told him, “I already had that man’s soul his heart was easily turned. Looking at the next demon the devil asked “what about you?” I had great luck I turned many peoples heart, I whispered in their ear the lies of self-doubt. The all believed, and turned their backs on God. Again the devil was not impressed, he said “these people have been mine for a while now, their lack of faith has condemned them for many years.” The last demon came forward, and told the devil I got one man, he was a righteous man, a man with strong belief in God. HE was fearless at first, but I did not give up. It took me 20 years, but finally, finally the man listened to the lullaby. It was not any one thing that worked, for his faith was strong, and his morals well placed. It took many years, and many small traps. It was not done in one fail swoop, but I finally got him off the path. The devil screeched with excitement, finally I have one more! And Hell erupted in celebration. Make no mistake about it, just as Christ rejoices more when a sinner turns to him; hell has a great party when one of the righteous falls! These little traps are what will trip us up on the path, and eventually if we are not careful, the traps and lies of the devil will take us all the way off the path and into the wilderness.

We are typically not turned in one day, or even in one week, it is the little snares, the little lies that the devil and his minions trap us with. This is why we must stay vigilant, not just on Sunday, but on every day of the week.


Peace,
Rev. Thetford