Satanic Rip-Off

1 Peter 5:8-9

A basketball fan at the Portland airport awaited the arrival of the Trailblazers following a victory over the Lakers and attempted to scalp a couple of tickets to the next game. As the shyster wormed through the crowd, he located a well-dressed man who listened to his offer.

“How much?” asked the gentleman.

“One hundred fifty bucks,” the scalper replied under his breath.

“Do you realize you’re talking to a plainclothes officer of the law?” the man asked. “I’m going to turn you in, fella.”

Suddenly the seller began to backpedal. He talked about how large a family he had . . . how much they needed him . . . how he’d never do it again.

“Just hand over the tickets and we’ll call it even,” said the well-dressed man. “And I’d better never catch you here again!”

But the worst was yet to come. The man was no officer at all. Just a quick-thinking guy who used a little ingenuity to rip off two choice seats to the next playoff game (as he anonymously admitted in the local newspaper several days later).

Satan’s strategy is just as ingenious and effective. For example, he hears what we hear from the pulpit on Sunday morning, and in the process he plans his approach. He baits the rip-off trap, then sets it up with just the right hair trigger:

  • An argument in the car after church over where to go for dinner.
  • Preoccupation with some worrisome problem during the message.
  • A personality conflict with another church member.

Silently Satan prowls around, camouflaged in the garb of our physical habits and our mental laziness, seeking to devour. Then, at the precise moment when it will have its greatest impact, he snatches away the very truth we need the most.

Remember that next Sunday morning. Prepare your heart and mind before the service, girding yourself with the armor of God.

Don’t let Satan rip you off.

In case you question the effectiveness of Satan’s strategy, think back just two or three weeks. Maybe even one will do. Do you remember the sermon title? How about the outline? Do you recall a couple of applicable principles? You see, his plan is working brilliantly.

Satan prowls around to devour, camouflaged in the garb of our physical habits and mental laziness.

Charles R. Swindoll Tweet This

Taken from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Posted in Christian Living and tagged .

Accuracy, clarity, and practicality all describe the Bible-teaching ministry of Charles R. Swindoll. Chuck is the chairman of the board at Insight for Living and the chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary. Chuck also serves as the senior pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, where he is able to do what he loves most—teach the Bible to willing hearts. His focus on practical Bible application has been heard on the Insight for Living radio broadcast since 1979.

ఖచ్చితత్వం, స్పష్టత మరియు ఆచరణాత్మకత అన్నీ చార్లెస్ ఆర్. స్విన్డాల్ యొక్క బైబిల్-బోధనా పరిచర్యను వివరిస్తాయి. చక్ ఇన్సైట్ ఫర్ లివింగ్ కు బోర్డు ఛైర్మన్ మరియు డల్లాస్ థియోలాజికల్ సెమినరీకి ఛాన్సలర్. చక్ టెక్సాస్‌లోని ఫ్రిస్కోలోని స్టోన్‌బ్రయర్ కమ్యూనిటీ చర్చ్ యొక్క సీనియర్ పాస్టర్‌గా కూడా పనిచేస్తున్నారు, అక్కడ ఆయన చాలా ఇష్టపడేదాన్ని చేయగలుగుతున్నాడు-ఇష్టపడే హృదయాలకు బైబిల్ నేర్పిస్తున్నారు. ఆచరణాత్మక బైబిల్ అనువర్తనంపై ఆయన దృష్టి 1979 నుండి ఇన్సైట్ ఫర్ లివింగ్ రేడియో ప్రసారంలో వినబడుచున్నది.