Here's the original link- The devil is a professional fisherman
I love fishing. After moving to Chattanooga, TN, I really picked up fishing after living on the Tennessee River, which is a massively huge river and supposedly some of the best freshwater fishing on the whole continent according to online sources. I went fishing with my brother as a kid but never really enjoyed fishing in little neighborhood ponds… but here there are very large and exciting fish to catch, the catfish getting over 100 pounds, and I get such an adrenaline rush catching these fish. After using many different types of baits and lures, while catching many different types of fish and many fish coming off the hook, I felt like God was teaching me a lesson about how satan works… he’s fishing for souls.
You see, when a fish bites your lure, there is a chance that he will come off because the hook wasn’t deeply rooted in his mouth. It will sense the danger when you try to reel it in and try to spit the lure out of it’s mouth. Most hooks have what’s called a ”barb,” which is a little sharp point on the hook designed to prevent the hook from coming out of the fishes mouth. You want the fish to aggressively strike the lure so that there is no chance of the lure coming out of his mouth. Spiritually, we are the fish and there are lures all over this world… and satan is the fisherman.
The ”lures” that are everywhere come in so many forms… some examples being the temptations to be greedy, selfish, prideful and to get drunk, be lazy, cheat on your spouse, smoke cigarettes, steal, lie, along with every other sin out there. These lures are bright and beautiful but like the book of Revelation says, they are ”sweet in the mouth, sour in the belly.” All of us are fooled by these artificial lures just like fish in the river, but if we do not spit the lure out of our mouth immediately [repent], we develop a demonic stronghold on our life. The ”barb” on the hook is this stronghold. Someone who is wise will sense the danger like fish often do and spit the hook out immediately. Some without understanding will stubbornly bite the hook aggressively, not caring that the end result of being so stubborn ends in death. Unfortunately, satan does not do catch-and-release. He is fishing for your soul and if he can reel you in he wants to keep you and kill you.
When we become hooked, the only person that can take us off the hook is Jesus. For whatever reason, many people stubbornly bite this counterfeit lure and ”refuse to love the truth that they may be saved.” This counterfeit lure is a FALSE replacement for God’s love and how God can fill every area of our lives to overflowing. To reject God’s love is to say that you want the fake plastic lure and for the fisherman on the shore to kill you. This is silly. When we act stubborn like this, the barb becomes hooked in us and we become a slave to sin. This slavery is tormenting and takes control of our lives.
Satan wants you to be in hell with him because he can’t go back to heaven. He knows that if he can reel you all the way in then he will succeed. Sometimes we bite the lure so hard and sometimes even swallow it that getting the hook out is a long, painful process. This is deliverance and what I have been going through with strongholds beginning in childhood. Everything from drug addiction to depression to pornography to fear and anger… I bit many artificial lures and even swallowed a few. Jesus has had to take out some serious tools to deliver me from these things, and I am still healing and being delivered.
The Bible says before we found Christ we were all slaves to sin. It is hard to distinguish the difference between an artificial lure in the water and a real fish. We must not focus on our shortcomings and our failures of the past but only seek deliverance from these things. You see Jesus is like the park ranger who asks satan if he has a fishing license, and satan says no… so Jesus demands the fish that satan caught and puts the fish back in the water. Jesus said ”apart from me you can do nothing.” Don’t let the crooked fisherman who is fishing illegally kill you and eat you for dinner. Jesus loves you and WANTS to unhook you. Jesus gives us the REAL food... not the fake plastic lures designed to catch and kill us. Don't be fooled. Even when everyone around you is biting the plastic lures, you must stay true to God because he is true.
I love fishing. After moving to Chattanooga, TN, I really picked up fishing after living on the Tennessee River, which is a massively huge river and supposedly some of the best freshwater fishing on the whole continent according to online sources. I went fishing with my brother as a kid but never really enjoyed fishing in little neighborhood ponds… but here there are very large and exciting fish to catch, the catfish getting over 100 pounds, and I get such an adrenaline rush catching these fish. After using many different types of baits and lures, while catching many different types of fish and many fish coming off the hook, I felt like God was teaching me a lesson about how satan works… he’s fishing for souls.
You see, when a fish bites your lure, there is a chance that he will come off because the hook wasn’t deeply rooted in his mouth. It will sense the danger when you try to reel it in and try to spit the lure out of it’s mouth. Most hooks have what’s called a ”barb,” which is a little sharp point on the hook designed to prevent the hook from coming out of the fishes mouth. You want the fish to aggressively strike the lure so that there is no chance of the lure coming out of his mouth. Spiritually, we are the fish and there are lures all over this world… and satan is the fisherman.
The ”lures” that are everywhere come in so many forms… some examples being the temptations to be greedy, selfish, prideful and to get drunk, be lazy, cheat on your spouse, smoke cigarettes, steal, lie, along with every other sin out there. These lures are bright and beautiful but like the book of Revelation says, they are ”sweet in the mouth, sour in the belly.” All of us are fooled by these artificial lures just like fish in the river, but if we do not spit the lure out of our mouth immediately [repent], we develop a demonic stronghold on our life. The ”barb” on the hook is this stronghold. Someone who is wise will sense the danger like fish often do and spit the hook out immediately. Some without understanding will stubbornly bite the hook aggressively, not caring that the end result of being so stubborn ends in death. Unfortunately, satan does not do catch-and-release. He is fishing for your soul and if he can reel you in he wants to keep you and kill you.
When we become hooked, the only person that can take us off the hook is Jesus. For whatever reason, many people stubbornly bite this counterfeit lure and ”refuse to love the truth that they may be saved.” This counterfeit lure is a FALSE replacement for God’s love and how God can fill every area of our lives to overflowing. To reject God’s love is to say that you want the fake plastic lure and for the fisherman on the shore to kill you. This is silly. When we act stubborn like this, the barb becomes hooked in us and we become a slave to sin. This slavery is tormenting and takes control of our lives.
Satan wants you to be in hell with him because he can’t go back to heaven. He knows that if he can reel you all the way in then he will succeed. Sometimes we bite the lure so hard and sometimes even swallow it that getting the hook out is a long, painful process. This is deliverance and what I have been going through with strongholds beginning in childhood. Everything from drug addiction to depression to pornography to fear and anger… I bit many artificial lures and even swallowed a few. Jesus has had to take out some serious tools to deliver me from these things, and I am still healing and being delivered.
The Bible says before we found Christ we were all slaves to sin. It is hard to distinguish the difference between an artificial lure in the water and a real fish. We must not focus on our shortcomings and our failures of the past but only seek deliverance from these things. You see Jesus is like the park ranger who asks satan if he has a fishing license, and satan says no… so Jesus demands the fish that satan caught and puts the fish back in the water. Jesus said ”apart from me you can do nothing.” Don’t let the crooked fisherman who is fishing illegally kill you and eat you for dinner. Jesus loves you and WANTS to unhook you. Jesus gives us the REAL food... not the fake plastic lures designed to catch and kill us. Don't be fooled. Even when everyone around you is biting the plastic lures, you must stay true to God because he is true.
