Genesis 3: 1 “Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made.  He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, you shall not eat from any tree in the garden?’”  I have been trout fishing on a beautiful lake and stream in North Carolina.  We learned early that whole kernel corn was a terrific bait. Corn is not a normal dietary item for trout, but it mimics some of their favorite natural food.  They are tricked by a counterfeit and pay for it with their lives in a frying pan.  Our enemy uses the same tactic and bait with counterfeit offers every day.  Like our Scripture says, the enemy is the most cunning of all.  The enemy floated an enticing counterfeit bait before Adam and Eve and they took it, hook line and sinker.  The curse of sin came into the world and has wreaked destruction ever since.

The enemy today always uses a bait of some kind which is a counterfeit of the good things God has given us.  He passes the bait by us in so many tempting ways that we are almost blinded by them.  He runs temptations by us as an offer to doubt God’s love, best and wisdom.  He has baits to seduce men with power, sex, fame, alcohol, drugs, money and many more.  Pornography on the internet is one of the most frequent baits that men fall for today.  Once hooked, the difficulty of getting unhooked is real.  The enemy studies your life to see if there are some counterfeit baits that you are vulnerable to take a bite and become like a trout sucking in a kernel of corn.  Through the Holy Spirit speaking to us and hiding God’s Word in our hearts, we must not take the bait.  We must remain true to our Lord and our families.  Both are counting you to be God’s man.