What
was true in Biblical times is true now. He who dwells in the hearts of
Christians by his Spirit - Jesus, the Christ - is infinitely mightier than the
devil who is in this world (1 John 4:4). The devil is merely, "the ruler
of the darkness - of this world only" (2 Corinthians 4:4).
It
is the devil’s goal to corrupt and destroy the Believer. He is the father of
all lies - the deceiver. He wants to terminate us as persons - body, soul, and
spirit. He knows when and where we are most vulnerable, and attacks us when we
are at our weakest moments.
The
good news is that the devil is under God’s control, and God knows we will prove
faithful, because of the work that He is doing in us. The devil has limited
power - as much control in our life as we, or as God allows. Our victory over
all of Satan's demons and temptations is guaranteed by the blood of Jesus.
In
our conflict with sin, temptation, and false teachers, an authentic Christian
need never despair, because our God insures us of success by the blood of
Jesus, the power in Jesus' name, and God's Spirit that abides within us (1
Corinthians 10:13).
For
the Believer, Satan can influence our body and soul - which is our mind, will,
emotions; but he cannot touch our spirit, because it is already washed and
protected by the blood of Jesus. We access this power by dealing with any
issues of guilt, fear, self-rejection and unforgiveness that we harbor toward
our self, others, or even of God.
When
we draw near to God by taking authority in Jesus' name, and by binding the
devil and his demons from our life, they have to flee from us (James 4:7). We
take all of our thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ, casting down
our vivid imagination and fantasies, and submitting them to Christ's control (2
Corinthians 10:3-5).
Prayer:
Father
God, remind us that although we live in the flesh now, we do not need to walk
in the flesh or to fight with the flesh. Our battle is not with the flesh, and
our weapons are not carnal or finite, but spiritual (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
Teach us that we are mighty in Christ and can pull down every stronghold that
exalts itself against what You teach us in Your Word.
Satan
likes to pervert our imagination, influence our emotions and actions, and use
us for his purposes. So help us to submit to Your Holy Spirit each moment of
the day, and to resist the lies that the devil whispers in our mind, so that He
will flee from us (James 4:8). Help us not to give Satan permission to oppress
us, and trouble us with his evil spirits, by willfully sinning and forming
unholy soul-ties with other people.
Thought
for the Day:
If
we do not inventory our thoughts and line them up with the Word of God, Satan
will enslave our thoughts and use them against us; therefore, we can never grow
lax and forget that our battles are won and lost in the recesses of our mind;
therefore, we should cooperate as God's Spirit renews our mind with the mind of
Christ.
-
1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5, 4:8; Romans 12:2
