Mind the Gap

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. 1 Peter 5:8-9 NLTIt takes a faith focused on Jesus to avoid the deception and destruction of the devil. If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 NLTGod is there to help us avoid or escape every deceptive pitfall we could ever encounter.Any perspective that doesn’t pass through the lens of the Holy Spirit’s leading is prone to distortion and set up for deception. In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.” Psalm 10:4 ESVPride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall. Proverbs 16:18 NLTThen Nathan said to David, “You are that man! 2 Samuel 12:7 NLTThe traps that tend to trip us are usually subtle but seldom sudden.The road of right living bypasses evil; watch your step and save your life. First pride, then the crash the bigger the ego, the harder the fall. It's better to live humbly among the poor than to live it up among the rich and famous. It pays to take life seriously; things work out when you trust in God. Proverbs 16:17-20 MSG