One In The Win Column

You have an enemy.  His name is Satan. Jesus called him a thief and a liar.  His main weapons are subtly and deception—and he’s pretty good at it, since he has been at it from the beginning of human history.

The Enemy hates God, and everything of God, which includes you. He has a nefarious plan for your life.  He wants to rob you of the abundance of God, destroy your identity and destiny as a child of God, and kill you, body, soul and most of all, spirit, keeping you from eternity with God.  In fact, even right now he is strategically and specifically working to do you in.

The real problem that is you may be completely oblivious to the work of the Enemy. Out of ignorance, disbelief, or plain old lassitude and indifference, most of Satan’s victims fiddle while he goes about his evil work undetected.  George Barna, a Christian researcher and pollster, asked people to respond to this statement in a national survey:  “Satan, is not a living being, but is a symbol of evil.” Among those who claimed to be born again, 32% agreed strongly, 11% agreed somewhat and 5% didn’t know. That means that of the total number responding, 48% of born again believers either agreed that Satan is only symbolic or weren’t sure!

Barna’s findings would suggest that half of you reading this blog today, in spite of what the Bible clearly teaches, think of the devil only as a boogie-man from a spiritual fairy tale, not a real being bent on destroying you.  Jesus would beg to differ with you. He wants you to know that Satan and his demonic legions are alive and well on Planet Earth. Satan is the enemy of God, and because he can’t do anything to God, he chooses to attack what is most precious to God—that is, you.

Now it is critical to your well-being—spiritual, physical, relational, financial—for you to understand that bit of bad news in order for you to fully employ the Good News in Hebrews 2:14, which reminds us that Jesus came “so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil.” You are not alone in this fight against the evil one, nor are you doomed to defeat.  I John 3:8 tells us, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”

Yes, Satan is real, but Jesus has defeated him.  Furthermore, as a Christ-follower, you, too, have power and authority to defeat the devil.  In Luke 10:17-19, we are told, “the seventy-two returned with joy and said, ‘Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.’ Jesus replied, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven.  I have given you authority to…overcome all the power of the enemy, and nothing will harm you.’”

I like that, don’t you? Not only do you have power and authority over the Enemy, Jesus has guaranteed your victory.  I prefer those kinds of fights…ones that I know I’ll win!

So here’s the deal: If you will stay alert to the conflict, wise up to the ways of your enemy, and take him on in the authority and power of Jesus’ name, you will win. Guaranteed!

Keep that in mind today—and go give ‘em heaven!

“The enemy will not see you vanish into God’s company without an effort to reclaim you.”  ~C.S. Lewis

What If God Took Over?

Trying praying this prayer every day this week:  “Lord, keep me wise to the ways of the enemy today.  Lead me away from temptation and keep me from the evil one.  Help me to walk in the victory over Satan that you secured at Calvary.”