Recently a bear became trapped inside a car in Colorado for at least an hour.  The bear attempted to find its way out of the car after getting into the unlocked car and not being able to figure out to get out pf it.  A rope was tied to the door handle to open it so that the bear could get out of the car.

        “Words from Above” in the Bible tell us that many people in our world get trapped by the devil in some way and once they realize it, they attempt  to find a way out of the trap.  Many people do not even realize that they are trapped by the devil, and therefore never attempt to get out of the trap.  It is often up to people who have found their way out of the devil’s trap to pass on to those who are still trapped how to get out of it.

        As far back as the Garden of Eden, the devil has been using every trick imaginable to deceive the people of our world.  In the case of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, he deceived them by twisting what God had told them about not eating or touching the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden.  He also enticed them by suggesting that they would become as wise as God Himself, and he succeeded in introducing sin into the perfect paradise where God had placed Adam and Eve to live.

        The apostle Peter wrote two letters to the believers in the churches of his day, and warned them to be on the alert for the devil “roaming about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”  When the devil appeared one day before God to accuse Job of serving God because of the way God had blessed him, he himself admitted that he had been going back and forth throughout the earth.  His motives and his intentions can never be trusted, not now and not ever in the future.

        Originally, the devil was a created angel of God, but he and one-third of the angels of God rebelled against God.  He wanted to take over God’s throne, and therefore he was kicked out of heaven, and he ended up on the earth.  From that time forward, he has sought revenge against God, and his main strategy has been to set traps for the people of this earth.  He knows how difficult it is for people to get out of his trap because sin has a very real power over people’s lives.  Only Jesus, the Son of God, can deliver people from that trap.

Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  For informa-tion, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.