Charlie Riggs says we should be aware of the wiles of the devil so we don't get entangled in his web. "We are not unaware of his schemes" (2 Cor. 2:11). Even though the cartoon character Pogo said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us" we are our own worst enemy--part of the EVIL TRIUMVIRATE of the world, the flesh, and the devil--and Sun Tzu, in The Art of War, said to know your enemy, [Lord Nelson told his troops who were quarreling, "Gentlemen, the enemy is over there."] this is Satan's turf and we live in enemy-occupied territory. The devil is the "god of this world [age]" (2 Cor 4:4).
The battle has just begun, but the battle is the Lords! "If God be for us, who can be against us?" When we become saved, the battle is initiated. Remember the battle-cry of King David facing Goliath: "I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts!" Live in victory over the foe! The battle-cry of the Reformation was "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" by Martin Luther. who had quite a fight with the devil?
The devil is perfectly capable of putting evil thoughts into your mind, (recall what Jesus said to Peter when he rebuked him: "Get behind Me, Satan."), but don't blame the devil for your own evil, for Jesus said "for from within, out of man's heart proceeds evil thoughts..." (Mark 7:21) As examples, Satan "rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census" (2 Chron. 21:1), and Peter told Ananias that Satan had filled his heart to lie to the Holy Spirit.
Let's not think there is a devil around every corner and all our evil thoughts must be demonic. We are plenty of evil ourselves ("The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9). You may not be able to pinpoint which thoughts are yours and which are the devils, but remember Martin Luther said that you can't keep a sparrow from flying over your head, but you can keep him from making a nest in your hair. Satan wants you to believe a lie because he is the father of lies. He is deceptive and the accuser of the brethren before God day and night. The Holy Spirit convicts with an open and shut case, Satan accuses. The primary area of Satan attacks is our pride, which was the first sin of Satan. Even though Satan can instill evil, we are still responsible (Mea culpa) and we still decide to act on our thoughts or not to.
Satan uses psychological warfare or mind games (he messes with your thinking) and his number one strategy is to divide and conquer. But don't ever give the devil an opportunity: submit to God and he will flee from you. "Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). There is the story of a Civil War soldier who couldn't make up his mind what side to be on, so he wore half gray and half blue; he got shot at by both sides. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph. 6:12).
Don't be a sitting duck waiting for the devil to attack--be proactive and anticipate that he "prowls around like a roaring lion," as Peter says. He has subtle tactics and his multitudinous demons do his dirty work. One of his strategies is to accuse you and make you feel guilty but remember "there is, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," according to Rom. 8:1. There is a big difference between the open and shut case of the Holy Spirit's convicting ministry and the vague accusations to make you feel guilt and shame.
We must daily pray "Deliver us from evil." The M.O. of the devil is "to steal, to kill, and to destroy;" [his name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek Apollyon] he wants to ruin your life; whereas God has a beautiful plan for your life. We can be assured that the battle is the Lord's and again "greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). Soli Deo Gloria!
The battle has just begun, but the battle is the Lords! "If God be for us, who can be against us?" When we become saved, the battle is initiated. Remember the battle-cry of King David facing Goliath: "I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts!" Live in victory over the foe! The battle-cry of the Reformation was "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" by Martin Luther. who had quite a fight with the devil?
The devil is perfectly capable of putting evil thoughts into your mind, (recall what Jesus said to Peter when he rebuked him: "Get behind Me, Satan."), but don't blame the devil for your own evil, for Jesus said "for from within, out of man's heart proceeds evil thoughts..." (Mark 7:21) As examples, Satan "rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census" (2 Chron. 21:1), and Peter told Ananias that Satan had filled his heart to lie to the Holy Spirit.
Let's not think there is a devil around every corner and all our evil thoughts must be demonic. We are plenty of evil ourselves ("The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9). You may not be able to pinpoint which thoughts are yours and which are the devils, but remember Martin Luther said that you can't keep a sparrow from flying over your head, but you can keep him from making a nest in your hair. Satan wants you to believe a lie because he is the father of lies. He is deceptive and the accuser of the brethren before God day and night. The Holy Spirit convicts with an open and shut case, Satan accuses. The primary area of Satan attacks is our pride, which was the first sin of Satan. Even though Satan can instill evil, we are still responsible (Mea culpa) and we still decide to act on our thoughts or not to.
Satan uses psychological warfare or mind games (he messes with your thinking) and his number one strategy is to divide and conquer. But don't ever give the devil an opportunity: submit to God and he will flee from you. "Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). There is the story of a Civil War soldier who couldn't make up his mind what side to be on, so he wore half gray and half blue; he got shot at by both sides. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph. 6:12).
Don't be a sitting duck waiting for the devil to attack--be proactive and anticipate that he "prowls around like a roaring lion," as Peter says. He has subtle tactics and his multitudinous demons do his dirty work. One of his strategies is to accuse you and make you feel guilty but remember "there is, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," according to Rom. 8:1. There is a big difference between the open and shut case of the Holy Spirit's convicting ministry and the vague accusations to make you feel guilt and shame.
We must daily pray "Deliver us from evil." The M.O. of the devil is "to steal, to kill, and to destroy;" [his name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek Apollyon] he wants to ruin your life; whereas God has a beautiful plan for your life. We can be assured that the battle is the Lord's and again "greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). Soli Deo Gloria!