Beware of the Devil
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 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 spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Bee's Thoughts:
Last but not least is prayer, when we battle in the spiritual warfare. The devil is constantly on the look out for Christians, epecially those who want to seek and serve God. I have seen many breakups in marriages and couples when both or one of them wish to seek or serve God more. The devil is not happy when we love God more and therefore will cause division between couples, or close friends, or co-workers.
Yes, many times the devil tries to bring me down too. He would cause me to feel moody, disappointed, distressful, etc. But thank God that He quickly lifts me up again. In fact I have just learnt something new recently. I am feeling stronger now.
The bible warns us to put on the whole armour of God and pray. That's the only way to fight the devil.
Dear Lord,
Thank You for the reminder that the devil is always around to cause Christians to fall and we have to be on guard. I pray that you will help me and my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to be alert. Help us to remind one another not to fall into the trap of the devil but to fight this spiritual warfare together with the help of Your Holy Spirit. Keep us strong Lord.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Tommy's Thoughts:
Know our enemy and know our armor.
Satan’s ultimate weapon is lies, most of the times, lies that sound and disguise as truth. Aside from wanting us to doubt God, Satan also constantly tries to make us doubt his very existence. He uses many ways to make us believe he is merely a fantasy or myth that doesn’t make any sense in this day and age.
He whispers lies to our ears by saying its absurd, ridiculous and even fanatic to be on guard of devils and to prepare for battle with the unseen world. Not only that, he makes us believe telling others about the Good News is a worthless, unnecessary and convoluted task to do.
By successfully planted this belief in us, he begin his attacks inside us- our heart, eventually making us to turn away from God and back to sin. He attacks our emotions, self-worth and trust through insults, setbacks and temptations. He makes us think Christ’s death is not enough and victory is never ours.
We need to start knowing that our enemy is real. We need to be alert that spiritual battles take place in front of our mind daily. By denying this truth is to risk ourselves with serious and irreversible consequences. We can’t win this battle alone; we need to put on God’s armor and to use every piece of it to resist Satan’s attacks and to stand true to God.
- God’s Truth (Belt) – God’s truth to defeat all Satan’s lies
- God’s Righteousness (Breastplate) – to protect our hearts and ensures God’s approval of us
- Readiness to spread the Good News (Footgear)
- Faith (Shield) – let us know we are protected and ultimate victory is ours
- Salvation (helmet) – protects us from doubting God’s saving work for us
- The Spirit and Word of God (Sword) – our only weapon of offense to fight this fierce battle
Dear Lord, thank You for making me aware again when I was clouded by complacency that things are fine and I’m in control. Guide me Lord to be alert always to fend off any attacks coming my way. Teach me always to wear Your armor; not laze around unprotected, unknowingly leaving myself open to the devil’s continuous attacks. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
