It’s just a...

When it comes to the spiritual battle Christians face on a daily basis, there is so much that is occurring beyond what our eyes can see that if we’re not careful, many will become or have already become victims of Satan’s deceitful schemes. In the New Testament alone, Satan's name is mentioned 36 times, and that’s not including all of his many nicknames. Fortunately, and praise be to God that there’s a substantial amount of teachings contained in the Word of God regarding the spiritual front the body of Christ is up against that we can read and learn for ourselves. 1 John 5:19 says, “For the whole world lies under the influence of the evil one.” In addition, Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 that “the mystery of lawlessness is already at work,” and the question we need to ask ourselves is, “what is Satan up to today?” 

Well, believe it or not, Satan is up to more than what we could possibly fathom in our own imaginations! Satan is out to seek, kill, and destroy. Satan is masquerading as an angel of light. Satan is prowling around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. And Satan is running to and fro throughout the whole earth. That’s just a glimpse from the scriptures of Satan’s mission in the world, and there’s so much more that can be said with how he’s led billions of people astray, with how he’s using worldly intelligence through science and philosophies, and how he’s manipulating the media, the entertainment business, politics, religions, video games, theatre, television, internet, and books. If we could only see what Satan is really up to in the spiritual realm, I'm convinced we wouldn't be engaging in half the activities the world has to offer. The devil is so conniving and so deceitful that he will dress up the things of the world so attractively that if you are not careful and aware of his deceitful schemes that you might just take a bite out of sinful crime. Hence, as James 1:15 says, “then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin when it’s full grown, gives birth to death.”

You see, the main tactic of Satan is to entice you with what he’s selling. How often do people say, it’s just a movie, it’s just a song, it’s just a game, it’s just a sip, it's just one bite, or it’s just this one time... This is the approach Satan uses to get you to take a small bite, because he knows if you take just one little nibble, the chance of you taking another bite is even greater causing you to ultimately lose self-control. Which is exactly what the devil wants and exactly what he did in the Garden of Eden! In the beginning, God said not to eat the fruit of the tree, and the devil said, "did God really say you can’t eat of the tree? It’s just a piece of fruit..." Get it? Satan will start off by enticing you with the things of the world by minimizing sin in order to increase the desires of the flesh. He will attempt to deceive you with subtle messages that "it’s just a this" or "it’s just a that," and he will dress up sin to make it appear nice and innocent, convincing you to fall for his next trap. WATCH OUT!!! 

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11:3, “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” The whole mission of Satan is basically to try his very best and to work double over-time to deceive your minds from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ! So, be aware, be alert, be vigilant, be sober-minded, be in the Word, walk by faith, not by sight, keep in step with the Holy Spirit, put on the whole armor of God so you can withstand the wiles of the devil, and remember that the reason why the Son of God was revealed was to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). 

Let us pray: 

Heavenly Father, we thank for this beautiful day that you have made! We thank for our lives, our families, your provision, and most importantly your precious Son, Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins, and who warned us about Satan’s ultimate objective against the body of Christ. So Lord, we pray for your wisdom and we pray that you will lead us by the power of your Holy Spirit. Grant us a spirit of discernment, and let us lean not on our own understanding, but let us acknowledge you in all our ways, so that you will direct our paths. Forgive us Lord for we know not what we do, in the name of Jesus we pray, 

Amen!!