Well, here we are at Halloween again. I don't know about for you, but it seems time is flying to me.

I thought it was a good time to talk about traps. I am sure all of us have heard the phrase " 'Come into my parlor', said the spider to the fly"  It is a paraphrase from the poem,

The Spider and the Fly by Mary Howitt:

   "Will you walk into my parlor?" said the Spider to the Fly,
    "'Tis the prettiest little parlor that ever you did spy;
    The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,
    And I have many curious things to show you when you are there."
    "Oh no, no," said the Fly, "to ask me is in vain;
    For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again."

    "I'm sure you must be weary, dear, with soaring up so high;
    Will you rest upon my little bed?" said the Spider to the Fly.
    "There are pretty curtains drawn around, the sheets are fine and thin;
    And if you like to rest awhile, I'll snugly tuck you in!"
    "Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "for I've often heard it said
    They never, never wake again, who sleep upon your bed!"

    Said the cunning Spider to the Fly, "Dear friend, what can I do
    To prove that warm affection I've always felt for you?
    I have within my pantry, good store of all that's nice;
    I'm sure you're very welcome - will you please take a slice?"
    "Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "kind sir, that cannot be,
    I've heard what's in your pantry, and I do not wish to see!"

    "Sweet creature," said the Spider, "you're witty and you're wise;
    How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!
    I have a little looking-glass upon my parlor shelf;
    If you step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself."
    "I thank you, gentle sir," she said, "for what you're pleased to say;
    And bidding good morning now, I'll call another day."

    The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den,
    For well he knew the silly Fly would soon come back again;
    So he wove a subtle web in a little corner sly,
    And set his table ready to dine upon the Fly.
    then he came out to his door again, and merrily did sing,
    "Come hither, hither, pretty Fly, with the pearl and silver wing;
    Your robes are green and purple, there's a crest upon your head;
    Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are as dull as lead."

    Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little Fly,
    Hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by;
    With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew, -
    Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue;
    Thinking only of her crested head - poor foolish thing! At last,
    Up jumped the cunning Spider, and fiercely held her fast.
    He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den
    Within his little parlor - but she ne'er came out again!

    And now, dear little children, who may this story read,
    To idle, silly, flattering words, I pray you ne'er heed;
    Unto an evil counsellor close heart, and ear, and eye,
    And take a lesson from this tale of the Spider and the Fly.

The fly was finally trapped by her own foolishness. The Bible said something similar many years before :

Jamess 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death

According to Wikipedia, about 40,000 species of spiders have been identified. Each has their own web, trapping their own prey.

I am sure there are that many sins and more waiting to trap each of us and take us to our destruction.

Actually there is one big web that traps all of us from the time we come to understanding and it is called UNBELIEF. There are a lot of sins that make up the strands of web, but they all stem from the same source - not believing God and His Word.

There is the web strand of religion - it is a sticky one indeed. It says belong to my church, do these things and you might make it to Heaven, but God said in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

There is the strand of drink. The spider there says come on you just want to have a good time, you can quit anytime you want. Then suddenly you find yourself trapped.

There is the web strand of sexual sins - webs of pornography, homosexuality, adultry, fornication etc - they all are sins coming from a person's own lusts and sin nature.

There is the strand of morality. It is a much used web that will take millions to hell. It says be good and you will go to Heaven. The Bible says Romans 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

There are the web strands of education, evolution, atheism, they want to deny there is a God and especially that He has a right to tell us what to do, but the Bible says "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. " (Ps 14:1a)

So you see it doesn't matter if you are wrapped in the strand of out and out open sin, such as drugs, immorality, or in the prettier strands of morality and religion - each is just as trapped and heading for destruction.

If we are to escape, we need someone to free us. We can not free ourselves.

God knew this and He loved us so He came to free us HIMSELF. Anyone else would have just have gotten tangled in the web, but He can't be tangled in the web. He breaks the webs that hold us and frees us. Jesus came in the flesh, born of a virgin, so He was sinless (untangled). He willingly died in our place shedding His blood so we could be cleansed of our sin. He couldn't be held by anything, not even death and the third day Jesus Christ arose bodily from the grave, in victory over sin, death, hell and the grave.  He loves each of us and will save all who believe Him and trust Him to do so. But you have to turn from your way (repent) and believe Him, trusting Jesus alone to be your Saviour ( believe me He doesn't need any help).

So are you going to stay stuck in the web of unbelief or will you believe God and trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour. If you believe Him, reach out to Him now in prayer and tell Him. Tell Him, you know you are a sinner and cannot save yourself, tell Him, you are sorry for your sin and you believe that Jesus died and arose again for you, for your salvation and that you know He is the only way of salvation, and ask Jesus to save you. He will. He promised.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

A Halloween story (Happy Halloween) for you to consider.