I realized today that I am losing this war. Satan is real, and he is crafty. When Christ was born, King Herod, one of the most ruthless of rulers (he even killed his own children and wives!) was so hell-bent on killing the one called "King of Jews" by the three men from the orient (who stuck out like sore thumbs in his kingdom). Herod eventually ordered a census of his people by ordering them back to their respective hometowns to register, including their children, so that he could find and kill all male babies under the age of two years old. By his own efforts and trickery (including, "Where is He? I want to worship Him, too!"), the great and mighty Herod could not find baby Jesus during that period. Yet Jesus survived by the protection of angels and a wise and faithful father who listened to them. I as a father listen listlessly for angels. But my spiritual ears have atrophied and have become deaf over the years from the triviality and banalties of everyday life. How is Satan crafty? Well, he leaves alone those with cold faith. He lets the status of quo serve his purposes. He fears that any disturbance will awaken a sleeping Christian giant who may witness and profess the Good News. Satan abhors the conversion of nonbelievers. As a fallen angel himself, he is fully cognizant of where his destiny lays and what awaits him. This angers him greatly. Out of sheer frustration, his hatred fuels his revenge for he is in desperate want of company. Even with those who walk with God, Satan attempts to throw them into a boiling caldron of sin. But in most cases, these Christians jump out like frogs who sense the water's tepid temperatures. Satan persistent, but with the Word and the power of prayer, they jump out time after time. Satan plays this game, believing that his tenancity will prevail in the long run. Those with lukewarm faith like myself are most susceptible to Satan. We are frogs wadding in comfortable waters. Realizing this, Satan turns up its temperature very slowly and nonchalantly. We instinctively acclimate and cannot discern the new temperature for the water seemingly remains placid. Satan turns up the temperature yet again. And again. This evil cycle continuous surreptiously. But this is not Satan's craftiness at its apex. Realizing that we suffer in differing degrees of lukewarm faith, he has a Viking stovetop with kettles of water for each of us rather than throwing us all in one large pot. Each kettle allows Satan to customize the temperature for each person accordingly and allows him to calculate and tailor each turn of the knob to maximize his effectiveness. This is how Satan is crafty. | 
