I read an article recently that said a majority of Christians dont believe that Satan actually exist but the same article said that 97% of evangelical Christians believe in angels. That seems strange to me. How can we read The Word and say we believe in one and not in the other? I dont know if its just not completely understanding the Bible or that they dont want to face the fact that there is someone who wants to pull us away from God and that there are defined consequences for sin. Well folks I want to tell you that Satan is real and he does want to steal us away from God. In this devotional I will try to explain who Satan is, why he does what he does and an introduction to my next devotion which will be how to make sure we are continually building a strong relationship with Christ. I hear folks say a lot that they believe in Christ but that they dont regularly work on their relationship with Him. This concerns me. Satan wasnt created in Hell. Look at this passage. Ezekiel 28:12-18 “Son of man, sing this sad song about the king of Tyre. Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord God says:“‘You were the perfect man—so full of wisdom and perfectly handsome. You were in Eden, the garden of God.You had every precious stone—rubies, topaz, and diamonds,beryls, onyx, and jasper,sapphires, turquoise, and emeralds.And each of these stones was set in gold.You were given this beauty on the day you were created.God made you strong. You were one of the chosen Cherubs who spread your wings over my throne.I put you on the holy mountain of God.You walked among the jewels that sparkled like fire. You were good and honest when I created you,but then you became evil. Your business brought you many riches.But they also put cruelty inside you, and you sinned.So I treated you like something uncleanand threw you off the mountain of God.You were one of the chosen Cherubswho spread your wings over my throne.But I forced you to leave the jewels that sparkled like fire. Your beauty made you proud.Your glory ruined your wisdom.So I threw you down to the ground,and now other kings stare at you. You did many wrong things.You were a very crooked merchant.In this way you made the holy places unclean.So I brought fire from inside you.It burned you!You burned to ashes on the ground.Now everyone can see your shame. You can bet that Satan knows God. He believes in God. So to just say that you believes in Christ. The passage says that Satan was an angel who sat over the throne. That is pretty close but Satan wanted to be more than just an angel and thats what got him kicked out of Heaven. When this happened Satan grew a very bad hatred for Christ but he knew he couldnt fight God and win. He had already tried and lost. So he figures that he will beat God by playing on the free will that God gave us. Matthew 4:1-11 Then the Spirit led Jesus into the desert. He was taken there to be tempted by the devil. Jesus ate nothing for 40 days and nights. After this, he was very hungry. The devil came to tempt him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these rocks to become bread.” Jesus answered him, “The Scriptures say,‘It is not just bread that keeps people alive.Their lives depend on what God says.’” Then the devil led Jesus to the holy city of Jerusalem and put him on a high place at the edge of the Temple area. He said to Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, jump off, because the Scriptures say,‘God will command his angels to help you,and their hands will catch you,so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.’” Jesus answered, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” Then the devil led Jesus to the top of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all the wonderful things in them. The devil said, “If you will bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things.” Jesus said to him, “Get away from me, Satan! The Scriptures say,‘You must worship the Lord your God.Serve only him!’” So the devil left him. Then some angels came to Jesus and helped him. He tempted Jesus!! That is brave. If he thinks that he could tempt Gods own Son into following him he feels for sure that you and I are his for sure. If he succeeds we will spend eternity with him. The Bible goes on to tell us that Satan will be thrown into The Lake of Fire and he will burn for ever and ever. Does that sound fun to you? There is a way to fight him off. Paul tells us in the following verses about the armor of the Lord. Ephesians 6:13-18 That is why you need to get God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil, you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing. So stand strong with the belt of truth tied around your waist, and on your chest wear the protection of right living. On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong. And also use the shield of faith with which you can stop all the burning arrows that come from the Evil One. Accept God’s salvation as your helmet. And take the sword of the Spirit—that sword is the teaching of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times. Pray with all kinds of prayers, and ask for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready. Never give up. Always pray for all of God’s people. Paul talks about Gods salvation. Salvation is what is given to us by Gods grace. Satan will try very hard to get us not to take the gift of salvation. Thats why it is so important to keep Gods armor around us. Now that I have told you about Satan and that he is real alive and well, my next devotion will be on how we can build a relationship with Christ and put Satan in his place and not let him rob us of the Grace of God.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 02:01:51 +0000
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