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.