Matthew 16:21-23 / Mark 8:31-33 / Luke 9:22…
In the line of fire…
Wherever God is moving powerfully, Satan is sure to be there to try and counter. Peter had just been given the great revelation of Jesus as the Christ. Jesus spoke of His resurrection, and how His church would prevail against all opposition. Immediately we see an attack, and it comes from within the inner circle of the disciples. Peter, used by the Father to reveal who Jesus really was, is now being used by the Enemy. Don’t think spiritual triumphs give you a free pass on discernment; on the contrary, they make you a target.
Can we expect to fare any better? How easily we let the circumstances of this world enter into our thoughts of doing God’s work. We must be ever mindful of what God’s plan and purpose is, and not let our own desire to do “right” interfere with our judgment. We must not presume upon the fact that we love the Lord, even when we are in the very presence of God.
Remember, the Devil had tried to get Jesus to avoid His purpose to suffer before (Matthew 4:8-11). Now he was back. How careful, then, must we be today, given these examples? Jesus had to do what He came to do in history, and also in our lives, but how often we want to hinder His work by our own thoughts of how things ought to proceed. The enemy of our souls is waiting to strike, and often it is just after our moments of triumph that he lays the trap. Why then would you think that you might never say or do the wrong thing in spiritual matters?
Don’t let down your guard. Just when you think you’ve won, the Devil is aiming his darts.
6 comments:
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I have many first hand experiences where Satan would be there to greet me after a spiritual triumph. Some that come to mind include the aftermath of past shows with my old band Shattered Truth. After our set, the four of us were all ramped up, filled with adrenaline and a sense of accomplishment. Shortly thereafter, the devil would try to fill us up with feelings of pride. After realizing this, the feelings then turned to guilt which then led the band into thinking that we were never focused enough on God before playing the show. After all, we were supposed to be a Christian band, not just a band that plays Christian music. After the devil was successful in slapping us upside the head, feelings of discouragement would then settle in.
However, I thank God that He is bigger than Satan. The Lord would help to refocus us and see that the devil was behind many of these feelings. After our eyes were back on the Lord, we no longer told God how big our problems were; we told our problems how big our God is!
An excellent reminder of how easily we are deceived. Our flesh is so easily puffed up.
Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies! Let a righteous man strike me--it is a kindness; let him rebuke me--it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it. Psalm 141 3-5a
Great stuff, Moose...amen!
That's right, honey...remember our sermon from that Psalm...Protect Me from Me...
This post, like yesterday's, has proven to be one of the most popular ever, in terms of the number of views in its first day on SermonAudio...perhaps we are gaining more regular daily readers, and for that we praise God...
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