God's adversary is Satan. He is very real and 


has a truly destructive agenda. He is a 


cruel and deceitful adversary who is destructive, 


malicious, evil, and haughty. He knows how to


 sow discord and strife! He possesses a 


one-of-a-kind ability to sow confusion, chaos, 


and conflict, to name a few.


Satan is not self-existent, sovereign, omnipotent,


 omniscient, or omnipresent. He does, however, 


control the evil world systems.


1John 5:19

Satan was once an angel named Lucifer, but he


 rebelled against God and was expelled from heaven,


 along with other angels who followed him. "I saw


 Satan fall like lightning from heaven," Jesus said


 in Luke 10:18. 


With his false and defamatory allegations against 


God, the devil was able to sway one-third of the 


angels. Angels who had worshiped together were


 now at odds over issues the devil was able to 


drum up in their minds.



Satan and his minions have been on a mission 


to destroy God's greatest creation—humanity—


ever since they were expelled from heaven.



 If the devil can persuade angels, imagine how


 much easier it is for him to deceive people 


who live in a less-than-perfect environment and


 struggle daily with their own flaws and identity!


According to Jesus, Satan comes only to "steal,


 kill, and destroy." He's even dubbed "the accuser."


 Satan is anything but awesome or delightful. He


 causes serious damage to the world.


The enemy (Satan) will craft 


weapons against us, including...


 our own family and friends.


 

He uses them as ammunition 


in his arsenal.


Satan waits until a person is in pain, distraught,


unsuspecting, or flustered, and then arranges for 


someone to do something that the other person 


does not like or wish to be associated with. 



The devil is notorious for sowing seeds of discord 


into the hearts against people we care about. He 


stirs the pot, blows issues out of proportion, taints 


people's view of the other, then fires his fiery 


darts of rage and frustration straight into the 


emotional state of both!



Infighting, spitefulness, hatred, and division 


quickly follows. Family and/or friends who once 


stood side by side and blessed each other are 


now hostile rivals.


The devil is an authority at dividing, destroying


and distorting relationships. He knows how to


manipulate people into situations where they feel 


wronged, outraged, slighted or hurt, and then he


 coerces them to develop their offense until it 


morphs into strife that divides even the closest


 of family and friends.


Be encouraged if this sounds familiar! The same


 thing happened to Jesus! After three years of 


working with Judas Iscariot, the devil gained 


access to Judas' soul, turning him so bitterly 


against Jesus that he became His betrayer. But 


we must ask, what allowed this duplicity to 


take place within Judas?



The Bible gives us profound insight into how 


the devil gets a foothold in people's minds, in 


John 13:2. Mary brought  anointing oil and 


poured it on Jesus' feet in John 12:3-7. Judas 


saw her act of love as a waste of money and 


complained to Jesus about it. But Jesus told Judas


 to leave Mary alone and allow her to carry on.



 After supper ended, the devil quickly seized 


the opportunity to sow a seed of betrayal into 


Judas’ heart.  


John 13:2

Judas was, supposedly, so offended by Jesus.


 Remember, all the devil needs is a well-timed 


opportunity and a pinhole to slither into hearts 


and emotions, even if only for a brief moment. 


When the devil saw that opportunity, he pounced


 in at lightning speed and penetrated Judas' mind 


and emotions, severing a long-term relationship


 and turning a trusted friend into a betrayer.

Our major battles are spiritual 


in nature, and we need 



Spiritual Armor 


to stay strong in the midst 


of these continual battles.


The reality of spiritual warfare 


is clearly stated in the Scriptures.

In times of trouble, the enemy tries to get into our


 ears and send us disturbing messages. 


He enjoys agitating us, but God says that nothing 


in Satan's arsenal can stand up to us.

There is no hope for Satan, no matter how much


 evil and chaos he creates. We already know the 


outcome of this spiritual war. According to the Bible,


 Satan is destined for hell and wishes to draw people


 as far away from God as possible and have them


 to follow him to hell.

No weapon devised against us 


will be effective.


54:17 Isaiah

Put on all of God's protection to withstand 


the terrible day, and then stand your ground 


after you've done everything you can.



We put on God's complete Armor to fight


Satan's schemes and fight for God's truth.


2 Corinthians 6:10-2

God's kindness will continue even if the 


entire world changes around us. Even if 


everything around us falls apart, God will


 remain. Nothing the adversary can trump up 


will work against us.Whatever the enemy 


tries to throw at us will fail. 

 Jesus doesn't want anyone to end up 


in hell with Satan. Hell is a real place. 



God wants us to experience 


peace and eternal life.


May we continue to... 


cling to the promises of 


God's Word.

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