Monday, September 12, 2016

Defeating the Lions

Two wild african male lions Stock Photos
Stay Alert! Watch out for your great enemy the devil, he prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 (NLT)

Satan is real, intelligent, cunning, and deceitful. The many names of Satan all picture him as evil. He is deceiving all of us, and we are not claiming the power of Christ to deliver us as we should. Satan is called a powerful lion. Satan and his demons like a pride of lions pounce on us their prey.  Lions hunt down, and claw at the defenseless one on all sides. Grabbing it by the neck and strangling it.

Satan and his demons like that pride of lions batter us unmeasurably on all sides and at our weakest points.  Satan does not just attack us in one area. He inundates our lives with distractions and problems. At other times, Satan even makes temptations look desirable.  We like Eve are tricked into believing wrong is right.

 What does the Bible tell us to do? It says we must not have so great a pride that we think we can resist Satan on our own.  James 4:6-8 says, “God opposes the proud, but favors the humble.” So we must humble ourselves, confess our pride and all our sin, and obey God’s Word.

 At times, our lives are so full of stress, frustrations, and problems that we give in to temptation. In, I Peter 5: 7-10, we learn to cast our anxieties on him, because he cares for us. We are also told that after we suffer a little while, Christ will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us. We must have our minds under control and resist Satan by calling on the name of Jesus.  Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, and the scripture, to help us obtain the deliverance we desire.

Do you have those kinds of deep hurts that take away your ability to function? I have been there. I have lost a lot of close loved ones. My brother died this summer from complications from Parkinson’s disease. At present, I feel sad and lonely  Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit will be with us in our sorrow. The Holy Spirit cries out to God for us even for our deepest heartaches even when we do not know what to pray.  “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. “ For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”  Romans 8:26

So if the devil is bombarding you with temptations to turn your back on the Lord. Please remember God has power over the devil. He is in control, and by using His Word, and rebuking Satan we can have victory.