One way to trap a bird is to set out seeds on a path that leads right into the trap. At first they are wary. They will eat a seed and hop away. As they eat more seeds, their fear seems to leave as their appetite increases. They walk into the trap unsuspectingly.

That is how our enemy works. James 1:14 says, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” We can embrace a great lesson from the life of Sampson.

In Judges 16:5 we find the words spoken by the Philistine fowlers (which speak of our flesh). “…Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him…”

What unmet desire is hidden in your heart that the enemy uses to entice you into his well planned out, camouflaged, and fleshly scented trap? Samson left God’s path and calling. in order to fulfill his fleshly desires. He unsuspectingly stepped right into the trap which cost him his life.

Purposeful goal oriented steps come from God’s word. Mere knowledge puffs up. It is through our growing knowledge of the Lord and His attributes that we wage war against the enemy of our soul.

1 Peter 1:13 says, “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” John 14:21 says that He will reveal Himself to those who love the Lord and keep His commandments.

2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…” Unless we read His word daily and apply it to our lives, we won’t discern rogue thoughts when they come into our mind.

Ephesians 5:15 compliments 1 Peter 1:13-14. It says, “See then then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Circumspectly means to walk carefully, exactly, strictly, or distinctly. 

It reminds me of a book I read years ago about the point man. He was the first in a combat military formation. He had to walk circumspectly, looking for anything that was out of the ordinary. Twigs or leaves that were laid unnaturally marked landmines.

In 1 Peter 5:8, Peter used the words, “Be sober, be vigilant…” To be sober-minded means to be calm, vigilant, circumspect, and discreet. It means to be attentive, sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit, and mindful of every nuance.

In conversations look for changes in facial expressions and body language. Listen for sighs, changes in their voice, words of unbelief, and controlling lies in what they believe about themselves. It will help us know how to offer a word in season (Isaiah 50:4).

When we are deceived, we do not recognize that we are walking in deception. That is why accountability is so essential. It is like a strong safety net that will keep us from falling into the same trap. The traps are baited with the lies that we have believed.

If what you believe about yourself does not line up with Scripture, more than likely you have an inner stronghold. It takes goal oriented, purposeful steps to achieve true freedom. Make the path of truth your own by implanting verses that will become vital truth through experience.

What has you entrapped? Psalm 124:7 says, “Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped.” Fowlers are bird hunters. Who is hunting our soul?

Revelation 18 was written about Babylon’s fall. Verse 11 says that the merchants would weep and mourn over her. In the long list of her merchandise were chilling words—and souls of men.

Remember that satan, the fowler, used to control our minds. Ephesians 2:3 says, “Among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind…”

How does he capture our mind, will, and emotions? Through believing his lies. John 8:44 says that there is no truth in him. He has to work through deception—making things seem real when they are facades. Counterfeits!

Our defense is truth. The more truth we implant in our hearts, the more we are equipped to resist all temptations. James 1:21 says that it is the implanted word that saves our soul from being captured.

I’ve used these verses before so I will just give the references. Hosea 4:6, Isaiah 5:13, and Hosea 10:13. These three verses have one thing in common. They were ensnared because they did not pursue the knowledge of the Lord.

Years ago I read A. W. Tozer’s book: The Knowledge Of The Holy. In it he wrote that we know some of God’s attributes from Scripture, but there are many that we do not know.

Walking in the fear of the Lord is one key that unlocks our finite minds. It is an essential part of our progressive sanctification. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

When I need a good dose of perspective I turn to Isaiah 40. At the time that I am typing this, I am still reading through the book of Isaiah. I wrote these verses down in my journal.

Five times in Isaiah 45 the Lord says, “…there is no other…” Isaiah 40:25 says, “To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal? says the Holy One.” All throughout Scripture we learn the truth—there is no one like the Lord.

Only our flesh dares to usurp God’s place in our lives. So of course, it is our flesh that satan targets. He hates God and he hates us. He will do anything to destroy our faith and our relationship with the Lord through his traps. More on this tomorrow.

2 Corinthians 4:17 says, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” The Lord is using our present trial to train us for something far greater.

Here is an interesting verse in Haggai  2:3. It says,  “Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing?”

Do you see what the Lord is presently doing in your life? Do you consider it as nothing compared to what He has done in your life? Beware. That is a huge looming temptation ready to swallow you up.

Isaiah 43:19 says that the Lord is doing a new thing. Isaiah 42:9 says, “Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.” We will not be able to hear when our mind is cluttered with longing for something in our past—the way things used to be.

Nor will we hear if we are languishing because of something evil that was done to us in the past—if only this had not happened. Thoughts that take us back to our past are noisy and clamorous. They pull with enticement.

Shake it off! Paul did. Consider thoughts of your past as the viper that latched onto Paul’s hand. Acts 28:3 says, “But when Paul had gathered a bundle of  sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand.”

Hebrews 12:1 says, “…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” 1 Peter 2:1 were experiential words gained for Peter when he departed from the Lord. It says, “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking.”

Each time we sin we depart from the Lord. We break fellowship with Him. He never turns from us. We sin because we veer off the path of righteousness into unbelief. Hebrews 3:13 says, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.” 

Jesus told Peter that when he returned to Him, then he would be ready to strengthen others through what he went through. Do you enjoy 1 & 2 Peter? Those are words that came from his crucible trials. 

When we entertain fiery darts, we veer off the path through our mind. The battlefield is always for our mind. He who once controlled our minds wants them back. He sets traps that appeal to our flesh.

James 1:14 says that each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. James was talking about hidden sinful desires. Entertaining them feeds our flesh until it becomes inflamed.

The children of Israel veered off when they looked back. Numbers 11:4 indicated that they were influenced. It says, “Now the mixed multitude…yielded to intense craving,  so the children of Israel also wept  again and said, Who will give us  meat to eat?”

What was the train of their thoughts? Verse 5 says, “We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.” They were reminiscing about what they didn’t have, yet forgetting that they had been languishing in bondage!

Isn’t that just like us? When we wish that we could go back to something that we now miss, our craving for it intensifies. The only reason that we ‘miss’ something is because we are not content with what the Lord is doing in our life at the moment. We will continue this tomorrow.

Isaiah 43:18-19 Amplified says, “Do not (earnestly) remember the former things; neither consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive and know it and will you not give heed to it?…”

Consider means to ponder, think about, and mull over in our mind. Romans 4:19 says that Abraham did not consider his impossibility. Mary did not consider her impossibility. She clung to the angel’s words. Luke 1:37 says, “For with God nothing will be impossible.”

I want to go back to a verse in Romans 4 that highlights something we need to know about the Lord. Verse 17 says, “…God, who gives life to the dead, and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.”

In Genesis 15:5 God had brought Abram outside at night to look at the stars. He said, “…count the stars if you are able to number them. And He said to him, So shall your descendants be.”

Verse 6 says, “And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” From that moment on Abram walked in those words. Not exactly. There was a fleshly detour, however Genesis 21:1 says, “And the Lord visited Sarah, as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.”

When we continue to stand in God’s word, in the face of our impossibilities, our faith will grow and gain strength. Romans 10:17 says that our faith increases as we hear God’s word.

Quote His promises out loud. Live in them. Breathe in their life-giving power. Don’t look with your natural eyes. Don’t look back to what used to be. Keep your eyes on the Eternal One. 2 Corinthians 4:18 is our prescription for endurance.

It says, “While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal.”

Here is a great set of verses to ponder. Isaiah 41:11-13 says, “Behold, all those who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced; they shall be as nothing. And those who strive with you shall perish. 

You shall seek them and not find them—those who contended with you. Those who war against you shall be as nothing, as a nonexistent thing. 

For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, Fear not, I will  help you.” Note that verse 12 uses, ‘as nothing, as a nonexistent thing’ to describe past adversity.

Though He was speaking to the Israelites, we can apply this in our own lives. Our past was real. We walked in it. The events, good or bad, existed then. Now we are in the present, and things from the past are now non-existent things. 

When we continue to go back to them, we veer off the path that our feet are on right now. You cannot walk a straight line while looking backwards. At least I can’t. Luke 9:62 says, “…No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” 

Not fit, in this verse, refers to a divided heart. We are called to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, and with a single focus. Remember James 1:8 says that a double-minded man is unstable in ALL his ways.

It is satan’s goal to get us off the path of righteousness, which conforms our thoughts, purpose, and actions to God’s will and ways. Our enemy uses stealth operations. One way is through fiery darts. Remember that not every thought we have is of our own origin.

Our past is passed. We can only go back to it in our mind. That means that our thoughts take us back. Lot’s wife froze in her tracks when she looked back. Let us look at our past as a nonexistent thing, as far as moving forward in God’s Kingdom work. We will continue this tomorrow.

Proverbs 10:17 Amplified says, “He who heeds instruction and correction is (not only himself) in the way of life (but also) is a way of life for others. And he who neglects or refuses reproof (not only himself) goes astray (but also) causes to err and is a path toward ruin for others.”

This is a very sobering verse. Some of us are leaders and some are followers. It is essential to know the character of the one that you are following. Do you know them well enough to know what they do when no one else is watching?

Check your own heart. Do you have accountability in place? Do you have someone who is over you spiritually that you allow to ask you hard questions? The enemy of our soul is always on patrol. He is looking for weak links in our testimony.

We are not called to perfection. We are called to obedience. When the word says, “Flee!” do we ignore the warning? Every temptation is a test. James 1:13 says, “…God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.”

David understood the pull of temptation. He lived in the consequences of his thought life. Psalm 26:2 says, “Examine me O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart.”

Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Everyone of us can be pulled off the path of righteousness. Therefore we must continually be in God’s word. When the counterfeit comes, we are able to resist through inner strength.

David had faults. Yet Scripture records that he was a man after God’s heart. We have faults. In Psalm 19:12 David asked a question and then prayed. It says “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.”

David put some key actions into his life through prayers recorded in the psalms that he wrote.  Psalm 86:11 says, “Teach me You way, O Lord; I will  walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.” He asked the Lord to give him singleness of heart.

This is our key as well. Let us be singled minded with God’s purposes. Let us continually strengthen our inner man with the daily manna-food from His word. It will build our thoughts up on higher ground. It will help us rise above our adversities by setting our gaze on Him.

Proverbs 24:10 says, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” Ephesians 3:16 Amplified says, “May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the (Holy) Spirit (Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality).”

Our innermost being is our character on display. Hebrews 1:3 says of Jesus, “ Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person…” The Greek word for express is charakter. It means the exact copy of representation.

How does God build our character? Romans 5:3 says, “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance.” Verse 4 in the Amplified says, “And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity)…”

Our character is developed as we embrace our trials. Hebrews 12:11 says IF we are trained by them. Look what Jesus said to Peter. In Luke 20:31, Jesus told Peter that satan had desired to sift him.

Sifting is best described in Amos 9:9, which was written to the house of Israel. It says about His sifting, “…as grain is sifted in a sieve; yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground.”

Jesus assured Peter that He would come through the sifting. Our trials sift our faith, as Peter’s trial did his. Let Luke 22:32 speak to your heart now in your trial. It says, “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

I take great courage from this verse. Jesus prayed for Peter’s faith to remain steadfast. I also appreciate His words, “when” and “then.” There will be an end when God’s purpose for our trial is accomplished.

Our trials are a training ground. There is much instruction during the process. The Lord will lead us to passages in His word that He wants us to implant. He also bids us to ask Him for wisdom, but to ask in faith that He will answer. James 1:6-8 says to ask in faith without wavering.

Abraham did not waver in unbelief. He did not consider his body as good as dead. He did not ponder all the ramifications of Sarah being beyond child bearing years. Romans 4:20 Amplified says, “No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God…”

Here is the key to his inner strength. The verse continued, “…but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God.” He praised the Lord for what He was doing! Abraham embraced his impossibility by refusing to look at it. Instead his gaze was on the Lord’s ability not their inability.

What an example for us to follow. Was Abraham’s character sterling? No. What did he do behind closed doors when he thought no one was watching? What did he pass onto his son Isaac? His message and his messenger were not the same.

Isaac did the same thing as his father with the same king. He lied. In Genesis 26:7 he told the men that Rebekah was his sister. Behind closed doors, after he had been there a long time, verse 8 says, “…Abimelech…looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, showing endearment to Rebekah his wife.”

The whole story would have been a testimony of God’s goodness, instead Isaac brought reproach onto the name of the Lord. John 3:21 encourages us to live in the light of the truth of God’s word—always.

It says, “But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” All secret sin is seen with God’s eyes. Yes, we might hide it from others, but before Him all things are exposed, naked, and defenseless. More on this tomorrow.

James 3:8 says, “But no man can tame the tongue. It  is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” What does a parent do with an unruly child? They discipline them. The Lord disciplines us. He is our Excellent Father.

How does He retrain our tongue to speak words that will honor Him? He allows hardships, adversities, and impossible circumstances to come into our lives. Like a Master Potter, He works the water of His word into the barren places of our heart.

Clay is barren soil. It is hard and unmanageable. A potter has to work water into the dry clay in order to soften it. I used to work with clay. I could get my clay nice and soft. It was pliable and ready to be shaped on the potter’s wheel. 

In order to form the lump into something beautiful, I had to first center it. That required consistent, unyielding, and intense pressure. At first the clay fought my hands. I could feel when it was getting centered. It smoothed out. Then I knew that I could begin to shape it.

What a picture of our flesh. When we fall into a new trial, we are taken by surprise. Any hidden flesh rises and comes out of our mouth. If we listen, we will hear what we are believing in that moment.

Our heart is our belief center. The Lord will use the pressure from the unexpected hardship to expose the hidden lies that have been buried. They are not in our conscious awareness. That is why we have to listen to what we are saying.

Isaiah 55:3 says, “Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live…” Incline means to listen favorably. I have found that my thoughts can become so noisy, that they drown out the Lord’s whispered words.

Jesus only spoke what He heard His Father speaking, and He only did what He saw His Father do. That is a remarkable example for us to follow. Authentic followers of Jesus are attentive, sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and obedient.

In order to retrain our tongue, we have to retrain our thoughts. Psalm 19:14 was another one of David’s prayers that we can adopt. It says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable  in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”

Note that the meditation of his heart was coupled with the words of his mouth. What we think about in Scripture becomes our meditation. Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart…”

In contrast, a persistent negative mental dialogue will become our meditation. It occupies our thoughts which become words. When negativity comes out of our mouth, we slime anyone who hears us, including ourselves. 

I wrote a while back about why I got my mouth washed out with soap. I used a word that I heard at school and had no idea it was unacceptable. I learned after that to watch my language.

1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits.” I have always used this verse about being around bad influences. As I type this. I realize how it can apply to what I hear coming out of my own mouth. Do you hear what you are saying? Are you nourishing or destroying your body?

1 Corinthians 6:19 is a great reminder of Whose we are. It says, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? Since we are not our own, then how shall we live? Verse 20 says, “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

James 3:10 was written about our tongue. It says, “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.” With our lips we praise the Lord in worship. With those same lips we speak derogatory words over our body.

I can write this because that is what I used to do. The operative word is ‘used to.’ I learned a more excellent way. In order for us to fulfill our calling, we need to watch our language.

Paul wrote something that captured my heart back in early 1977. Philippians 1:20 says, “According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.”

Those words sunk into my heart like a well appointed arrow. I fell on my knees and cried out to the Lord. “Lord, I want to magnify You in my body, whether by life or by death!” Shortly after that I fell head first into a six foot ravine.

The Lord used that fall, and all its brain injury ramifications, to woo me to Himself. He took me into a depth of relationship with Him that I had never heard or read about before. 

Our trials are designed to conform our thoughts, purpose, and actions to His will and ways. We magnify Him with our body when we reflect His character. 1 Peter 2:22 says, “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His  mouth.”

David had a great prayer that we can make our own. Psalm 141:3-4 says, “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep a watch over the door of my lips. do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men who work iniquity; and do not let me eat of their delicacies.” More on this tomorrow.