“Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.” James 1:14

I was with a group of men this weekend at Swampbilly Outdoor Adventures, in Punta Gorda Florida, for a Hog Hunt. Anticipation had been building for weeks, guns had been sighted in and everything was prepared. Sitting atop a large swamp-buggy, all that was missing were the hogs! SOA is a fine business, but the experience would be a complete waste if no hogs appeared. For that…they needed a little enticement!

Our guide climbed down and walked to an automatic feeder, programmed to throw corn feed at certain times. Pressing a button and hurrying back to the buggy, we heard….ZING… then FLING…and we waited for ‘The THING’ to happen. Sure enough, and in a matter of a few moments, at least 20 hogs came running to get the corn. Now all that was left was for the hunter to ‘pick one’ and not MISS!

Now I know there are some folks that think this is horribly unfair. To which I must respond…“they’re pigs!” Then I must add with a snicker…”just like ME” (and you too)! Because based upon what I think, reason and do, there is one thing I know for sure. When it comes to being a sinner, I am a TROPHY OINKER… AND the TARGET of a VERY skilled hunter named satan!

My enemy, the devil, has MANY tricks on how to entice and destroy me. Sadly, HE didn’t have to invent ANY of them. I supply the bait of my OWN demise by showing off my evil lusts and desires. All he has to do is watch, wait, take notes, and then set the trap! Once he sets the trap, it’s ZING…FLING… and then the THING happens! Like a hog, it doesn’t matter how many times I see, or hear it, NOTHING can stop me from running to the feeder of my own destruction! ‘Cept for…!

I believe in the inerrancy of Scripture! Which means that I KNOW Scripture to be 99.9999% accurate! The ONLY verse I disagree with is Paul’s description of himself as “the chiefest of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). I KNOW he is wrong because “I AM!” But I DO agree with him on “The Fixer!” He’s ‘The One’ who came to become a target…just like me! FOR me!

I LOVE Christmas because it fixes my eyes on the birth of God’s most precious gift to me…His Son Jesus Christ! He didn’t come as a hog…but a lamb! He didn’t come to live, but to DIE. And not for Himself…but for ME! And while the MAJORITY of people around the world may focus on having a HAPPY HOLIDAY…I STILL can’t into my head WHY God would love, come and DIE for…all for a pig like me!

Because of Christ, The STING THING OF DEATH itself has been killed. And Jesus Christ has earned, deserves and HAS…ALL my attention! Merry Merry!