There is one sure way to get the devil’s attention I’m told and have experienced. Just begin to turn one’s life and attention to Christ.
Some of you have a pastor or two refer to a person’s lifestyle as an open invitation for him to gain access to his or her world.
Supposedly, as long as you engage in the things and happenings of this world, Lucifer has no need to exert any time or energy dealing with the struggle for your eternal soul.
Life’s trials and individualized temptations alone are enough to sentence any one of us to an afterlife void of the Lord; which if you didn’t know is the quintessential definition of hell itself.
A life without spiritual purpose, a life without spiritual guidance, a life without faith is a life doomed to wandering aimlessly with all roads aimed directly to one’s personal hell. The devil does not need to work to gain access to this life. It is a conformed life. He can merely wait at the toll booth gate and collect unsuspecting souls who meander by.
You remember when you partied so hard that even the next day didn’t completely clear the stupor from the night before?
I am just humbly suggesting that maybe some of us could at least make the devil sweat just a little bit, while he tries to manipulate one’s circumstances to his will.
On the other hand, a life grounded in spiritual purpose, imbued with integrity and anchored in faith instantly becomes a target for Satan’s bullets.
Prayerfully, I believe we should be trying to make Satan work that much harder by appealing to the Lord everyday to allow us to do His will instead of our own.
Remember,…”Some people are like seed along the path where the Word has been sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the Word sown in them.” (Mark 4:15)
If you know this and we should, then what are we doing to arm ourselves against the inevitable onslaught of the evil one? “And now wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (Corinthians 11:14)
My point is to let you know that as a professed believer, you have a neon sign that shines brightly in all kingdoms of this world and the next. It identifies you and alerts everyone in your ecosystem about your mission to honor God.
And for the record, Satan cannot stand the thought that your love for God supersedes his ability to wreck your world. I’m told that at one time he also loved the Lord dearly. We now know that he came to love himself more.
Now if he has his way, he wants us to love ourselves and our things, our desires and our addictions more than we love God. In doing so, his hope is that we shine the light on ourselves instead of God. He sets this diabolical trap and we are prone to take the bait. Just know, if and when that happens, hell’s toll booth awaits.
“For as I have often told you before and now (I) ay again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their God is their stomach and their glory is their shame. But our citizenship is in heaven…” (Phillipians 3:18-20)
I sincerely hope that you recognize the next trial or temptation headed your way is but a hiccup, a hitch your “get-along” on your way to securing your place in eternity with the Almighty. Any other consideration, distraction or misstep should be viewed by us all as an opportunity to get back on God’s highway.
It’s free. It doesn’t cost us anything. Change direction, refocus, recognize. That light within us was put there for a divine purpose.
Let the world see who put it there and all we need do is remember why. We are who the Lord made and not what the world would have us believe. It’s still pretty simple. Know the truth…
May God bless and keep you always.
