Our Enemy Is Real
“For where God built a church, there the Devil would also build a chapel.” ~ Martin Luther
I have said this many times before and will continue to say it lest someone forget and be caught unawares: the devil is real. Quite real. Terrifyingly real. And he wants your soul.
Luther made an excellent observation when he stated that where God built a church the devil would also build a chapel. There are so many times that people became deluded thinking that they were worshiping God when, in reality, they were being led astray and ensnared by the devil.
Too often, we picture the devil as threatening, ugly, terrifying, and at the center of destruction. While that may be true, there is another side to the devil. He can also appear as non-threatening, handsome, intelligent, desirable, and a number of other traits that we tend to think of as good. You know that old caution about wolves in sheep’s clothing? That would be the devil. He may appear innocent and helpful but that is only so you do not recognize him or his true intention.
There was an old car rental commercial that said “being number two, we have to try harder.” That would be the devil’s motto. He is at a distinct disadvantage because he can only try to ensnare us while we are here on this earth. As soon as we die and are welcomed into heaven, we enter the eternal and are untouchable. The devil only has a small window of opportunity to enslave our souls. Therefore, he will do whatever he can to trap us.
Do we desire power? Prestige? Fame? Fortune? He will use those to lure us to him feigning innocence until we are ensnared. Once the devil has a hold of us, it is extremely hard to break away from him. Extremely hard but not impossible. God gives us what we need to fight temptation and resist the lures of the devil. We need to use all the spiritual weapons that we have in our arsenal in order to remain with the Lord.
FAITH ACTION: Ask God to gives you the grace needed to fight against temptation today.