1 Peter 5:8-9 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
One thing that has been on my mind constantly the last week or so, is this. In order to be like Christ I need to also recognize Satan. If I don't recognize Satan then I get stuck in trap after trap and let me tell you this, when you start to look for the enemy, you will know him. The more things we do to show love and to be the body of Jesus the more the enemy lurks:
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6: 12
What makes us think that the enemy ceases to "mess" with us at this day in time? Are we any different now than the people of Jesus time? We may be different, but we face the same old enemy. He is invisible to us, but he is here and he is running things down here on Earth. His time is short though and he knows it. The fact is, Satan is real and he really is messing with you. I have found a few ways in my own life that I sometimes recognize the enemy. One is this, remember the saying "Divide and Conquer" ? The enemy loves to do just that. If he can divide or isolate us from others and make us start to argue or feel superior to another person then he has begun to conquer us. If we are divided from one another we are not functioning correctly, that goes for family and friends. If we loose sight of our attempt to be like Christ and the meaning it has for others, then he has begun to conquer us. The thing is, we can make a choice to not allow the enemy to divide us in the first place. Have you ever got into a sticky situation and thought "whoa, how did this happen?" (I haven't because I'm perfect ;-p ....) When this happens just back up and pray. See what Jesus shows you. Lots of times I see that something I said was not how I meant it to be, or maybe I over react to something someone says to me. This is Satan, that's all it is. To be human is to sin and sin is from Satan, when we are not like Jesus then its Satan working through us. Telling us lies, throwing fuel on a fire that never should have been lit.
I came across this scripture in a bible study I'm reading, and it stuck in my brain (that's usually a sign that Jesus is talking to me). If I'm supposed to be like Christ, and recognize Satan for who and what he is, shouldn't I learn how to deal with him to?
Matthew 16:23
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Human concerns.....human concerns. Yes, that's me, I'm like Peter with my human concerns! I'm human and my concerns when I'm not in the will of God are mine and they are selfish human concerns. Peter was looking out for himself he could not stand the thought of what Jesus was teaching, Peter was human and Satan used that. Jesus put him in his place though and I love it. I love that Jesus put him in his place and said it with all the authority of heaven and earth. I can just feel the authority. GET BEHING ME SATAN! maybe we should try that? when I step back and see what that there is turmoil where there should not be, I will pray and tell Satan to get behind me. Satan has no authority over us, we are children of the one true king (My daughters favorite song!) ! He can mess with us, but he can't have us. We just need to learn how to recognize him and put him in his place.....behind us. Another place I am noticing frequent attacks is in my mind. I will pray for something and knowing Jesus hears me, I continue to worry and the worrying becomes excessive to the point that I may get sick. This is particularly true about my family. My baby has been sick and I prayed for Jesus to heal him, I knew he heard me because I was instantly more calm. Later in the day when Jett's fever shot back up I started freaking out. My thoughts were racing I was thinking the worst possible things. Things I never should have been thinking but losing Jackson made me understand too clearly that bad things happen in a split second. So you see, I was physically ill and heading to the car to take Jett to the hospital, then I stopped to pray. I felt Jesus smiling and could picture him shaking his head at me and saying "whoa now, you gave this to me like hours ago and now your sick over it? Has he gotten worse? No he has not. Let me work and tell Satan to get behind you." and I was instantly at peace and I mean that.
Growing in my faith is hard and it's lesson after lesson. As long as I learn though, I'll continue to share it. Maybe it will help you, maybe it will just entertain you. Either way, if it brings glory to Jesus then I'll share it!
Sweet Jett man :)
Human concerns.....human concerns. Yes, that's me, I'm like Peter with my human concerns! I'm human and my concerns when I'm not in the will of God are mine and they are selfish human concerns. Peter was looking out for himself he could not stand the thought of what Jesus was teaching, Peter was human and Satan used that. Jesus put him in his place though and I love it. I love that Jesus put him in his place and said it with all the authority of heaven and earth. I can just feel the authority. GET BEHING ME SATAN! maybe we should try that? when I step back and see what that there is turmoil where there should not be, I will pray and tell Satan to get behind me. Satan has no authority over us, we are children of the one true king (My daughters favorite song!) ! He can mess with us, but he can't have us. We just need to learn how to recognize him and put him in his place.....behind us. Another place I am noticing frequent attacks is in my mind. I will pray for something and knowing Jesus hears me, I continue to worry and the worrying becomes excessive to the point that I may get sick. This is particularly true about my family. My baby has been sick and I prayed for Jesus to heal him, I knew he heard me because I was instantly more calm. Later in the day when Jett's fever shot back up I started freaking out. My thoughts were racing I was thinking the worst possible things. Things I never should have been thinking but losing Jackson made me understand too clearly that bad things happen in a split second. So you see, I was physically ill and heading to the car to take Jett to the hospital, then I stopped to pray. I felt Jesus smiling and could picture him shaking his head at me and saying "whoa now, you gave this to me like hours ago and now your sick over it? Has he gotten worse? No he has not. Let me work and tell Satan to get behind you." and I was instantly at peace and I mean that.
Growing in my faith is hard and it's lesson after lesson. As long as I learn though, I'll continue to share it. Maybe it will help you, maybe it will just entertain you. Either way, if it brings glory to Jesus then I'll share it!
Sweet Jett man :)
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