Acts 8:23

"For I see that you are poisoned by bitternessand bound by iniquity." Acts 8:23

At a church I once attended, they had a young lady who signs forthe hearing impaired members. She was very expressive and was a joy to watch even for the hearing congregation members. While watching I noticed the sign she used for sin. She crooked her finger like a hook and placed it near her mouth. I checked to be sure and she said that the origin of the sign was,indeed, a hook. How appropriate! Sin is like a hook. And Satan sets his line to reel us in if we are not careful.

Like a fisherman, Satan places bait on the hook. That bait is what the Bible refers to as the pleasures of sin for a season. He "helps" us elevate our mood with drugs or alcohol, gives us a few moments of delight in sexual sin, provides a secret exhilaration when we deceive another, gives us a feeling of superiority when we gossip about another. These are all pleasurable feelings. They are the bait. But concealed within bait is a hook. Once we begin to sin, it becomes easier to sin. Eventually, the sin begins to control our lives. We become a slave to the alcohol ,the drug, the sex, the lies, the gossip. We are hooked.

Fortunately, we can be "taken off the hook" before the barbs dig in. The tool is repentance. We admit our sin to God and ask for help. He will help us come unhooked. But once freed from that sin, we need to become wiser. We must examine the "pleasures" of the world carefully. Be cautious of the treats offered to us, because often hidden beneath that nice juicy worm is a very sharp hook. Amen and Amen.