The demons
of hell are looting and pillaging lives every single day (Ephesians 2:2). They are doing Satan’s bidding,
and attempting to draw us into sin in order to destroy our Christian witness.
Our enemy is a very real force in the world through the limited authority given
to him by God (1 Peter
5:8). He wants to
entangle our life in sin and lead us away from living for God and His Kingdom (Matthew 6:33). Anyone not covered by the blood of
Jesus is in peril of being deceived by Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4; Acts 26:18).
Satan
cannot possess Born Again Believers, but he can certainly oppress our feelings,
attitudes and beliefs until we act on them. However, God’s angels are doing
warfare for us, and taking authority over Satan’s demons with the words, “The
Lord rebuke you” (Zechariah
3:2; Jude 1:9; Daniel 10:1-21). Believers are no longer slaves to the law of sin and death (Romans 6:6-7). Our faith is enhanced by the power
of Christ in our life (2
Corinthians 10:3-5).
Jesus faced
Calvary ’s cross with its shame set before Him.
Although he despised having to take our sin upon his shoulders, He focused
instead on returning to sit at the right hand of our Father’s throne (Hebrews 12:2). As we submit our life to Christ,
we can then resist the devil and he has to leave our presence (James 4:7). God gives us His armor in which we
clothe our self for spiritual warfare:
The first
piece of armor is to accept Jesus as our Savior. He is the Truth, and He is the
belt that holds our life together. Then, we put on the breastplate of holy
living, which protects all of the vital aspects of our life. We walk in peace,
which comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This fully prepares
us to stand victoriously in the Lord and in the authority of His power within
us (Ephesians 6:10).
In
addition to all of these protective elements, we hold up the shield of faith in
Christ to stop the fiery arrows of deception and temptation, which Satan shoots
at us throughout the day. We put on the mind of Christ as our helmet (Philippians 2:5). Finally, we take up the sword of
the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Jesus did not leave us alone when He
returned to heaven. He comes to live within us through the Comforter, which He
sent to walk with us through this age (John 16:7).
Prayer:
Father
God, remind us that spiritual warfare is going on all around us (Ephesians 6:12-18). Satan already lost his rebellion
against You, but He is trying to bring as many lives with him to hell as he
can. In Your wisdom, You gave Christians the power to rebuke Satan through the
life of Christ within us. Satan has less influence over our life than we often
attribute to him. He does not have Your supernatural attributes. He is a
created being and not equal to You in any way. We thank You for ruling and
reigning in our lives.
Thought
for the Day:
Jesus
quoted scripture when tempted by Satan, which made the devil flee from Him. We
can follow in His example.
- Matthew
4:1-11; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
