Watch Out For The "Wiles"!
Julia Bettencourt

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Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may
be able to stand against the wiles of the devil..   Ephesians 6:11


There are just so many things that can ensnare us as Christians. The devil makes sure of that. Ephesians 6:11 talks about the "wiles of the devil". Those "wiles" are those tricky, sly, and deceitful things that draw us away from Christ. The devil is very good at throwing his "wiles" our way.

It seems we always have to be on our toes. We can't just sit back and live in a relaxed mode because we'll get "wiled" if we do. The devil is out there seeking us like a roaring lion it says in 1 Peter 5:8.

What Will The W-I-L-E-S Do To Us?

W-  Woo Us Into Ungodly Thinking.
We don't use that word "woo" much anymore but that's exactly what the devil does to us. It doesn't happen all at once. He slowly gets our affection by wooing us with his subtle means. Maybe by television, internet ads, magazines, ungodly advice, and worldly philosophy's in general. If we don't watch it, pretty soon we are thinking just like the world thinks.

I-  Introduce Us To Things Not Of Christ.
"Introducing" revolves around getting acquainted with something or someone. The devil slyly introduces us to worldly things just one glance at a time. We may not even react to it at first. We get acquainted with it little by little and pretty soon we begin to know that worldly thing more intimately. I know we all think we know right from wrong, but sometimes the devil can blur our decision making process and pretty soon we find we're involved in things that are not of Christ.

L-  Lure Us Into Ungodly Deeds.
When I think of the word "lure" I think about how much my dad used to love to fish so much and he'd have all those "lures" he'd use. Those are artificial bait if you're not familiar with a fishing lure. I can remember how some of them were so pretty with all kinds of colors and flare. My dad was always so proud of his lures and anything in his tackle boxes.

I can remember how he'd take them out and say, "Now I use this one for" such and such kind of fish. And he'd use another one for another kind of fish and so on. I can remember him explaining what each type of fish was attracted to. That's what the devil uses to catch us too, artificial bait. Things that are appealing but that have no real value to them. And that devil knows which one to put on his hook just tailor made for each of us too. He knows exactly what will attract us. Pretty soon, we see all those pretty colors and feathers and we're lured away and involved in ungodly deeds.

E-  Exclude Us From Fellowship With Christ.
Nobody usually likes to be "excluded" from anything. It means we are prevented from participating. When we are enticed by those "wiles" of the devil, we end far away from Christ and that means a broken relationship with Him. Until we confess that sin in our lives we can't have that fellowship with our Lord that we need. Sin and Christ don't mix. Christ is holy. Being excluded from fellowship with the Lord is a scary place to be.

S-  Snare Us Into Worldly Living.
A "snare" is used to trap or entangle us and when we don't watch out for those "wiles" of the devil we sure can get entangled. We can get entangled right into ungodly living if we aren't careful. Pretty soon it's not just an isolated ungodly thought or an isolated ungodly deed, it's a whole ungodly lifestyle we're leading. We can't serve two masters. We're either going to live for Christ or live for the world.


Conclusion:
When we aren't watching out for those "wiles" of the devil we can be so easily caught up into them. I know I need to be a little more careful and keep on my toes. As Christians, we all do. We've got to keep putting on that "whole armour" that's mentioned in the rest of Ephesians chapter 6.

So, are you watching out for the "wiles"?


Copyright ©2006 Julia Bettencourt
Scripture References are from the King James Version.
www.juliabettencourt.com

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