Dear friends,
If you are fond of what is showing in the movies and in the TV, then for sure you may have heard about Thanos in the Avengers and the Night King in the Game of Thrones. Both can be considered as supervillains. In short, these villains had more or less the same objective – to erase the memory of people and to annihilate everyone in the world except themselves.
In the Bible the villain is Satan. Satan is the embodiment of evil. In the New Testament, Satan was called 12 times as “the evil one.” And whether we like it or not we encounter Satan everyday. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us of this realith, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Job 1:6-7 also tells us that Satan is always roaming around — “One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”
What are the things that we should be watchful for? This would also be a good guide for choosing the right leaders in our national elections next Monday.
First, when you lie and do not tell the truth, Satan becomes your father.
Jesus said in John 8:44 “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
Second, when you become a stumbling block and led astray people away from God, you have become Satan. In Matthew 16:23 the most popular disciple of Jesus was called a Satan. “Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Paul warned about the tricks of Satan. 2 Corinthians 11:3 “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”
Third, when you continue on sinning, you are now part of the Devil. 1 John 3:8 says, “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.”
How can we resist Satan? Let us follow what Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:11-16 — “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. 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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”
Thanos and the Night King might be great supervillains in the fictional world of movies and TV series. But what we should watch out in reality is Satan.
Let us remember that We have victory over Satan because of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us resist Satan in Jesus name.
Rev. Francis Neil G. Jalando-on
#SeedsOfFaith
#BinhiSangPagtuo
May 6, 2019