PT-1 "The Enemy: Satan"

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/1/2019 9:24 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                       Focus:  PT-1“The Enemy: Satan”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 6:11b

 

            Message of the verse:  “against the schemes of the devil.”

 

            Satan is the arch enemy of God; therefore he is our enemy as well.  The only way that Satan can attack God is to attack His children and the way he does this is through schemes.  Let us take a brief look at the Greek word translated schemes as John MacArthur writes about it.  “Methodia (‘schemes’) from which comes the English method, carries the idea of craftiness, cunning, and deception (see also 4:14)” “14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF

RIGHTEOUSNESS,” (Eph. 4:14).  “The term was often used of a wild animal who cunningly stalked and then unexpectedly pounced on its prey.  Satan’s ‘schemes’ are built around stealth and deception.”

 

            I have mentioned many times in my SD’s the hatred of evolution because it is impossible and because its teachings take God out of the picture as it teaches that man is nothing but a big accident.  Because of evolution a strange phenomenon now exists, and that is that there is an increased disbelief even in the existence of ‘the devil’ there is also increased demonic/occultic involvement—both of which play into the hands of Satan.  So what we have here is ironic as people on a large scale don’t believe in either God or the devil, but are drawn to the demonic/occultic activities which makes Satan a temporary winner.

 

            For those who have followed my blogs I have talked about the existence of  Satan when I was studying especially the books of Genesis, Isaiah, Ezekiel and also the book of Revelation, as Revelation has much to say about Satan’s activities and his eventual demise as he ends up in hell.  You can look up the following verses:  Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:1-10; and Revelation 12:7-9 to help you understand how this beautiful created being committed the very first sin in the universe.  Jesus also spoke a lot about Satan and we know that after the baptism of our Lord that He went out into the wilderness to fast for 40 days and was tempted by Satan those days.  This can be seen in the Gospel writings of Matthew chapter four, Luke chapter 4, and Mark chapter 1.  John MacArthur writes “Jesus not only spoke about Satan (Luke 10:18; John 8:44; 12:31) but spoke with Him (Matt. 4:3-10).  Paul, Peter, James, John, and the writer of Hebrews all speak of him as a personal being (Rom. 16:20; 2 Cor. 2:11; 1 Thess. 2:18; Heb. 2:14; James 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8; Rev. 12:9).  We see him opposing God’s work (Zech. 3:1), perverting God’s Word (Matt. 4:6), hindering God’s servant (1 Thess. 2:18), hindering the gospel (2 Cor. 4:4), snaring the wicked (1 Tim. 3:7), appearing as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:4), and fighting with the archangel Michael (Jude 9).  He brought sin into the world and the whole world now lies in the power (1 John 5:19).”

 

            Lord, willing in our next SD will continue looking at more of what the Bible has to say about Satan, and then look “The schemes of the devil” which is what this passage is all about in Ephesians 6:11b.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Speaking of the spiritual armor as we look at Satan’s schemes and activities it is no wonder that we need all of the pieces on each day, which as mentioned I put them on to remind me of the battle that I, as a believer am in.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Pride was the first sin committed in the universe that God created, and it was committed by Satan.  Humility is the opposite of pride and I know that God hates pride, and so for this reason I need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

 

The quotation from “Love in Action” goes along with the many verses we looked at yesterday:

 

            “This ministry of encouragement stands near the top of God’s priority list.  At least fifteen passages in the New Testament talk about ‘one another’ ministry.  Five of them deal with encouragement.  These passages challenge us to a ministry of concern for one another.  These are not instructions for a pastor to encourage his flock, but words found in the job description of every believer.”

 

10/1/2019 10:03 AM