Episode 513

TODAY’S READING

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.

John 10:10

The enemy is really good about disguising himself and tempting us into believing that he is good or that the things he stands for are good things and things that we would benefit from. And his schemes are not old; he tempted Eve in the garden. And he told her, he made her question, God he said Did he say that? So today, I wanted to remind us that when the enemy comes to steal our joy, when he comes to kill what we have when he comes to destroy the peace in our home, we have to look it straight in the face and say, I am not going to accept this. I do not want to deal with this today. I know your schemes. I see you coming from a mile away, and I am not going to entertain it anymore. And we are so quick to catch what’s happening and direct our attention to Jesus. Instead, the atmosphere changes in our homes, the atmosphere changes in our careers in the work environment wherever we are with people. We get to call the enemy out for what he is and what he does. And we get to change our situation or circumstances. We always have to remember that the enemy comes disguised. He makes you question God; He makes you question your friends and your family. 

He makes you think that what he has to say is better than what anybody else has to say. And he will tempt you into doing things that will benefit you, or that will make you feel better. And so he can come in a variety of ways and what we have to remember is that he is very real. And he is very serious about taking the things that mean the most to Jesus. And what we also have to remember is that if the enemy is real, well, then God is also real, and he is kind, and he is gentle, and he is caring, and he is everything that the enemy is not. He doesn’t come and deceive you. He came and told us everything that we ever needed to know about him, about his word, about the way that we are to live our lives. And we don’t have to question whether it’s a good dream or not. We don’t have to question whether it comes from the Lord. If it doesn’t, he has been very clear from day one. He is not a dissenter. He is someone who is very, very clear with us. Someone who loves us so much, someone who communicates with us on a daily basis, but we have to lean in closer. So today, as we go about our day as we come in contact with those that we love the most. 

If we see that the enemy is coming to trigger us, we took him in the eyes, and we say No, not today. We’re not going to put up with this today. And then when we do that, when we deflect him, we look closer, and we lean into Jesus. And we remember how real He is, how kind he is and how caring he is. He is out to protect us, unlike the enemy who’s out to deceive us. So wherever you find yourself today, lean in closer to God and remember how real He is.

Prayer

Father God, we love you so much. And Lord, sometimes we stop, and we look around, and we ask where you are? It can seem as if you are a million miles away, but Lord, we know that you are right there. You are closer than our very breath. And you are so very real. You’re right and caring and compassionate. And we know that because you are real. There is also a very real enemy who is out there to kill, steal and destroy our peace, our love. He is there to tempt us into questioning you and what you stand for, and who you are in our lives. And so today, we reviewed that we look to you, we look to growing closer to you. And we thank you for everything that you do in our lives. We ask that you bless our day, and we ask that you bless the week ahead of us. It is in your holy name that we pray. Amen.