Temptation

The Great Wall of China is a gigantic structure that cost an immense amount of money and labor. When it was finished, it appeared impregnable. But the enemy breached it. Not by breaking it down or going around it. They did it by bribing the gatekeepers.

There are unlimited ways to be enticed by the pull of Satan's attractiveness. All of the supposed attractiveness of today's culture is Satan's way of persuading us to enjoy the things of this world. Temptation is real. From the beginning of time Satan used bribes to cause spiritual defeat. Satan wants us to give in, to get comfortable in a lifestyle of convenience and sin. But god has given us the Holy Spirit and our own will to be the gatekeepers of our heart. Ephesians 6:11-13 says, "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." All men are honest - until they are faced with a situation tempting enough to make them dishonest.

But thank God that today we have the Holy Spirit and the Word that keeps us from being bribed by the Adversary.
(Turning Point Daily Devotional, 8/27/03)