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- Apr 25, 2006
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DON'T FEAR, DON'T GIVE IN
'Nor give place to the devil' Ephesians 4:27
In every person's life there are the works of satan, lurking behind the scenes trying to take centre stage. And just like the pantomime villain, satan himself has many disguises. It says in the Bible he can morph into 'an angel of light' (2 Corinthians 11:14 NKJ). But whatever satisfying or appealing things satan may offer up on his platter, his endgame is always the same: 'to steal and kill and destroy' (John 10:10 NIV). Destroy what? You name it: peace of mind, destiny, relationships... satan may be waiting in the wings of our lives, but the good news is you have power and authority to resist him and rest in the victory over him that Christ has won. How? In two ways:
1) Don't fear him. 'God guards you from every evil, He guards your very life' (Psalm 121:7 TM). It says 31 times in the NT that we are 'in Christ'. For satan to get to you, He needs to get through God first!
2) Don't give satan house room.
Laying down the welcome mat for him to wipe his feet in your thought life won't help. Sinful thoughts usually come before sinful actions. So, just as you have been placed 'in Christ', be sure to remind yourself that Jesus is living inside of you. Keep close to Him in prayer.
What now? Take charge. Learn a verse by heart, so that when sinful thoughts come into your mind, you can get into a good habit of replacing them straight away with ones fit for our King. Also, pray Psalm 9:1-14 over yourself - it's pretty cool.
written by Bob Gass
'Nor give place to the devil' Ephesians 4:27
In every person's life there are the works of satan, lurking behind the scenes trying to take centre stage. And just like the pantomime villain, satan himself has many disguises. It says in the Bible he can morph into 'an angel of light' (2 Corinthians 11:14 NKJ). But whatever satisfying or appealing things satan may offer up on his platter, his endgame is always the same: 'to steal and kill and destroy' (John 10:10 NIV). Destroy what? You name it: peace of mind, destiny, relationships... satan may be waiting in the wings of our lives, but the good news is you have power and authority to resist him and rest in the victory over him that Christ has won. How? In two ways:
1) Don't fear him. 'God guards you from every evil, He guards your very life' (Psalm 121:7 TM). It says 31 times in the NT that we are 'in Christ'. For satan to get to you, He needs to get through God first!
2) Don't give satan house room.
Laying down the welcome mat for him to wipe his feet in your thought life won't help. Sinful thoughts usually come before sinful actions. So, just as you have been placed 'in Christ', be sure to remind yourself that Jesus is living inside of you. Keep close to Him in prayer.
What now? Take charge. Learn a verse by heart, so that when sinful thoughts come into your mind, you can get into a good habit of replacing them straight away with ones fit for our King. Also, pray Psalm 9:1-14 over yourself - it's pretty cool.
written by Bob Gass
