Christian Pitfalls: Satan’s Snares

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

1 Peter 5:8 (NASB)

Since Jesus beat Satan and returned Home… streams of Christian leaders bit Satan’s bait–and fell from their pinnacle positions. Unlike Jesus, they took a risky bet. The result?

They not only lost their lofty footing, but some lost their churches and families.

The Word of God soberly reminds us:

Leaders are held to a higher standard.

  • 'For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required' (Luke 12:48).

  • 'Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment' (James 3:1).

When Christians rise, a cross rises with them.

Actors, models, and talent for Christ: 

The cross on your back resembles a 'T'. Consider what (besides Christ) ‘T’ can mean: TEACHER, TARGET, TEST, TRIAL, TEMPTATION. 

  • A TEACHER beckons students to listen.

  • A TARGET, TEST, TRIAL, or TEMPTATION…

  • Beckons Satan’s team: 'Spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms' (Ephesians 6:12).

You’re on a heavenly obstacle course!

  • 'My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing' (James 1:2-4).

  • 'In this, you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ' (1 Peter 1:6-7).

Actors, models, and talent for Christ:

Earthly leadership is your destiny. God prepares rising stars like YOU to fill crucial roles no one but He envisioned. Through YOU, His story continues:

  • 'Clearly, you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart' (2 Corinthians 3:3). 

Your job is big. Therefore, expect pitfalls--and prepare for them! Don't jump recklessly off the high platforms God prepared for you (before you were born). Learn what to expect 

'In order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes' (2 Corinthians 2:11).

Christian Pitfalls: Satan’s Snares (Part 1)

NOTE: God is my Ghostwriter. If what I write is good, it’s from God. You may see notes to 'Actors, Models & Talent for Christ.' If you think you're not in show business, think again. Shakespeare said, 'All the world's a stage and all its men and women merely players.’ Mostly true. But you're not merely players. You are messengers and ambassadors for the King of kings.

Carey Arban