Purposeful Resistance

"When you carry the Bible, Satan gets a headache. When you open it, he collapses. When he sees you reading it, he faints. When he sees that you are living what you read, he flees. When you are about to re- post this, he will try and discourage you... I just defeated him!! Copy and re-post if you can, even if many of your "friends" laugh and make fun of you.....Any takers?"

This status has been flooding newsfeeds all over Facebook. And while this all may sound nice and fuzzy and easy, it is also a big fat lie. A lie from the Father of lies.

When you carry the Bible, satan will try to convince you to put it down. "You don't need it."

When you open your Bible, he works on getting you to close it again and lose interest. This is no time for him to collapse. 

When satan sees you reading the Bible, he does NOT faint. he will try to distract you with everything he has.

When you live out God's Word, satan will spend all his time getting in your way. 

The only way to make little satan flee is by TELLING him to get away from you IN THE NAME OF JESUS. There's no way he's going to run as long as you don't tell him to do so. 

It is our calling to live out God's Word and glorify HIM, and satan might "crinch" at that and stomp his feet and pull his hair out and what not, but he will STILL try to distract you and come up with ways (especially busyness) to get you off God's path. 

USING God's Word VOCALLY, using it to TELL satan to take a hike, now THAT will make him run.

satan can't read your thoughts. he's only a fallen angel. Only your MAKER, your CREATOR, knows what you're thinking. We do not THINK or simply LIVE satan away. We TELL him to run, and we ONLY tell him in the precious NAME OF JESUS.  This does not mean we can live as we please. By all means NO. This means James 4:7: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

According to Clarke's Commentary on the Bible this means:

Submit - to God - Continue to bow to all His decisions, and to all His dispensations.

Resist the devil - He cannot conquer you if you continue to resist. Strong as he is, God never permits him to conquer the man who continues to resist him; he cannot force the human will. He who, in the name of Jesus, opposes even the devil himself, is sure to have a speedy and glorious conquest. He flees from that NAME, and from HIS conquering BLOOD.

Don't underestimate the hidden schemes of our enemy, even in fuzzy looking statuses and sweet sounding phrases. 

We are not in Kingdom Club Med. We are warriors in a battle not seen with human eyes. We are conquerors for The Most High God. We WILL NOT defeat satan without using God's Word and the power of the blood of Jesus.

And don't EVER underestimate the POWER of God's Word SPOKEN. We have been given the awesome privilege of God's Word. The same God that spoke the World into being resides in us, His children.

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and atittudes of the heart.

 It is time we stop thinking we can do it without saying a word, and start USING the power of HIS WORD. 

It is time to send satan trembling and squealing the ONLY way that works, in the sweet NAME OF JESUS. 

Greater is He who is in us than he who is in this world.

Only through BOTH - Submission to God AND Resistance to the devil, will we live lives free from satan's influence. 

Prayer: Father, I give my life to your will and I rebuke satan. Thank you for making me a victor over him. Amen