If you have not read part one, you can find it here.
Let us look at the real reason that Satan tempted Jesus, it had nothing to do with food, or possible bodily harm, or even the offer of ruling all the kingdoms of the Earth. The real reason behind Jesus temptation was an offer from Satan of a way to circumvent the coming crucifixion of Jesus on the cross. This would have handed Satan the win, no crucifixion, no forgiveness for us. More then that, God would have been proved to be less then Satan.
Was there a chance of Jesus losing to Satan in the temptation? I do not think so. The point is however; Jesus was human as well as God, therefore the temptation was valid and real. If Satan tempted Jesus, then he is real and he will tempt each and every one of us as well.
The fact that so many so-called “Christians” think Satan is a bunch of hogwash only testifies to the fact that he is very real. Satan has done his job very well. He has even Believers believing that he (Satan) is not even real. Understand that although Satan is the very personification of evil, he does not hit people over the head with brutal violence every time they encounter him! Satan would much rather operate in an understated fashion because it is much more effective in causing the damage he desires. There is even Scriptural evidence to support this, look at 2 Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light
Satan is a very real danger to us. Although he cannot posses the saved of God, he can influence our thinking and decisions. Look at the world around us; I do not think anyone is going to deny that it (the world) is becoming more and more violent and obscene. Who rules this Earth? It is not God – John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. This is of course allowed by God for His purposes, and in this verse it is Jesus Himself speaking.
Look at what goes on around us:
- Drugs and alcoholism
- Prostitution and pornography
- Murder for money, sex, drugs, power, etc.
- World wars 1 and 2
- Absolute love of money
- Selfishness being common even touted as a good thing
- World views that are driven my “me-ism”
- The constant lust for more…
- The ever increasing desire for “new” bible teaching that flatters the people and makes a mockery out of the Word
- Increasing persecution of the Believers
- Increasing tolerance for all forms of debauchery and wickedness while tolerance for God and especially “Jesus” is becoming less and less
Just where do you think all of this is originating? Is it coincidence that the world is becoming more and more evil? It is by design, the design of the evil one, Satan.
As I mentioned earlier, we cannot go through life seeing Satan behind every bush. We cannot however dismiss the fact that he is real and very powerful either. I guarantee that Satan does not want articles like this one published. It took three weeks to write this article, why? I wrote some of it, and then had to stop because of time constraints. Then each time I thought of finishing it…I became busy with other things and the article was forgotten and did not get done. You can draw your own conclusions here.
The main thing I want each and every person reading this to be aware of is this; Satan is very real, and is a deadly threat to each and every one of us. How to counter him? Pursue God, every day be in the Word. Worship God…Satan hates that. Pray, prayer is communication with God. The more you are involved on a daily basis with God, the less able the enemy is to win the battle that rages between your flesh and your new spirit.
Satan and his demons along with the evil spirits are the very reason for the Armor of God. We can be and are protected from them (Satan and his ilk) by God’s Armor that He kindly provides to us. Jesus already won the battle with Satan; we need only use the Armor He provides to protect ourselves.
Ephesians 6:10-18 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
If you are not a Believer, I urge you to turn your life over to Jesus today, confess your sins to Him, and ask for forgiveness. Believe that Jesus Christ died to pay for your sins and was resurrected and lives even now. God will hear you, and His Spirit will live within you today.
About the author: Greg is a strong believer in Jesus Christ and is also a political analyst, author, and is the Editor-in-Chief for the National War Council. By day he is a self-employed non-emergency medical transport driver, as well as being an author and blogger. His articles are first published on Inspirational Christian Blogs, and I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel of Christ! His articles have been widely published on many well-known conservative websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so leaving all links intact and crediting the author and the website that the article appeared on.
Greg is the author of the newly released book: Spiritual Darkness is Destroying America and the Church
Categories: SPIRITUAL WARFARE, THE WORD OF GOD FOR TODAY
You did it again, Greg. Great post. All we have to do is turn on the news for 10 minutes and the proof of evil at work is right there before our eyes. But then step outside and look around. Almight God is right there in all the beauty we see.
That’s for sure. 🙂 Love God’s amazing sunsets! and many other things of course. Thanks Sue. 🙂
Reblogged this on Sue's Pen2PaperBlog.
Thank you Sue. 🙂
Reblogged this on Sue's Pen2PaperBlog.