“1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”…
The very first words that Satan speaks in the Bible are not “you should do this,” or “God is bad,” or “just be evil,” or anything so blatant as that. Instead he tries to put doubt in the mind of man. “Did God really say,” the first words from Satan. Casting doubt, the master of lies. Our God however is a God of truth. Satan is constantly working on us, and it is our job to fight him. It is a fight we will lose though. Martin Luther used to spend hours alone in prayer and meditation, pleading with God to save him, and yelling and arguing with Satan. When his spiritual father heard of this he told him to stop arguing with the devil. He has had thousands of years of practice and experience. We would surely lose such a fight. Luther finally came to the understanding though, that our God is a God of love and truth. God loves us. He fought the fight for us already and won! The devil has already lost.
And yet the devil keeps trying. He tries to bring as many souls with him into the fiery pit as he can. The devil tries to caste doubt on the truths that God has revealed to us. In doing so he also tries to break the trust that we have in God. Evidence of this effectiveness is found in the first two verses of chapter three. Satan asks Eve a question trying to caste doubt on her. His question tries to point out some sort of flaw with God, and yet it is not even true, because God had not commanded them to eat from any tree. Eve being the good little girl that she is responds that it is but one tree that they can’t eat of, nor touch. That is where the first consequences of the lie become present. Eve adds to God’s command that they are not allowed to touch the fruit. This was never part of God’s original command. Already she is confused by Satan’s lies. This is exactly what he wants. Suddenly, after the sin, Adam and Eve realized they were naked. They started to bring lies and imperfections into God's perfect creation. Satan does not create, he does not perfect, he does not speak truths, and this is how he drags man down.
We must always always focus on the truths that God reveals to us, on his commands, and on his promises. The devil is still always out there though. That is why for this particular post, as well as writing your thoughts and general questions, I was hoping that you could also answer one of my questions.
What are your methods for dealing with the devil and temptation?
Personally I find surrounding myself with God fearing people and talking about something positive or the Word helps me a lot to resist the devil. What about you?
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2 comments:
There are many good ways to deal with satin and temptation.
I often have thoughts and halfway through the thought realize it is the devil trying to trick me.. that is when you say to the devil> Get out satin in the name of Jesus, you have no power over me. (sometimes your so afraid your legs shake under you) but God gives us authority over satin, and when we use the name of the Christ against him he cant stand it.
You must always be reading the bible and putting the word of God in your heart. If you know God's words, then it is easy to understand what is true, and what is a false temptation.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Romans 12:1,2
We must be servants for the Lord, and do his will even when we want something different. When we want only his will, and let him lead us, then the temptation is not realy aimed at us but at God... and he cannot be tempted!
always pray for strength to fight satin..if you ask for it God will give it. and always be praying for your friends, and have them pray for you. A good group of people praying for eachother is so much stronger than any one person.
I couldnt agree with you more andrew. I have started praying more and more as my life goes on and continue to pray for you and the others that God puts into my life. We truely are blessed!
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