After sending out an article, in Morning Manna, Sunday morning regarding being distracted by the devil, I preached a message that evening called “Battle Ready”. Then a strange thing happened. Each morning I read a dozen or so daily devotions in search of something to use for Morning Manna. On this particular day almost every one centered on the same subject–spiritual warfare. I was shocked. I began to wonder if this was Defeat The Devil Day, or something along that order. It’s highly unusal that 9 out of 10 articles would all deal with the same subject. I would expect that at Christmas or Easter, etc., but not today. I know, you can chalk it up to “just one of those things”, but it impacted me more than that! It reminded me that we need to be reminded that we are indeed at war. I realize that this isn’t the exciting fun-loving stuff that people enjoy reading, but they need to hear it.
The Christian lifestyle puts you at odds with the world and, as Paul said, “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”(2 Timothy 3:12). Jesus taught the same thing. He never invited people to follow Him under false pretense. He was always open and honest. He let it be known that His followers would be hated for His name’s sake.(John 15:18-21). It’s unnatural for God’s people to be popular. Live for Christ and you will be hated.
I believe the most common cause of defeat is being ill-prepared for Satan’s attacks. Don’t let it happen to you. Whatever your plans are for today, just remember–Satan plans to attack! Be ready. It’s not “Murphy’s Law” that gets us into trouble, its Satan’s devices. Be prepared and you will be victorious. Think about it!
