“How shall I resist him?” someone asks. The standard example is that of the Lord Jesus Himself in His representative temptation as the Head of a new race. He used the Sword. The Sword is the Word. It is not merely two-edged, but it is all edge. Christ quoted the Word. He did not cry to the Father only, but He turned on the devil with the authoritative words of Holy Writ. There was nothing complicated about it. He just drew the Sword and used it. Then the devil left Him, first for a season, then fully, till the final scene on Calvary, when all the forces of hell massed to the scene and were beaten (Col. 2:15).
Christ did not summon angels, or display that power which was His right as God the Son. He just did what we all need to do—He used the Word. To Him it was final and sufficient, the very breath of God. He was handling the weapon of omnipotence and divine authority. He knew the Word. He counted it sufficient. He used it. But He used it AGAINST THE DEVIL.
He did not quote it to His Father or recall it merely to refresh His own soul. The devil had said, “It is written,” but the Lord said more than that: “Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written . . .” Note that. He spoke to the devil and told him to go. And you may need to do the same someday. Do not speak lightly about these things. The Holy Spirit has anticipated the tendency to lightness on this subject with a warning, “Be sober.”
How to Resist the Devil by F. J. Perryman
Link for book in bio.
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What use is it to argue that because you are “in Christ,” the devil cannot touch you, when many who believe that are falling on every hand? It is true that if we are really in Christ, we are “hid with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). But of what does that speak—our position before God in heaven, or our state, or walk, on the earth? It is our position. Here on earth if you “make provision for the flesh,” you will sin. If you “give place to the devil” (Eph. 4:27), you are open to defeat, no matter what your position is. Besides, there is no point in the Apostle Paul’s saying, “Neither give place to the devil,” if he cannot touch you. The devil can touch you if you let him.
To plead ignorance here is no defense. The Holy Spirit of God is willing to teach us all we need to know, but if we reject His instructions, we will be responsible for our ignorance of the devil’s devices and will fall an easy prey to his wiles. The process of deception may be slow. It usually is. Few people fall into his hands suddenly. Something in the nature of a creeping paralysis is what the devil seeks to inflict. His assaults are usually hidden behind something natural or physical. Watch them, and be ready to resist. If the devil cannot catch you on the plains of the flesh, the heights of spiritual attainment will not escape his keen attention. He is clever and has had at least 6,000 years of experience in setting traps for the saints.
Not every believer who has died has a well-fought battle and a finished course to his credit. But he could have had. It is delightful to know that he who was once hindered of the devil (1 Thess. 2:18) eventually overcame (2 Tim. 4:7).
How to Resist the Devil by F. J. Perryman
Link for book in bio.
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I meet many Christian people who will do anything to evade this question about the devil. They believe that he exists. They admit that he is busy. But when I suggest that they withstand him, saying..., “I now resist the devil and his attempt to get me to do this or that,” they object.
“Oh, no,” they reply, “I just leave it to the Lord. I am too weak and frail to tackle the devil. He is too strong for me.” But it is God who tells us to resist Satan, though not in our own strength. He says, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, stand up, draw the sword, resist, withstand, overcome!”
Read where you like in the record of Scripture, and you will always find the endued man of God as the instrument of challenge to the devil—registering the victory of the cross over him. This is no isolated work reserved for certain outstanding characters only. It is to be the common lot of every believer born from above. Each one of God’s children lives his earthly span in a world where at every step he is challenged and opposed by wicked spirits under Satan’s leadership.
God declared war on the devil from the moment he deceived our first parents, and it is clear from Genesis 3:15 that nothing but enmity is to exist between those born of God and the adversary. Such enmity is in the divine nature. Let it out....
I was not born from above to go under; I was born to triumph, and if I choose to triumph, I may. But if I close my eyes to these things, I shall not triumph. I can afford to be ignorant of nothing. Neglect any part of God’s revelation that His Spirit has unveiled and you place yourself in peril (2 Tim. 3:16). Next to being saved through the merits of the precious blood of Christ and being empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit, I believe that there is no truth so vital to healthy, vigorous, fruitful Christian service as to know of the devil and to stand up to him in the name and power of our living Lord.
How to Resist the Devil by F. J. Perryman
Link for book in bio.
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote
It is as much a command of God to “resist the devil” as it is to “be filled with the Spirit” and to “love one another.” Every believer who knows anything about the filling of the Spirit must eventually be faced with a situation which involves the necessity of resisting the devil. The surge of God’s life through us cannot continue its course unhindered without at some point bringing us definitely into contact and combat with the satanic forces that control the darkness of this world. (Eph. 6:12; 2 Cor. 11:14)
The devil is your adversary. He will never be your friend, though he will pose as such. He will never be off duty, though there may be times when his active opposition may not be as apparent as at other times.
How to Resist the Devil by F. J. Perryman
Link for book in bio.
#devotionals #devotional #daily devotional #dailydevotions #scriptureoftheday #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #freebooks #bible #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #churchofgod
In my early teen-age life there were two verses of Scripture that I had learned by memory which were a guide to me. One was, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right,” Eph. 6:1. The other one was, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. The first one made me know that God would bless me if I obeyed my parents. Many times my idea of what they required wasn’t the thing that I wanted to do, but I obeyed. Why? Because I loved Jesus. I was convinced that I was doomed for hell, but Jesus had loved me so much that He came to this world, lived, and died on the cross and arose again for my salvation. If it had not been for Jesus taking my sins and loving me so much I would be eternally lost. That was a great influence in my life and today I am very glad that I obeyed my parents and also let Jesus handle my life and lead me in a right direction.
When teen-agers rebel they are headed for trouble and oh, what great trouble! Remember the Bible has the answer to every problem, and Jesus will help you handle your life if you will let Him.
The Key to Peace by Anna Marie Miles
Link for book in bio.
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“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walked about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world” (1 Pet. 5:8, 9).
If I do not resist the devil, things very soon go wrong with me. I know that he is my adversary, and if I become unwatchful and unguarded, he surely, though slowly, gains on me, and God’s work is hindered. If you’re a true child of God, you are no exception to the rule. Satan will oppose you and challenge you, but remember that in Christ you may always triumph.
Satan is a powerful foe. No human being can hope to cope with him. The believer cannot take the offensive against him, but he can resist him. The word “resist” means “to withstand, to be firm against someone else’s onset.”
The word “resist” also indicates that we are not to flee from this enemy. Courage is called for in this fight, and courage God will give His child. Satan and his forces have to flee when the Christian stands his ground in the might of the Lord. Our standing, or maintaining our ground, is the goal in this battle (Eph. 6:13).
How to Resist the Devil by F. J. Perryman
Link for book in bio.
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Part 1
There is a struggle going on in the minds of every young teen-ager. At times he is a carefree person but then at other times he tries to act grown up or feels that he knows what he should do and the path he should walk. These are difficult times in a teen-ager’s life. Influences from within and from without will cause him to decide upon his course. Parents see this indecision and they try to guide their teen-agers in the right direction. The pastor, Sunday school teacher, and the young people’s leader are all interested in the teen-agers and are trying to show them the right way. At times the teen-ager thinks his parents or other spiritual instructors are right, but the crowd at school, and often the teacher, use their influences to pull him the other way. Day after day he is making decisions. The wrong influences seek to turn the teen-ager away from morality and God’s Word but they do not give anything to take its place in his heart or erase guilty feelings. Therefore he finds emptiness within, so is compelled to continue to seek something else to satisfy him. Then he is led deeper into grosser evils, trying to “handle” his inner longings.
I know because I went through those years and I know the influences to which I was exposed. One time I wanted a certain thing or would want to do a certain thing but then later I didn’t like or want it. Some at school would present their ideas and my parents and spiritual advisers presented their ideas. In my mind I was continually weighing out what was right or what I really wanted to do.
The Key to Peace by Anna Marie Miles
Link for book in bio.
Part 2
None of us are able to handle our own lives. When we are born we have within our very nature a bent toward evil. That bent toward evil has to be curbed. God gave children parents because they needed help to face life and to curb that which was within them that would lead them to the wrong path. Children and teen-agers should recognize this fact and listen to them. Even if you do not want to admit it, you can’t handle your own life without the aid of your parents. Furthermore, you can’t handle your life and walk the right path without God’s help. The devil works through the influences of others to lead you astray. Only through the power of God can the power of the devil be broken, the bent toward evil be destroyed, and you be able to do the right or choose the right path. Never feel that you can handle your own life. No man, woman, child, or teen-ager can handle his life or obey the Word of God, which teaches him the way to live in this life and be ready to die, without help from outside of himself.
The Key to Peace by Anna Marie Miles
Link to book in bio.
#devotional #dailydevotional #christiandevotional #morningdevotional #inspiration #bible #christian #motivationalquote #inspirationalquote #devo
