One day a squirrel was walking along the shore of a pond. The squirrel notices a small stump sticking up from the water. On the stomp was an acorn. The acorn immediately captured his attention.
So the squirrel decided he wanted that nut. He stepped in the water and began to swim to the stump. Once there, crawled up and got the nut. He spent the next minutes enjoying the satisfaction of his nut.
Concluding his meal he returned to the water and began swimming to shore. About half way back there was a big splash near him and the squirrel disappeared underwater. He never resurfaced. Several minutes later a Catfish surfaces and places another nut on the stump.
This story reminds me of 1 Peter 5:8, "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." NLT
Like the catfish, Satan looks for ways to beguile us. To beguile means to bring about deception.
“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3
The Apostle Paul was concerned by the deception of men who could lead the Corinthians astray.
The latter part of June 2020 the spirit of God revealed to me that Satan would use the current pandemic against the church.
He revealed to me that there would come a spirit of complacency in the body of Christ due to the influence of Satan. Galatians 3:1 “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?...........” The word bewitched carries the thought of a spell being cast.
That spirit of complacency has caused many to abandon the gospel and their commitment to preaching, teaching, and seeking to live it. This spell of complacency has people who once were focused and passionate about ministry to lose their dedication.
People who use to attend worship gatherings religiously now are MIA and in some cases don’t find it important to attend the church gatherings. As one pastor told me, “ they just don’t seem to care anymore”.
Houses of worship all over the world have since seen a decline of worship attendance, not because of COVID, but because of COMPLACENCY.
Some will try to justify their detour, but the reality is that Satan has infiltrated the hearts of so many with this spell. He understands that the body of Christ (the Church) is the occupying ambassadors of Christ. We are call to spread the Gospel, and make Disciples for Christ.
If he can get you disconnected, discouraged, and deterred, the church looses its effectiveness.
Like the Squirrel that was beguiled by the catfish, Satan has placed enticing nuts of desires in the path of Christians to draw them to his deceptions. Deceptions design to weaken the body of Christ. I pray you don’t allow Satan’s nut of complacency to beguile you and make you comfortable in your complacent state.
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