Read James 1:12-15; Psalm 37:1-7
My dad used to sing this song, and now I sing it to my kids:
Many fish bites if you got good bait.
Here’s a little tip that I’d like to relate:
Many fish bites if you got good bait.
I’m a goin’ fishin.
Yeah, I’m goin’ fishin’,
and my baby’s goin’ fishin’ too!
-Dad’s Fishing Song
Some of my earliest memories are of bait fishing with my dad. The more winkies and pigfish we caught, the more chance he had to land the big one later on.
Bait is essential for fishing, but the fish only bite when they’re hungry.
When it comes to sin, anything can be good bait if we have the hunger of desire.
Desire, or lust, is a compound word in the original language which means focused on passionate desire. Nothing can distract us from the bait once we desire it.
James gives the “Facts of Life” about Death in the very first chapter of his book as he writes, “Desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown brings forth death.”
Desire breeds death unless you have had a desire transplant.
The Psalmist wrote about this: “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” When we delight first in the Lord, making Him our foremost desire, he reorders our thinking and transforms all of our other desires to be pleasing to Him.
Then, when He calls to us, saying, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men!” we will be ready to pick up and go, bringing the Good Bait with us.
What do you desire most?
Identify the repetitive life-cycle of sin in your own life. Which desires do you need to surrender to the Lord?
Memorize a Scripture to use in your time of need.
Extra Reading: Matt. 4:18-22
Sarah Dixon Young 