Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Scripture- “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”- 1 Peter 5:8
Insight: Do you know that if you are a Christian, you are being stalked each and every moment of your life? What a scary thought- but it’s true. The scripture above confirms it in 1 Peter 5:8. Our enemy, satan, seeks to destroy all Christian’s testimony by making them fall hard and fall often. He does this because he knows he can’t keep us out of God’s family once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9), but he wants to keep us from having an impact in growing God’s Kingdom through our testimony, so he seeks to destroy our witness. Yes, as Christians we have a Big Target on our back. I think of it like this: we are like fish and he is a fisherman. He tries to allure us to take a nibble of sin, and he knows our weaknesses and vulnerabilities quite well, so he knows how to entrap us. The enemy, like a skilled fisherman, will keep showing us the worm, or luer, but not the hook. It could be an alluring picture on the internet, or a seductress he sends our way. It could be with money, fame or power. The enemy will keep trying to get us to take a bite of that sin that he makes so attractive, but which he knows if we fall, he can use to destroy our witness. I have been and continue to be tempted in all the areas of my life I inherently struggle with. He knows my past, and he knows where I am vulnerable. Most of us are vulnerable in 3 main areas: lust, anger and greed. The enemy will consistently attack in different forms in these areas. He rarely relents. He is always hungry for the next fish he can catch.
How do we protect ourselves from the stalker? We must understand we are in a war, even if we don’t want to be, because our enemy seeks to destroy us, and so we must understand how we can win. To gain victory, we must pray always (2 Thessalonians 5:17) and we must rely on and refer constantly to the promises of God’s truths found in the Bible. Here are 3 verses I go to to try and defeat the allure of sin in my life; 1. 1Corinthians 10:13– He provides a way out for us when we are tempted. “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted[b] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 2. Hebrews 2:18 Jesus can relate to what we are going through when tempted, because He experienced it as well. “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” 3. 1 John 4:4 God is greater than anything the enemy can throw at us. “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” We must understand we are in a battle with a relentless stalker, who sees us as fish waiting to be caught. We must rely on prayer and on God’s strength to emerge victorious, because on our own, we are too weak. Should we fall, and we will most likely at some point, even in small things, we must repent and admit we made a mistake and bring it to God and He will forgive us and get us back in the game. Romans 4:7 says “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.” Fight well my friends!
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