Thursday, August 26, 2010

2010 – August 26 – The Devil, You Say!

Study from God’s Word Ezekiel, Chapters 26 – 28 … Passage for Reflection: Ezekiel 28: 17 … NIV Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.

My Journal for Today: What are your thoughts about Satan? Unfortunately I think some people either think of him as a silly, but sappy, cartoon figure depicting the evil side of mankind. It’s the result of how man thinks of the opposite of “god” or maybe “good,” which is no more real to them as satan [with a small “s”]. And then there are those who ascribe too much power to The Devil, declaring “the Devil made me do it” to every mistake or improper decision that such a person might make.

Yes, Satan is very powerful; and he is much more powerful than I am (or you are). But he is a created being, an angel who fell from God’s grace; and now, though he has a free-will like man, he and his angelic followers, pridefully think of themselves as gods or adversaries of God Almighty, Yahweh. And there are two passages in scriptures, one of them found in my Scripture studies for today, Ezekiel 28, and the other in Isaiah 14, which are, according to scholars. who are much more well versed in Scripture than I, human depictions of God’s created adversary, the Devil.

And it is fascinating for any Scripture student, like me, to wonder why the Almighty Yahweh, who created His angels, would allow a lesser being, like Satan, to stick around after he fell from heaven to take up residence on earth as the prince of darkness, masquerading as an angel of light. But it’s clear that Satan, the Devil, and his demon minions, are part of God’s plan. But they create an atmosphere – i.e., Satan’s system, the world – which is to some degree – hell on earth.

But the one characteristic of our enemy, the Devil, which is emphasized in Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14, is pridefulness. And if there is an “original sin,” pride is it. Pride – or the desire to become a god by controlling our own destiny – is that character trait which is most Satan like. And thereby the opposite of pride, humility, is likely the character trait which is most like Christ; and I believe that God has allowed Satan to continue to exist on earth while HE, the Lord, pursues His beloved human race so that we, the pursued who must come to faith in God, can see what anti-God characteristics are like. We cannot see Whom God is without having an arch-type who depicts all that God is not; and that is Satan in all his malevolent being.

So, as I move forward in my life, I must have faith that God is God; and He is in control of even a very powerful adversary like the Devil. Yes, Satan is much, much more powerful that I; but I have the power of the Living God, in His Spirit, dwelling in me so that I can be victorious over Satan and his world – and yes, even over my own deceitful, prideful heart. The truth of 1st John 4: 4 bubbles up from my consciousness as I write this, declaring, You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them [your spiritual enemies], because the One who is in you [God's Spirit] is greater than the one [Satan] who is in the world. And I will go with that thought today as I do battles with God’s enemy, The Devil, who will always be my enemy … every day of my life.

My Prayer for Today: Lord, You, and You alone give me the power to be victorious over you arch enemy, the Devil. Amen

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