Satan's Strategy (and other devotionals)

Satan's Strategy
 
Luke 22:31-62

All of us make tracks through the valley of failure. The question is, How are you going to respond? Plenty of people give up and exchange a vibrant kingdom-serving life for a defeated existence. But failure need not be an end. It's a chance for a new beginning living in Christ's strength.

Peter had a life-altering failure. Jesus warned that Satan had asked permission to "sift" the disciple like wheat (Luke 22:31)—vigorous shaking is required to separate wheat kernels from debris. The Enemy wanted to shake Peter's faith hard in hopes that he'd fall away from Jesus like chaff.

Peter fervently believed the promise he'd made to Jesus: "Even though all may fall away, yet I will not" (Mark 14:29). But Satan knows a few things about the power of fear. What's more, he realized that the disciple would be wounded by his own disloyalty. A man with tattered pride can't help but question his usefulness.

When Satan sifts believers, his goal is to damage our faith so much that we're useless to God. He wants us shelved far from the action of the Lord's kingdom. Therefore, he goes for our strengths—the areas where we believe ourselves to be invincible, or at least very well protected. And when the Devil succeeds, we are disappointed and demoralized. But we don't have to stay that way.

If we are willing, God can use failure to do spiritual housecleaning. Peter laid down his pride and instead put on the Holy Spirit's courage. Thereafter, he risked humiliation, persecution, and death to proclaim the gospel. Failure was the catalyst that brought forth greater faith and true servanthood.

On the Enemy

"The Devil often transforms himself into an angel to tempt men, some for their instruction, some for their ruin."
—Augustine of Hippo

"The deceit, the lie of the Devil consists of this, that he wishes to make man believe that he can live without God's Word."
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"The existence of the Devil is so clearly taught in the Bible that to doubt it is to doubt the Bible itself."
—Archibald G. Brown

"The Devil can counterfeit all the saving operations and graces of the Spirit of God."
—Jonathan Edwards

"The Enemy will not see you vanish into God's company without an effort to reclaim you."
—C. S. Lewis

"For where God built a church, there the Devil would also build a chapel."
—Martin Luther

"That there is a Devil is a thing doubted by none but such as are under the influences of the Devil."
—Cotton Mather

"The more God uses us, the more Satan will attempt to harass us."
—Dr. Charles F. Stanley

"The Devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still."
—A. W. Tozer

"The Devil does not tempt unbelievers and sinners who are already his own."
—Thomas à Kempis

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

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Sharing Jesus with Your Children

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” Deuteronomy 6:7

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

Have you ever tried to take a tasty bone away from a dog? It’s a good way to get bitten! But what if you put a steak down on the ground? The dog will drop the bone to get that steak.

This is the mistake so many parents are making today. They spend their time telling their children “Don’t do this. Don’t do that. That’s wrong.” By such behavior, these parents are failing an entire generation. Many times, children are never shown the riches of Jesus Christ. In every 24-hour cycle, there are a multitude of teachable moments for sharing and modeling life in Christ.

ACTION POINT:

Children must be shown that what they have in the Lord Jesus Christ is so much better than what this world has to offer. But are they seeing that in your life?

~Adrian Rogers~

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As my strength was then, even so is my strength now - Joshua14:11

Men sometimes lose heart as they grow old. They say: My intellect will become impaired, my physical strength will abate, my power for service will wane. Yes: but if the outward man decays, the inward man shall be renewed day by day.

Those that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength: whether to war, to go out for service, or to come in for fellowship and rest. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart. He shall satisfy thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth shall be renewed as the eagle's. God's angels are always young. The drain of the years is amply met by the inflow of His all-sufficient grace. There is no reason why we should decline in usefulness and fruit-bearing with the increase of years; but the reverse. The last sheaves that fall beneath thy sickle shall be the heaviest; and the width of thy swathe shall be greatest as the angel of death touches thee and bids thee home. The secret lies in wholly following the Lord.

But Caleb did not rely on his strength to win Hebron. Very modestly and humbly he said, "It may be that the Lord will be with me." Not that he for a moment doubted it. Could it be for one moment supposed that the God whom he had wholly followed for eighty years would desert him in the supreme crisis of his life? But he put it thus in the sweet lowliness of his soul, because he counted not himself worthy. The strongest men are they who count that they are helpless as worms; and who put their weakness at the disposal of God's might. To each of us comes the promise of God: "My grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength is made perfect in weakness."

~F. B. Meyer~

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Discerning King

Today's reading: 1 Kings 2:13-46

With David now gone and Solomon on the throne, Adonijah comes back into the picture. He's not satisfied. He still wants to be king, but he's a little afraid of Solomon. As a result, Adonijah adopts a passive-aggressive approach. He tries to manipulate the situation to ultimately put himself in a place where he might be able to challenge Solomon's kingship again down the road. Solomon, however, is discerning. He sees right through Adonijah's scheming and will have none of it. Holding true to his word ("And Solomon said, 'If he [Adonijah] will show himself a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall fall to the earth, but if wickedness is found in him, he shall die.'" 1 Kings 1:52), Solomon deals swiftly with Adonijah and those who had aligned with him, and in so doing unequivocally establishes himself as king over Israel.

What does this passage reveal about our human nature and how harboring a discontent or disgruntled attitude can impact and harm us? What did you observe about discernment from the examples of Bathsheba and Solomon? 

~Tami~

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Wisdom...Plus

Today's reading: 1 Kings 3:1-15

God gave incredible wisdom and discernment to king Solomon. So much so that Solomon is known as the wisest man of all time. But even before Solomon asks God for wisdom above all else, the picture we see is one of an astute young man. As I contemplated this passage the question on my mind was this: What influenced Solomon so positively to get him to this point? David's steady and constant example of seeking after and following God, both personally and as king, wasn't lost on Solomon. We're told in verse 3 that "Solomon loved the LORD ," and lived righteously. That verse conveys so much. When pleasing God is our focus, our thinking, actions and decisions are better.

What does Solomon's example show us about the value of having discernment and wisdom? What does this passage reveal about what God finds pleasing in our lives?

~Tami~