Most people have seen pictures of the great wall of China. This wall was built to keep enemies out, but it did not work. Why? The enemy did not assault the wall, or try to destroy it. They simply bribed a gate keeper and then walked in. All of us have gates to our lives that keep Satan out. Paul wrote to the Corinthians saying, "for we are not ignorant of his [Satan's] devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11). Satan has many devices which he uses to try to get into our lives.
Doubt - (James 1:6:-8) Satan delights in keeping us off balance.
Disengaged - (Lamentations 1:12) Someone once said "Hardening of the heart ages people more quickly than hardening of arteries." Satan doesn't was us to really care about other people, the Church, what the Bible really says, or our own soul's destination. As long as we don't care, he has us where he wants us.
Discouragement - (Jeremiah 20:18) What can we do when discouragement comes? When down, look up! Pray. I realize that it is easier said than done, but we must trust God during the dark times of life. Allow others to help (2 Cor. 1:4). Remember, God can do great things when we are down. In other words, keep doing what you know you can do.
Dissatisfaction - Satan doesn't want us to be content with Christ or with anything to do with Christ. That would include dissatisfaction with the Church, Christians, or the truths found in the Bible.
Division - (Psalm 133:1) Satan wants to divide and conquer. He often uses some of the other devices to get people to this point That is why the Bible has so much to say about unity and division (i.e. 1 Cor. 1:10; John 17:20-21).
Distraction - (Nehemiah 6:3) The enemies of Nehemiah tried to distract him from the good work he was doing. Of course, being the leader that he was, he did not fall for this ploy. We have a great work in the Lord's Church, but nothing brings it to a screeching halt as quickly as distraction. Too often we become bogged down in the incidentals of the work. Satan loves to see this happen.
Denial - (2 Thess. 2:11; 2 Cor. 4:3,4) Even Christians can believe a lie when we deny the sin that is in our own lives. I doubt that there is anything that has been more detrimental to the Church than Christians living impure lives.
No, we are not ignorant of the devil's devices. This is only a short list of some of his ways of getting into our lives. We must learn to avoid them.
2 comments:
Well, Steve, as a Catholic who has had direct, tangible contact with demons, I came across your site seeking any internet comments on the topic "unisex as a device of the devil." Knowing, as both you and I do, that the "Church" you speak of means the entirety of "Christian" belief under every imaginable interpretation under the sun (Lutheran, Prebyterian, Methodist, Congregationlist, Episcopalian and well over 38,000 other theologically confused assertions). Unfortunately, Our Lord and Savior said the path to life was exceedingly narrow and few there are who find it.
In that Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ stated over 16 times in John 6 (yes, I know, you and the 38,000 other heresies contend that Christ didn't mean what He said, but that's another topic) that He was the Bread of Life and unless we eat His Body and drink His Blood, there would be no life in us, why aren't you Catholic?
The Bible does speak of one church, not many with divisions. Some think it's the Catholic church. However, there are things the Catholic church does that are contrary to the things that are found in the New Testament. So how can the Catholic church be the right one?
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