Seeing through Satan’s Schemes
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him. For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things. To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
2 Corinthians 2:8–11
There is an old Russian story that following a wave of thefts from a construction site in the Soviet Union, special guards were put in place at each exit to stop the robbers. The first day, the guard noticed a worker with a wheelbarrow filled with bags. “What’s in the bags?” he asked suspiciously. “Just sawdust,” the worker replied. Refusing to believe him, the guard made him dump the bags and open them. But there were no tools or other materials inside—just sawdust. This happened every day for a week. The guard was convinced something was going on, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. Finally he asked, “I know you’re up to something, and I promise we won’t arrest you for it. But the curiosity is killing me. What are you doing?” “Stealing wheelbarrows,” the worker replied.
Satan has been deceiving men and women for thousands of years, not because he keeps coming up with new and more elaborate schemes, but because we keep falling for the same lies and temptations. God calls us to be on guard, paying attention, and not allowing the enemy to slip inside our guard. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Since the devil continually attempts to deceive and entrap us, we must be continually watchful, alert to his attempts to lead us astray.
2 Corinthians 2:8–11
There is an old Russian story that following a wave of thefts from a construction site in the Soviet Union, special guards were put in place at each exit to stop the robbers. The first day, the guard noticed a worker with a wheelbarrow filled with bags. “What’s in the bags?” he asked suspiciously. “Just sawdust,” the worker replied. Refusing to believe him, the guard made him dump the bags and open them. But there were no tools or other materials inside—just sawdust. This happened every day for a week. The guard was convinced something was going on, but he couldn’t figure out what it was. Finally he asked, “I know you’re up to something, and I promise we won’t arrest you for it. But the curiosity is killing me. What are you doing?” “Stealing wheelbarrows,” the worker replied.
Satan has been deceiving men and women for thousands of years, not because he keeps coming up with new and more elaborate schemes, but because we keep falling for the same lies and temptations. God calls us to be on guard, paying attention, and not allowing the enemy to slip inside our guard. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Since the devil continually attempts to deceive and entrap us, we must be continually watchful, alert to his attempts to lead us astray.
Today’s Growth Principle:
Be alert to the hidden temptations of Satan so you see through his deceit.
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