Don't ignore the devil
It's facinating the things that Christians say and do in regards to the devil. On one hand there are some who think just because he is a defeated foe that we should ignore him because he can't do anything to us anymore. Then there are those so fixated on the devil and his demons. Everything that happens to them from their computer breaking down to the cold they have was all a result of the devil. He's behind every bush and under the bed at night.
I think both views are too extreme. We are no doubt in a battle with the devil. Eph. 6:11-12 says, "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
There are a few words I want to highlight: stand, struggle, against, spiritual forces. Why would Paul say these things unless the devil was a real threat to Christians and God's church? Those are words used by someone engaged in a battle. Make no mistake about it, if you are a human being you are engaged in a spiritual battle for your heart and soul. We absolutely cannot ignore the devil. The scripture also says, "Resist the devil and he will flee". (James 4:7) We have power over the devil and do not have to fear him because of what Christ accomplished on the cross.
Some say don't give too much credit to the devil and others really do credit the devil with every evil thing that happens to them. We need to have a balance. There was a lot of things that were happening to us when we decided to leave CT and plant a church in Claremont. The moment we decided we were going to follow God was the moment hell broke loose.
The scripture says the devil "seeks to steal, kill and destroy." He most certainly was trying to do that with us. He tried stealing our joy from us through very trying situations. He was trying to kill my passion for church planting even before we got to NH. And he was successful in destroying a friendship through deceit. We learned right away that we cannot "give the devil a foothold". We had many occassions to be really ticked off with people. And we were but we learned to let that stuff go in favor of what God was and is going to do through us in NH.
We learned that the devil is not behind every bad thing that happens nor can he be ignored. We have sensed from the get go that we were and are in a major spiritual battle.
It's facinating the things that Christians say and do in regards to the devil. On one hand there are some who think just because he is a defeated foe that we should ignore him because he can't do anything to us anymore. Then there are those so fixated on the devil and his demons. Everything that happens to them from their computer breaking down to the cold they have was all a result of the devil. He's behind every bush and under the bed at night.
I think both views are too extreme. We are no doubt in a battle with the devil. Eph. 6:11-12 says, "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
There are a few words I want to highlight: stand, struggle, against, spiritual forces. Why would Paul say these things unless the devil was a real threat to Christians and God's church? Those are words used by someone engaged in a battle. Make no mistake about it, if you are a human being you are engaged in a spiritual battle for your heart and soul. We absolutely cannot ignore the devil. The scripture also says, "Resist the devil and he will flee". (James 4:7) We have power over the devil and do not have to fear him because of what Christ accomplished on the cross.
Some say don't give too much credit to the devil and others really do credit the devil with every evil thing that happens to them. We need to have a balance. There was a lot of things that were happening to us when we decided to leave CT and plant a church in Claremont. The moment we decided we were going to follow God was the moment hell broke loose.
The scripture says the devil "seeks to steal, kill and destroy." He most certainly was trying to do that with us. He tried stealing our joy from us through very trying situations. He was trying to kill my passion for church planting even before we got to NH. And he was successful in destroying a friendship through deceit. We learned right away that we cannot "give the devil a foothold". We had many occassions to be really ticked off with people. And we were but we learned to let that stuff go in favor of what God was and is going to do through us in NH.
We learned that the devil is not behind every bad thing that happens nor can he be ignored. We have sensed from the get go that we were and are in a major spiritual battle.
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