God is Faithful and Satan is Frustrated (Deuteronomy 7:9; James 4:7)
God is Faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9) Deuteronomy 7:9, “Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations…” God is holy and just and faithful. Holiness is His fundamental attribute, and Christians should emulate Him and live pure lives. Today, God continues to pour out His blessings on us. Opportunities are opening for the ministry globally. Churches are being planted around the world. People are coming to the Lord. Souls are being won to Christ all over the world. Particularly, people in Muslim countries. All of this we couldn't possibly orchestrate on our own without Him. God's doing it and we get to have a part in His work. Satan is Frustrated (James 4:7) James 4:7, Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. The existence of a personal Devil is scoffed at by many, and doubted by more. Modernists believe evil exists, but not an “evil one.” Satan is often regarded as an impersonal force, an imagination, a medieval invention designed to scare people into the “church,” or an excuse on which to blame our shortcomings. None of these is so, for the Bible clearly teaches the existence of a personal, malevolent, evil one, the Devil. It is the duty of each Christian ‘soldier’ to know as much about his or her adversary as possible II Corinthians 2:11. Ignorance on this subject is a dangerous thing. The word submit is a military term that means "to yield; arrange oneself under" like a good soldier places himself under one of higher rank. We submit to God by recognizing His authority. Submission means we offer all we are and have to God without any reservations. When we do, the devil will flee from us. Never in the Bible are we told to attack the devil. He does the attacking; we must do the resisting. The devil wants to destroy your marriage, your church, and all your good relationships, and he does it most effectively through conflict. When we give in to the Evil One, we argue, cause confusion, hurt one another's feelings, and get angry. He loves to get us to do these things, and he is successful when he plays on our pride. He will do this by whispering in our ears things like, "You don't have to put up with this kind of stuff." "Who do they think they are?" "You need to give them a piece of your mind." He tells us what our pride loves to hear. However, we resist him the same way Jesus did—by quoting Scripture. Christ destroyed the works of Satan in I John 3:8, “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” This means He has frustrated, or undone, the works of the Devil. Those in Christ can overcome Satan and live fruitful, productive lives. According to the following Scriptures, Christ sealed Satan’s doom on the cross (Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14; John 16:11). Satan knows his time is short. As a result, Satan scratches and claws. As the ministry impacts more lives, he roars. I John 4:4, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” We have deepened our prayer life, helped each other resolve stress, and kept our eyes fixed on Christ. We must submit ourselves to God and stop trusting in the power of our flesh or human resources to bring victory. We must recognize the authority of God as our king and submit to it. If we stand for God we can see the victory. Satan will not get the victory if we do not compromise with him. We need to seek the Lord with all our heart. God is not hiding He wants us to come to Him. When we surrender to God and follow Him by faith, He will exalt us for His glory. In spite of all the opposition of this world toward Jesus Christ and Christians, we have overcome this world which is at enmity with God. The conflict between Satanic forces and Christians seem to never cease. When God is doing a work through His people, Satan raises up opposition. During the ministry of John Wesley during the 1700s, Satan raised up men like Voltaire and Thomas Paine to oppose Christianity. During the 1800s, God used men like Spurgeon and Moody, yet, Satan raised up rivals such as Joseph Smith and Brigham Young to found the Mormon cult. Charles Russel started the Jehovah’s Witness cult and Mary Baker Eddy founded the Christian Science movement. These cults continue to deceive people today. The 1800s also spawned great missionary ministries pioneered by men like William Carey, Adoniram Judson, Hudson Taylor, and David Livingstone. Satan raised up Karl Marx whose seeds of unbelief spawned Communism that swept the people of Russia and China into deep darkness and spiritual death. As Christians, we have overcome Satan’s opposition because we are God’s children. How did that happen? A person becomes a child of God when he or she places faith in Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life. Christians are victors in Christ. We are overcomers because Jesus Christ, who lives within us, is greater than this world. We are on the victory side! Questions to Consider: Are you standing on the truth of God’s Word today? Points to Ponder: You will be tempted and attacked, but you must take your stand and leave the results with God. PRAYER: Father, lead me in this spiritual warfare to stand strong and never surrender. Help me to be wise to Satan’s snares and his temptations. Direct my steps that I may not get sidetracked in pursuing Your will and work. I ask that You would confound the devil and give me courage in times of testing. I know that You are with me and that You will never forsake or fail me. In Jesus name, AMEN! If this post has blessed you in any way, please share this website and its articles with others: www.fellowshipbaptistcarrabelle.com
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AuthorDr. Blackman is passionate about helping others grow in the grace of the Lord. His devotions are centered on how to grow closer to the Lord through a personal relationship with Christ. Archives
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