Resist the Devil!

⁸ Be sober! Be on the alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. ⁹ Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are being experienced by your brothers in the world. ¹⁰ Now the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will personally restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little. ¹¹ To Him be the dominion forever.  Amen.

1 Peter 5:8-11 (HCSB)

 

We are told to flee temptation,  (defensive posture)

 

¹⁸ Flee from sexual immorality! “Every sin a person can commit is outside the body,” but the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body.

1 Cor 6:18 (HCSB)

¹⁴ Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

1 Cor 10:14 (HCSB)

²² Flee from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

2 Tim 2:22 (HCSB)

 

But resist the devil... (offensive posture)

 

Weapons...

This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.

Eph 6:13 (HCSB)

 

The result...

⁷ Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you

James 4:7 (HCSB)

 

The result of resistance is that the DEVIL WILL FLEE!

 

 

 

What About Them?

32 They angered [the Lord] at the waters of Meribah, and Moses suffered because of them; 33 for they embittered his spirit, and he spoke rashly with his lips. Psalms 106:32-33 (HCSB)

They angered the Lord and they embittered Moses’ spirit, but it was Moses who suffered. It was the children of Israel wanting water in the dessert. God gave a way and Moses was to call forth water from the rock, but instead he struck the rock. I always saw this as anger. Moses got in trouble because he got angry. But this verse seems to indicate otherwise. His anger was a symptom of something bigger. He was embittered by the people and it caused him to mistrust God.

Bitterness can cause great pain. We say… they hurt me… they embittered me toward them… they… and in the end we suffer.

The solution is clear… forgiveness.

Lord, how many times should I forgive? Seven times? Seven is a lot of times, Lord. They hurt me a lot.

²² “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus said to him, “but 70 times seven.” Matt 18:22 (HCSB)

Lord, help us to forgive and not allow the sin of others to cause us to sin by becoming embittered. Amen.