Scammers and Temptations...A Spiritual Lesson

I have spent the last week pondering how this happened....(being scammed that is--check out my last two blogs if you are not sure what I am talking about).  As I have reflected, many spiritual lessons have come to mind.

One thing I have not mentioned is that I got the IRS scam call recently.  I immediately shut the caller down. I knew I did not owe the IRS money.  The difference was this scammer -- maybe just from pure coincidence -- happened upon something I was not 100 percent sure of.  Maybe I had been mailed a summons for Grand Jury. I was certain I had not seen such summons but could not be confident it did not get lost in the mail or tossed in the junk mail pile. I won't rehash the details of the what ifs vs what actually did happen but I will give it another spin.

The scammer, like Satan, caused me to doubt something.  He used fear as a tactic to get my guard down and wa-la---I was hooked.  I began to doubt my instincts and to some degree ignored my better judgement.

Satan is just like this.  He does not tempt us with something he is 100 percent sure we would never fall for.  He dangles a carrot we might actually eat...meaning he tempts us with sin that is more appealing to us based on our own weaknesses or is more plausible for us to fall for.  He then hooks you so that you are not clearly in tune to God given discernment.

I shared on my last post how to be prepared for the scammer...now, let's talk about how to be prepared for something much worse -- a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. Matthew 7:15

The word speaks for itself.  Satan does not start with blatant temptations you are not likely to fall for. He disguises himself in other ways. The scammer convinced me he was a trusting law enforcement officer. It was much later that he revealed his darkness.  Satan does the same thing.  We all know the story of Adam & Eve in the garden...the apple seemed innocent enough. 

How are you going to watch out?

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

Be alert and of sober mind. This means to be keenly aware of your surroundings. Don't allow your mind to be influenced by people or things that are not godly and wholesome.  To be alert, you have to know what you are looking for.  You can only be in tune to what is godly and wholesome if you are reading God's word and communicating with Him.  Thus, prayer and daily Bible reading are essential.

Be mindful of who you are looking for....he is not in a red cape or all black attire. He is disguised as a lion.  Prowling around seeking whom he may devour. He is lurking in the background of your life waiting for the opportunity to jump.  Like a lion who longs to satisfy his hunger, Satan has no regret when he attacks. The exact opposite, he is roaring with satisfaction.

As Christians, we are to be vigilantly aware but not fearful. We are not weak but are to be strong in Christ Jesus our Lord.

For he (GOD) will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

This is an exert from a passage in Psalms I cherish...read it, it will satisfy the longings of your soul; stand firm in who you are as a Christian. Oh, and when you fall to the tempter (you will, you are human), get back up and remember you serve a mighty God, let that define you, not one poor choice.  

Psalm 91

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”