Have you ever had your computer get hacked? Has this happened to you? You click on a link in your email from a friend of yours, only to find it was a virus you just downloaded to your computer? Then crash, instead of “you got mail”, “you got hacked!”? If it hasn’t happened to you yet, don’t worry, you’ll get your chance to experience it. Hackers are everywhere roaming online for someone to prey upon and if you’re not careful, you could be their next victim. I was a victim recently. I was catfished. A term that originated over the years since online dating and Facebook became popular. It’s basically a term used to describe a person who poses as someone else to hack into your personal information. A friend of mine told me of a free dating site he was using and so I signed up for it too. After signing up, I immediately received a response from a woman who liked my picture. That should’ve been a clue but I fell for the bait. We started texting and for awhile it seemed promising. I asked her if she wanted to meet up, she said yes and we made plans. But on the night of our date, I got to the restaurant we agreed to, and she never showed up. I texted her too through the dating app but nothing, no response. It wasn’t until I texted her, that I was going home, she finally responded with a lame excuse. So I got a weird feeling and I looked her up on Facebook and when I looked closely at her pictures, I noticed they subtly looked like different people. She also had no friends and I thought that was odd. Long story short, I decided to report on it and sure enough found out that my account was hacked. Thank God she or he did not get any personal information from me. I discovered for the first time, the online world can be a scary place and people aren’t always who they say they are. Next time I venture to do anything like this again in the future, I will be more alert about this kind of scamming and watch for the signs. Also, I’m going to stick to the main dating sites, not these free hookup apps. I can’t believe that there are actual nut cases that get their kicks off of preying on people that are sincerely looking for companionship. I think it’s sick and twisted. But this experience got me thinking about how the devil prowls around this planet looking to devour the vulnerable. He’s like a hacker on the internet looking to prey upon our weaknesses. He poses as an angel of light, a Match.com friend looking for love but in reality, all he wants is to hack into our account and steal our personal information and use that to destroy our lives. As believers we need to be alert to the devil’s schemes. Just like we give up our personal computers to be controlled by an anti-virus software to protect us, we need to give up our deep desires and needs to the Lord’s control. We trust our personal information to a third party software company, we need to turn over our personal lives to Jesus and put our trust in Him. This is what Paul means when he says to put on the full armor of God. Essentially what he is saying is to put on Jesus Christ fully. Don’t hold anything back, give Him control of everything, stop trying to meet your needs your way. When our personal lives are fully under His control we are fully protected.  If He’s not fully in control, then our needs and desires will be given over easily to someone else and that’s when the enemy can hack into our lives and destroy us. And unlike computers, we can’t be easily replaced. Remember, God has our best interest in hand, His plans are to prosper us, not to harm us. He loves us and His love is real, not some scammer out to hurt us. He wants to friend you on your Facebook. If you haven’t added Him yet, why not? He loves everything about your profile, He knows more about you than you know about you. So why not give Him everything? Give Him your loneliness, give Him your relationships, give Him your dreams, give Him your unfulfilled needs, give Him your whole heart, leave nothing back and trust Him. We can’t put on the full armor of God if we are still wearing the armor of our own. Remember, He promises to fully protect us if we will only fully give up our control and trust Him! Stand firm in Him! It’s time for the enemy’s profile to be permanently blocked. His hacker days are over. It’s so much better God’s way, Hallelujah! Praise Jesus Christ, the great defender of my heart!!!

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

Ephesians 6:11
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.