Monday, July 9, 2012

HOW SATAN DECEIVES GOD'S CHILDREN ?

                                                                

                                                                                                                                               (Courtesy:123rf.com)
                                                                         
 Basically, satan deceives God’s children in six ways as follows:


1. Makes people doubt God’s Word (Genesis 3:1)

2. Obstructs God’s plan (Matthew 16:22-23)

3. Steals God’s Word from those who heard it (Mark 4:15)

4. Propagates lies and fools people (Proverbs 9:17)

5. Secretly sows seeds of sin (Matthew 13:39)

6. Flames pride in a person (I Chronicles 21:1-3 & 7).

Exodus 8:18-19 (GNB) says: The magicians tried to use their magic to make gnats appear, but they failed. There were gnats everywhere, and the magicians said to the king, "God has done this!". . . Out of the ten miracles (that were increasing in magnitude to have greater impact on the King of Egypt) that the Lord performed for the deliverance of the Israelites from their slavery, the Egyptian magicians were able to do the first three but could not do the fourth one. The power of the evil by which it deceives and enslaves people is so limited, while God’s power has no limits

The devil is very crafty in its methods of trapping the godly. He changes the moral environment so slowly and gradually that one can’t make out the danger until it is almost too late. A well know illustration goes like this: If you drop a frog into a container of boiling water, the frog will immediately jump out. But, if you place the frog in a pot of lukewarm water and slowly turn up the heat, the relaxed frog will just swim around, since the rise in temperature is very slow, it keeps adapting to the changing environment without thinking of the impending danger until it eventually boils to death. (choicesforliving.com)

Just like how garbage attracts pigs, fear attracts the devil. Fear causes destruction in our lives. Job confessed in Job 3:25 (KJV) “. . . that which I was afraid of is come unto me.” It means, if we fear that any particular misfortune might happen, most probably it happens and we are responsible for its happening as we have induced it. Yes, fear opens the door for the devil to come and cause destruction (John10:10). Opposite of fear is boldness. What can boldness do in our life? In Judges 11:1-3, we see that every reference to Jepthah to be so very negative but one quality he had that has lifted him up to the level of a leader is boldness. Therefore, pray for boldness and be bold (Acts 4:29-31). Never be afraid of the evil one. Understand that the devil is afraid of humble people.

A saying goes like this: “When Satan reminds us of our past, we should remind him of his future.”

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