Satan

In the Gospels of The New Testament, we are told of how Jesus cast out demons that had possessed various people. In the accounts, victims of possession were described as writhing uncontrollably on the ground, foaming at the mouth, and loudly speaking blasphemy against the Lord. Terrifying images of the horror film The Exorcist immediately come to my mind. But why was that type of possession so common then but uncommon now? Satan may not be taking over people's bodies the same way he used to do, but he is definitely still taking over people's bodies. On this day in 1991, cannibal and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested for the killings of 17 people. In America's short history, there have been well over 100 serial killers documented by officials. I will list ten of the more infamous ones: Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, Gary Ridgeway ( The Green River Killer), Charles Manson, The Zodiac Killer, Richard Ramirez (The Night Stalker), David Berkowitz (Son Of Sam), Randy Craft, The Boston Strangler, and Dahmer. These ten monsters combined to murder and mutilate over 258 lives! Satan is alive and well in the U.S.!

Most of these instruments of the Evil One never even closely-resembled those possessed in The Bible; Most in fact looked like your everyday "boy next door". What a frightening thought! Even more frightening is the fact that Satan doesn't always transform himself into such evil monsters as serial killers. Sometimes he even enters each of us in more subtle ways. When we lie, cheat, talk nasty, or even have something as seemingly harmless as a bad thought about somebody, we can safely assume that Satan had at least something to do with it. How do we protect ourselves against him? There is only one way: Jesus Christ! The devil is much more powerful than we, but not even half as powerful as Christ. Jesus defeated him in the wilderness and at Calvary, and has been whipping him ever since. Are you protected from the evil one? Are your wrapped up in the safety of Jesus?

Ephesians 6:11 says, "Put on the whole armor of Christ so you will be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

Father, thank you for Your Divine protection against Satan. Lord, we have no chance against him ourselves. But it only through Your Perfect Son Jesus that we are able to endure his attacks. In Jesus name, Amen.

Satan Is Alive And Well

I was horrified when I read the national news yesterday! I was believing that I had become some what desensitised to the bombardment of terrible and horrific news stories these days. Not so! Anyone who wonders about Satan, know this: He is alive and well in America! Yesterday in Tampa, FL, a 20-year old man was fussing with his 17-year old girlfriend. He began to beat her and then he started beating her 3-month old baby. He slammed the baby down on the concrete and then scooped her up and fled in his car. When he reached the Interstate, he simply tossed the baby out the window of his moving car like it was a piece of trash. The whole thing was witnessed by several people. I know it's not the Christian thing to say, but I sure wish i could get my hands on that monster for just 30 seconds!

Satan is alive and well! From Bible times to today, we see the result of Satan's power in humanity. He is the ultimate evil, and he has the power to possess any of us. We are completely helpless in our fight against him. There is absolutely nothing we can do to defend ourselves against his awesome power...that is, nothing we can do on our own. But Jesus has already defeated Satan. Where we are completely powerless on our own, Jesus is completely victorious over him! We must use Christ as our constant shield against Satan. We are involved in a spiritual battle everyday that can spill over into reality. As long as we keep Jesus at the center of our lives, we will have power to keep Satan in check. But if take our eyes off the Lord even for a minute, Satan is right there, ready to pounce on us. Do you have the Power and Protection of Jesus? We need Him more today than ever before!

I Peter 5:8 says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."

Father, please protect us against Satan. We know he is more powerful than we are, but not as powerful as You. Thank you for loving us enough to want to help us. In Jesus name, Amen.

Satan's Weapon

One of the reasons I enjoy writing devotions everyday is because it gives me a chance to release my inner thoughts. I'm sure that's good for all of us. Talking to a good friend or writing down our deepest feelings is a great outlet and very healthy mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I used to hold everything inside until finally it worked its way to the surface and then exploded! If you are one to hold things inside, I encourage you to talk with a confidant or write your thoughts down in a diary or such. It can feel very liberating; It can be a great release. My feeling today is one of pure guilt. I'm sure you have experienced this emotion from Satan, so you know how it feels. The reason I feel guilt is because of an Email I got from my mentor. As you know, I have been struggling with the lose of Jackie. My mentor reminded me that although I may not have her, I have been blessed with some pretty awesome things. I have a beautiful daughter, a wonderful career, I am relatively healthy, and I have many very, caring friends. I feel guilty because I am whining about losing one thing when there are so many others out there who have lost many more things! Granted, losing Jackie has all but gotten the best of me, but I have so many more things in which to be thankful.

Satan uses guilt to trap us into feeling worthless. Look what guilt did to Judas Iscariot. It caused him to hang himself. Now I am not even close to that much guilt. I attempted suicide in the 12th grade but I will NEVER try that again. I guess I can truly say that my hope is just a little greater than my guilt. Hope comes from Jesus Christ! I have hope today that everything will work out. According to the Bible, it all works together for the good. I thank my mentor and all my other friends who have encouraged me recently. I am trying so hard to get beyond this point so I can be encouraging to someone else. I have faith I will get past this point because Jesus runs my life, not my temporary feelings.

Psalm 146:5 says, "Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God."

Father, forgive me for clinging to my guilt. Help me to turn everything over to You. I pray for Jackie. I ask you to keep her safe and happy. In Jesus name, Amen.

Take What We Are Given

I have played sports my whole life and one thing I've learned is to take what the other team gives you. Every team will make mistakes. If we capitalize on their mistakes, we could come out victorious. Usually in a ballgame, it comes down to mistakes; The team that makes the fewest normally wins. But even if the other team only gives us one mistake, we can always use it to our advantage. By making as few mistakes as we possibly can, and utilizing their mistakes to our gain, it could all add up to a win for our team.

Satan is a mighty foe! He has many weapons in his arsenal bag but none that are more effective than guilt. There is no telling how much of our joy he steals by making us feel guilty when we sin against God. Should we feel guilty when we sin? Yes, but only until we have asked God to forgive us. After that, He promises that our sin is removed from us "as far as the east is from the west." If God is not holding onto our sin, why should we? And instead of allowing Satan to use guilt against us in the first place, maybe we should turn it around on him. Maybe by using guilt, Satan is making a mistake on which we can capitalize. Perhaps we should allow that guilt to motivate us not to sin. Now I know we can not be sinless, but we can sin less! Although Satan is mighty powerful, he does make mistakes. By putting on "the full armor of Christ", God can help us to use those mistakes to our advantage.

I Peter 5:8 says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."

Father, please help us fight Satan. We can not do it alone. Teach us to use guilt as a motivator, not a destroyer. In Jesus name, Amen.