Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

In the rain forests of Southeast Asia, there is a species of mantis (bug : ), called the Orchid Mantis. It is similar to the Praying Mantis in that they are of the same family and other insects are their food source. The difference with the Orchid Mantis is that it resembles an Orchid blossom.

This Orchid Mantis is the only known animal/insect that mimics a flower blossom to attract its prey. Many other species camouflage themselves among flowers to attack their prey, but none mimic the flower to attract and attack their prey.

Although it is very rare, there are at least 13 different colored Orchid Mantis and scientists compared their color to the color of the actual Orchid blossoms that the Mantis was impersonating and the difference is indistinguishable. Even their legs look like flower petals. (Our creator is AMAZING : )

The Orchid Mantis is so good at mimicking an Orchid blossom that pollinators (pollinating bugs) are sometimes more attracted to the Orchid Mantis than they are the actual Orchid.

The Orchid Mantis resembles and behaves as an Orchid Blossom. It sits atop the leaves, swaying in the breeze and as an unsuspecting pollinating bug arrives to obtain some pollen, the Mantis snaps it’s front legs forward snatching the pollinator out of the air, it then devours it with it’s sharp mandibles (bug teeth ; ).

There is an Orchid Mantis among us. He is THE Enemy. And he too is a master of mimicry.

You see, he knows our weaknesses. He knows those things that we desire/”need” (And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19). And very much like the pollinators, we are drawn to him, as he camouflages himself in whatever form it will take to lure us in to his reach and away from God.

Perhaps the color of our Orchid is material things, perhaps it is success, maybe it is just to be loved.

If it is material things, don’t be surprised when you are lured into making purchases of the newest, biggest and best things (causing you to work more for those things than you do for the Lord and eternal things). “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Matthew 6:19-20

If it is success, don’t be surprised when you are lured into working as much overtime as you can get or perhaps you are lured into compromising and doing what ever it takes to get ahead. “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” Matthew 16:26

If your beautiful Orchid is just to be loved. The love that the enemy offers is no more love than the Orchid Mantis is an Orchid. The scripture tells us of the magnitude of God’s love for us…“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16; “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” 1 John 3-1; Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4:8. If you are desiring love, go to the one who is love. Our Heavenly Father loves us so completely that He sent His Son to die in our place, we will never experience a sweeter or greater love than that. He loved you before you knew Him as Lord and Savior (But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8).

No matter what color/form your Orchid might be, no matter what it takes for the enemy to lure you away, it is all just mimicry. It will never satisfy and was in fact designed to harm you and cause you to sin and be separated from God. The enemy cannot offer you any good thing. Because “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17. God offers you the real thing.

Unlike the enemy, who desires to deceive and harm us and ultimately he desires mankind’s destruction, (“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.) God desires that none should perish (The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9).

I pray that today, we would seek God with our whole hearts. I pray that we would look to Him to satisfy our every “need” and desire. He longs to be our everything, to provide for us and to hear from us. Let’s pray a prayer of thanksgiving for all that He is, all that He has done and all that He has forgiven us. He is a good, good, loving Father and He is the real thing, not an imitation.

If the desires of your heart are not being met and you are still trying to fill the void in your heart with earthly things, I promise you that they will not work. We all have a Christ sized hole in our hearts and everything else is a square peg that will not fit. I pray that today you would go to our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/)and pray the prayer that is outlined there. Once you have, please reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com and let me know. I would love to be in prayer for you and help you grow in your relationship with, and knowledge of, our Precious Savior Jesus Christ.

Luv Ya!