the snare

We should all know by now that the devil, as a roaring lion is walking among us seeking someone to swallow up.  The Lord gave us ample warnings to be on guard but not to yield to fear.  Yes, the devil hates us and yes he would kill us if he could, but greater is He within us than he who walks among us.
 
Ephesians 6:11Put on all of God’s armor, that you may be able to stand against the wiles (methods, tricks) of the devil.
 
The devil operates in a spirit realm apart from our own, he is a spirit being.  God’s armor is spiritual and it must be worn by faith.  The devil is no match for a born-again, Spirit-filled believer.  He cannot go head to head with a son of God.  So, he resorts to methods and tricks, you could call the devil a methodist.  People everywhere are taken captive by the devil because they have neglected the gift of God’s armor.  Do you know why the devil could not take out Jesus?  Because He was wearing His Father’s armor.
 
2 Timothy 2:25-26 With humility instruct those that oppose themselves, try to get them to accept the truth,  that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil.
 
The devil set up a snare for these folks and caught a bunch of them.  The servant of the Lord must approach these folks in meekness.  Why?  Because these people are offended, the devil used offense as bait for his snare.  People who live under the demonic influence do not want to acknowledge their plight, they do not want to admit they were taken.  Offense is the devil’s most successful bait, it works very well on people who think too highly of themselves.  Pride is what caused the devil to be evicted from heaven and he knows how to sow it into the hearts of men.  Men are constantly being taken advantage of by the devil and they have no clue.  Far too many Christians are ignorant of the devils activities in their life.  He takes advantage of them and they are totally clueless, they get caught in his snare.
 
The devil uses deceptive baits to lure men away from the Lord.  The only way out and the only way back to the Lord is to acknowledge the truth.  If a believer commits to living in the truth the devil cannot get past his armor.  So, a captive must accept the truth, they must put on the armor of God to rid the devil from their life.
 
2 Corinthians 2:11 We are not ignorant of the devil’s devices.

Perhaps Paul should have said it this way: we should not be ignorant of his tricks.  Folks who become the prey of the devil have neglected God’s Word, now they must go back and reclaim what they missed.  As long as a man remains unteachable, he will remain in the devil’s power.  A captive cannot do what the Lord tells him because the Lord speaks the truth only.  You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.

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