JANUARY 6

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES

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Romans 12:1-2

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

John 8:44 (Jesus speaking to the pharisees….applicable to all unsaved people, because before we choose Jesus, we have been serving the devil unknown to us)

“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”

1 Corinthians 10:13

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

James 4:7

“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

2 Corinthians 6:17

Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.”  (don’t be like this world system that is controlled by the devil).

John 8:32

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

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This month we’re reading  the new devotional   “Becoming New”,  written by  Warren W. Wiersbe and compiled by his grandson.  Pastor Wiersbe was the President of Moody Bible Institute before the current President, Erwin Lutzer.  

THE ENEMY OF GOD

Read Genesis 3; and  2Corinthians 11:12-15

All true believers in Jesus Christ battle three insidious enemies:  the world around us, the old nature within us, and the devil and his demonic armies who are against us.

(Here, for background, it would be good to read Ephesians 2:1-10 and 6:10-18.)  The devil is a fallen angel who wants to be like God so he can receive worship, and many people unwittingly DO worship Satan.  He uses the pressures of the fallen world and the flesh to make us into “conformers” because he doesn’t want us to be “transformers” and defeat him.

Satan is an imitator and deceiver, a liar and a destroyer.  In Genesis 3, he is a serpent who deceives, and in Genesis 4, he is a lion who devours and destroys.  Satan can appear as one of God’s angels just as his human agents can appear as servants of God.  And his followers can appear as children of God.   Satan can perform counterfeit  miracles to deceive the world.  He is a formidable adversary.

When Satan tempted Eve, he masquerade as one of God’s creatures and deceived her.  First he questioned God’s Word, asking, “Did God REALLY say….?”  Then he denied God’s word, asserting, “You will not die!”  He called God a liar!   Finally, he substituted his own lie when he told Eve, “You will be like God.”  He suggested that the Lord was holding out on them and used the same tactic when he tempted Jesus. He said,  “The Father called You His “beloved Son.”  If he loves You, why are You so hungry?  Why does He make you fast?  You have the power to change stones into bread, so why not do it?” 

Once we question God’s Word and God’s Love, we start to feel sorry for ourselves and decide we deserve what the devil offers us.

Eve was deceived by the devil, but Adam sinned deliberately with his eyes wide open.  He chose to stay with his wife, now a sinner, rather than obey the Lord, and this is why it is Adam who caused the fall of the race.  Jesus is called “the last Adam” in 1 Cor. 15:45 and elsewhere. Because, in contrast to the first Adam, he obeyed the Father, died  for our sins, and rescued us from Satan’s dominion.  “Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, so everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Christians have in Jesus Christ adequate protection from Satan and his demons as well as provision for victory over temptation.  Read Matthew 4:1-11, and note that Jesus didn’t carry on a conversation with the enemy but used the sword of the Spirit (Word of God/Bible) to defeat him: 

“It is written!”

Note also that He was filled with the Spirit before Satan appeared.  As we begin each day, we must put on the armor by faith, piece by piece…..in Ephesians 6:10-18…. And trust the Holy Spirit to empower us and help us use the Word.

We must spend time in the Word each day preferably in the morning, for often the Lord gives us in the morning just the promise or warning we will need during the day.  Don’t depend on your circumstances to rescue you:  Satan tempted Eve in Paradise and Jesus when he was on the highest point of the temple!! 

Claim the promise of 1 Cor 10:13 (below an on the list at the beginning) and the Lord will help you win the victory, and that victory will make it easier to win the next battle.  “but in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37).

1 Cor. 10:13

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

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