8 Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour.
9 Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering.
vs. 8 - "the devil... is on the prowl" - Be aware that the devil is constantly alert, trying to trip us up. We hear the description 'roaring lion' and I suspect that many of us make a small quiet smile amd think, "Yeah. Right." By that, I mean we acknowledge that Satan exists, but are not always sure how much effect he has on us. After all, we are saved and are Christians - what can Satan do to us? But Satan has been involved in the downfall and failure of humans from the beginning. A partial list follows;
- Gen. 3:1-15 - Satan deceives Eve. She succumbs to her desires rather than obeying the Lord.
- Gen 4:2-9 - Cain murders Abel. He dos not control his anger. Cain's 'woe is me' turns to rage, and then feigns ignorance and indifference. Again, suggested and fueled by Satan.
- Gen. 16:1-12 - Sarah tries to 'help' the Lord to fulfill His promise to Abraham. The result was a son by a servant woman, and this son has been a thorn in the side of the Jews ever since. She didn't believe God any better than Eve.
- Gen. 27:6-30 - Rather than believing God's promise, Rachel convinces Jacob to cheat his brother. This lack of trust in God, resulted in enmity between Jacob's and Esau's descendants, that has lasted through the present day.
- Exo. 32:4; Num. 13:27-14:12 - The Jews lose faith in God and Moses, multiple times - making the golden calf, and refusal to enter Canaan the first time and 38 years of wandering in the desert.
- Judges - the whole book...) - The Jews 'fall away' from God, and suffer at the hands of oppressors. God rescues them by raising up a judge, a charismatic leader. This pattern repeats for hundreds of years.
- 1 Sam. 8:4-9; 10;17-19 - The Jews demand to have a king, even though God says He is their king. The desire to be like everyone else is another lie from Satan.
- 1 Sam. 13:8-14 - Saul doesn't obey God's instructions, and his kingdom is stripped away. He just couldn't wait another day - impatience encouraged by Satan.
- 2 Sam. 11:2-11 - David commits adultery, and has the woman's husband killed. The temptation was laid before David, and his lust led him into sin.
- 2 Kings 17:5-23, (see especially verses 7-18 and the list of their offenses). 2 Kings 24:1-25:20 - The Northern and Southern kingdoms are evil, turning their backs on God. The Northern kingdom disappears courtesy of the Assyrians (who weren't as nice as the Nazis a couple of thousand years later.)
- Mark 8:32-33 - Peter tries to talk Jesus out of His mission - the cross.
- Matt. 26:67-70 - Peter denies Christ during the 'trial'.
Although this is a limited list, it's enough. You can see that Satan is alive and working. Ever since Satan rebelled against God he has endeavored to destroy the works of God. He tries to delude a human from accepting Christ as Savior. If that fails, his next tasks are to keep the Christian from living a fruitful Spirit-filled life. The book "The Screwtape Letters" reads like a manual on what Christians can do to be unfruitful, struggling, unhappy believers. (Actually, I recommend the audio version of "Screwtape Letters" as read by John Cleese. He provides the 'right' amount of snark and disdain for Jesus and believers. You can almost feel his anger and hate for us and our Lord.) Satan is constantly at work, as are the fallen angels who serve him.
Don't despair. Jesus came into this world to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8) But Jesus didn't just destroy the works of the devil, He provided the start of a new world that will have no influence of Satan, who will be in the burning lake of fire, for eternity. Praise the Lord!
vs. 9 - "Resist him," - Resist the devil by faith in Christ. Sometimes believers try to take on Satan by themselves, thinking the issue is not that big. This is a big mistake! Paul says in "Ephesians", "Our battle is not against flesh and blood..." (See: Eph. 6:12) The devil is far more powerful than we are. Satan cannot make you DO ANYTHING. But he is clever, and the father of lies (See:John 8:44), and he will deceive you. Rely on Jesus to resist the devil. In fact, use Jesus and His power to stop the devil in his attempts to draw you into sin. Use the name of Jesus and all that implies. Start a prayer when Satan is attacking you with, "In the name of Jesus...", and finish with the request that will free you. Satan has no power over Jesus. He is helpless against Jesus. Satan does not want us to turn to Jesus.
"because you know ..." We are not alone in our sufferings. Fellow Christians are going through the same thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment