Deal with The Devil

Deal With The Devil

 

          I have no idea how many different denominations there are, but there are a bunch. Each believes and worships in their own way. I believe there is good in every religion regardless of how different the belief might be. However, I have found one thing that each seem to have in common. Each denomination has an ongoing fight with the devil. They don’t use the same words but the meaning carries the same message. God is good. The devil is evil.

          Sometimes we feel it is hard to be a Christian. The devil concentrates on the good God-fearing Christian to bring him down. Look at all of the respected TV ministers that have stubbed their toe on sin and fell a long way down. What chance do we have of standing up to evil if they couldn‘t?

          Let me give you a sample of what one church teaches. I will start with this one because I think that this is the softest one. Claim/Rebuke. Self-explanatory? Claim=take. Rebuke=scold. What good can scolding do against evil? It goes a little deeper than just scolding. Take claim. Before you can claim something you have to know it is there. God’s good surrounds us. Claim what is yours as God‘s beloved child. By taking what is yours you aren’t stealing from another’s good. God’s good can’t be depleted.

          Take Rebuke. You don’t make a big deal out of the suggestion the devil has tried to plant in your mind. You simply give him a slap on the wrist, and say, “You don’t impress me. Shoo…Go away.” That would certainly deflate his ego and he would leave with his tail between his legs like a whipped dog.

          Another is Accept/Reject. Accept means that God wants to give you supply, gifts, and love. Our Father will never stop loving regardless of how much you disappoint Him. But, He will not force anything on you until you are ready to accept, When you Reject something you throw it out as worthless and useless. What is more useless than Satan?

          Try Affirm/Deny. In my opinion this is the ultimate Truth. Affirm that God is All. There is no doubt that God alone created all that exists and found it good. Deny that there can be any power opposed to the Almighty. With God, good, filling all time and all space where can evil squeeze in? Deny evil exists in any form. That makes him a deception, fantasy, imagination, fable, myth or any other word that does away with him in all of his forms. 

          If you can’t agree with the above and are not ready to concede his nonexistence, that is ok. Just remember that most religions tell you that the devil has no power, except the power of belief that you dedicate in his honor.

          You probably wonder how Jesus could be tempted by the devil if he doesn’t exist. If you remember it was all for human ideas. Get rich, become famous, have the power of a king. All thoughts that we might succumb to. All Jesus had to do was desire the human rewards and it was all His. Jesus knew the Truth and nothing material and temporary could tempt Him. The thoughts died as fast as they came. The devil, not a person, place, or thing, but a thought disappeared with them.

          Control your thoughts in the first place or they will control you in the second.

 

          578 words                        Loretta Ellen Edwards