Be serious! Be alert!  Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.  Resist him and be firm in the faith, know that the same sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.

Now the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will personally restore, establish, strengthen and support you after you have suffered a little.  The dominion belongs to Him forever.  Amen.

1 Peter 5:8-11 HCSB

We know that when we go into a restaurant, the waitress may ask something like “what will it be?”  This question is asked because we have a choice of anything on the menu.  Well, we have many choices to make as Christians as well.  We can choose to call on God’s strength to do our best to live in a way that pleases God, or we can choose to be weak and mess up.  We all make mistakes, but as Christians we need to do our best to guard against them.

The biggest mistake we make as Christians is to underestimate the determination of the devil.  The devil will pull lots of little tricks out of his bag to drag you over to his side.  John 10:10 tells us that the thief or the devil, comes to steal, kill, and destroy.  He wants to steal your joy. He wants to kill your Christianity.  He wants you to suffer an eternity in hell.  He wants to destroy your witness.

Now there are some powerful tools that the devil keeps in his arsenal to accomplish these tasks.  One tool that the devil likes to use is pride.  We know that God hates pride.  Proverbs 16:5 tells us that those who are prideful are an abomination to the Lord.  It goes on to tell us that these people will not go unpunished.  There are many verses that deal with pride.  The devil uses pride to destroy relationships.  Many Christian families have been pulled apart by pride. Churches are divided by pride. This is one of the devil’s most powerful tools.  In James 4:6 we are told that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.  Humility is the way to go for us as Christians.  If you want to please the devil hang on to that pride, but if you want to please God, humble yourself before Him.

Another powerful weapon in the devil’s arsenal is guilt.  The devil likes to keep a little video running that reminds us of all our past sins and failures.  He likes to pull that out and hit the play button when we are down.  He likes to tell us that we will never get it right.  He likes to remind us of the times we have screwed up in the past.  Now the Bible tells us that if we confess our sins, that God is faithful to forgive us (John 1:9).  It also tells us that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).  The Bible even tells us that once God forgives our sins that he removes them from us as far as the east is from the west (Proverbs 103:11-12).  That ‘s far, far away in case you didn’t know.  So why would we feel guilty if we are in Christ Jesus?  Whatever you do, don’t let the devil lure you into that trap.

The devil also likes to use shame.  No one is perfect.  The Bible tells us that all of us have sinned and that all of us have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  You can thank Adam and Eve for bringing sin into the world when you get to heaven.  You see, the very first man and woman sinned and the rest of us followed along.  But, we serve a God of mercy and grace.  We serve a God who sent his one and only son to earth to suffer a horrible death so that we may be saved from an eternity in hell.  We serve a God that sent his son so that we could have life everlasting (John 3:16).  We have no more reason to feel shame than we do guilt.  But the devil loves to use this to try to distract us from doing the Lord’s work.

Now these aren’t the only tools in his shed.  There is anger, bitterness, envy and a whole host of other things he can dig out and use against us.  The question is, what will it be?  What will you allow him to use to bring you down?

Several years ago, I was loving the Lord and happily going about His work.  We were having a revival at church and I was out and about trying to get people to come to church.  Then one day the devil used a weapon from my past to get me angry.  After he got me angry, he filled me with pride.  Once he got that pride in there, he marinated me in a little bitterness and an unwillingness to forgive.  But before he could bake me and I was done, I realized what he was doing.  I prayed to God to deliver me from these things and He did.  We had a great revival and many came to know Christ.

Our church, Grace Fellowship Baptist, will be having a revival this Sunday (9/9) through Wednesday (9/12) each night at 6:30.  If you are in the Hammond area I hope you can join us.  We are located at 11638 Hwy 1064 Tickfaw LA 70466. In the past few weeks, I have definitely felt the devil coming against me and my loved ones.  But I know what he’s up to.  I am alert and sober minded.  I know that after I suffer a little that God will personally restore me.  James 4:7 says that if we resist the devil, he will flee from us.  I have chosen to resist him.

So as for you,  what will it be?  Will you stand strong in God’s love?  Will you humble yourself to be the servant that God has called you to be?  Or will you let the devil use one of his many tricks to bring you down?  There are many choices on the menu.  I pray that you choose wisely.

Have a great day!