1-30-2023

Good Morning All,

       1 Peter 5:8; “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 

    I remember watching a show on one of those nature channels about lions hunting.  They are kind of lazy and “cheap shot” hunters.  A group of three or four would hunt down so wounded, sickly, little wildebeest and have it for dinner.  The lions chased this poor critter until it stopped.  It was all played out.  When the camera zoomed in on the little wildebeest, you could see it panting with the saliva dripping off its mouth.  You could see it pant so hard that you watched the chest as it breathed as it pumped in and out. The thing about this that I found intriguing was that the lions did not go in for the kill right away.  They slowly circled the wildebeest.  Each pass around the wildebeest was closer than the last.  They did this until one of the lions attacked and killed the wildebeest. 

    The devil is that way to us.  The devil looks for our weaknesses and then tries to attack and exploit them.  It will run us until we are about to drop and then he slowly moves in for the kill.  The devil seeks someone to devour.  For many people, even many Christians, there is very little fear of the devil.  Many people back away from the idea of a devil.  This is in part doing to our unwillingness to call “sin” a “sin.”  If we don’t call it “sin” but we call them “errors” or “lapses” then it is just a “character flaw” and not the devil at work.  Always remember that the devil is very real.

    The devil is defeated but he is still out there.  It is like the football team that is behind by 40 points with 2 minutes in the game.  The game is lost by the devil but he keeps playing the game.  The devil keeps coming after us.  His weapons are limited but his ability to seduce, to beguile, to deceive, and to turn us from God’s grace at every opportunity is still great.     

      Unfortunately, you dear Christian, are the ones in his sights.  The lost and the unbeliever, the devil already has.  The glorified saints in heaven are beyond his reach.  That leaves us.  The devil favorite tools are doubt, worry and guilt.  Any of these tools is effective, but together they are almost unbearable.  At least for us.

      This is where you have to rely on Jesus as the answer to your problems, as the Redeemer that we need.  Just like those lions didn’t attack stronger wildebeest or ones that were part of the herd so to the devil wouldn’t attack as well when we are close to Jesus.  God, in his mercy, guards us from the devil.  Especially when we are tempted to our limit.  God defends us from the attacks of the devil.  He loves us with a father’s heart and will clutch you safely in his arms.  Stay close to the Lord for he will protect you.

Dearest Father, your mercies continue to flood over us and over whelm us, we pray for the families of those in the vehicle accident and for the survivor who is in the hospital that you comfort the families and bring peace to their hearts.  We also pray for our elected and re-elected officials that they may seek to govern through you looking to you for their wisdom.  Move among with your Spirit that we too, may be safe from the devil.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray.  Amen          

God’s peace,

Pastor Bret