October 27, 2022

HOOKS

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

James 1:13-15 NLT

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TODAY’S THOUGHT

There are some powerful truths to ponder today. First, God does not tempt anyone! Temptation is not God trying to see if we will do the right thing and resist the urge of the flesh to sin. Temptation comes “from our own desires.” All sin is the result of a natural desire taking the wrong path to fulfillment. I get a mental picture of fishing. When I was a kid, we learned to fish at my granddad’s pond. We used a cane pole with a bobber, hook, and a worm. We had to dig up worms to put on the hook. Then we threw the hook in the water and watched the bobber floating on top of the water. When the catfish would grab the worm, the bobber would sink, and we had to pull the pole to set the hook in the mouth of the catfish. The catfish was hungry and saw the worm as a solution to its hunger. But there was a hook behind the worm. Instead of getting lunch the catfish became lunch. Satan throws temptation at us by showing us something that is appealing to our flesh—sex, money, drugs, etc. The point is that what he shows us is meant to momentarily fulfill a desire of the flesh. But what we don’t see is the hook. The hook drags us away and we begin to fulfill a natural need in an inappropriate way. God created us male and female. Sex is a natural desire that God intended to be fulfilled between one man and one woman who are in a covenant relationship for life. But Satan offers the “joy of sex” without commitment. He doesn’t show us that sex without commitment brings heartache, brokenness, and the feeling of being used. This is one example of how our natural desires can drag us away by perverting God’s intended way to satisfy that desire. God, in His mercy and grace, sent Jesus to die on the cross and free us from the control and consequences of sin. We can be freed from those hooks that have lodged in our life. Some hooks are in our minds and emotions. We need the Holy Spirit to reveal those hooks and empower us to denounce them and walk free.

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TODAY’S PRAYER

Holy Spirit show me any hooks that I have allowed into my life. Empower me today to denounce those hooks and walk away into freedom. Jesus, thanks for paying the price for my sin and giving me the opportunity to be clean and free. You are my Lord.

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