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Chris plays at the New Community Church |
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Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ~ 1 Peter 5:8 |
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Verses for Today |
Links of Interest |
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2 Corinthians 10:4-5
Proverbs 16:3
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Know
Your Enemy
Satan's primary tool is deception. He works through the processes of our minds
in an attempt to get us to call good "bad" and bad "good."
He is a master of twisting the truth and veiling what is harmful to us so it appears
to be beneficial. The Process of Deception First, Satan plants an idea in our imaginations. (Everybody has an imagination. It's a part of our thinking that we use for exploring "what if" possibilities and dreams) Second, we begin to identify with the idea that the devil has planted in our imagination. We justify to ourselves that it is acceptable for us to "try out an idea in our minds"—that is, to identify with it in our thoughts. We don't have any real intention of engaging in the actual experience or behavior, primarily because we don't want to be caught in the act by others who might criticize us. We justify to ourselves, however, that it just might be beneficial for us to try out a particular idea in our minds so we can see how we "feel" about a behavior or relationship. We assume that if we never actually do in reality what we are doing in our minds, we remain righteous in God's eyes.
Matthew 5:27-28 Third, we have a growing desire to experience the full reality of Satan's sinful idea and we begin to plot a way in which we might act out the thing we know is wrong. The more we identify with one of Satan's ideas, the stronger our desire grows to experience the idea. Fourth, we act out the idea. In acting out an idea, we rarely have an intent of turning the action into a habit. We usually say to ourselves, "I'm just going to try this one time to see what it's like." Our natural human desires are strong, especially when they are coupled with our human will. Once we engage knowingly in sin, the desire for sin is even stronger and our will to sin is strengthened. We find it increasingly difficult on our own to deny ourselves what we desire. Our willpower diminishes. Only as we trust the Holy Spirit to give us the power to withstand Satan's temptations can we turn away from sin and choose God's plan for good. From: www.intouch.org
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