Attacks

Have you ever been attacked by a wild animal? Thankfully I haven’t but I have been attacked by Satan, the evil one, which I think is much worse. Did you know that when you are precious to God, you become important to Satan? When we study the life of Jesus, we see Satan’s tempting/attacking of Jesus to the point that God the Father sent ministering angels to attend to Jesus after the attacks. Matthew 4:11″Then the devil left him [Jesus], and angels came and attended him.”

In the world we live in I would rather focus on Jesus than on the evil one, but in order to have victory in life we need to recognize that we do have an adversary. His name is Satan and until Jesus’ return, he [Satan] is the prince of this world. We do know the end of the story. Jesus will return and Satan will be bound and defeated. But until then, we have to put up with and defend the attacks from the enemy. God’s plan for our lives is to live in victory, to live by playing offense. To live a victorious life on earth. Knowing the tactics of the enemy and realizing we have one is key! :o)

In the gospels we read that Satan himself tempted/attacked Jesus at the most vulnerable time–after He had been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. My point? Satan and his demons are smart. Recognize the attacks come when we are…
vulnerable,
tired,
hungry,
frustrated,
when we are weak.

Jesus is our example. When we are attacked, we can use scripture to defend. Jesus answered Satan in verse 7 of Matthew chapter 4, “It is also written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'” When attacked I love to use the scripture, “no weapon formed against me will prosper,” or “greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world” (see Isaiah 54:17 and I John 4:4). If you continue to study how Satan attacked Jesus, you see he was appealing to lust. “All this I will give you!” (verse 9). And he was challenging power, “throw yourself down…For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'”

Today those attacks come to me/you/us like this:
“Go ahead…..it won’t hurt you ….just this one time…God forgives…He understands….”
“It doesn’t hurt anyone else so go ahead.”
“You can do it later.”
“Everyone else is doing it.”
“Live…just live a little….…”
“You can do it next time.”
“You can’t do that…God only has that for His chosen ones…your not good enough…”

I could keep writing but understand, we have an enemy who seeks to discourage, distract and distort TRUTH. He lies. In fact, Satan is the father of lies and unless we know Truth, we can’t distinguish his lies from God’s truth.

I love how Jesus defends himself against Satan in Matthew 4:10, “Away from me Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'” Back 9’ers, we have authority over Satan. We can command him to leave. Jesus called him out! And we can too!

I encourage you today….call your enemy out. Tell him to leave. Read God’s word. Know the power of the scripture for your lives. The best way to win the battles of life is to play offense. Constantly pushing the enemy back by scoring in life. We overcome evil by doing good. When we share God’s truth with others. When we seek to be more like Christ by developing the fruits of the spirit–peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control….WE score.

No matter what defense the enemy throws our way, the goal is to keep scoring. Faith is active. We cannot allow Satan to entrap or stymie our call. Seek Christ. Look for Him and call the enemy out. He flees. He cannot stand to hear the name Jesus…so use it. :o)

A key to remember: “Satan prowls but he is lion on a leash!”

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