LET’S BE AWAKE AND SOBER

The Holy Bible says, “Submit to God, resist the devil and he will run away from you.”  (Jam 4: 7)

PART II

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Dear devotees of Christ, consider yourself a blessing if you have accepted Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord; filled with His supreme power of the Holy Spirit and venerated Him at the center of your heart. After being cleansed, the Holy Spirit will begin to work in you, giving you timely inspiration to lead a disciplined and orderly life. He will illustrate you a quite place and time that can be designated to the Lord in communication. The Holy Spirit will lead you in progress thus attaining tremendous heights of peace and joy.

Be sure to memorize that just as God’s mercy are sprinkled so also are the temptations scattered everywhere.

 It is essential to remind ourselves that Jesus too was tested by the evil spirit after the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Jesus resisted him with the Word of God. Though the devil left Him; it is mentioned in the Holy Bible, ‘the satan left Him for a while.’

 

Similarly, the owner of those old evil habits that you abandoned due to True repentance is always on the lookout to capture you again. Unable to admit failure, it is the devil’s grudge and aim to harm those who threw him out. We often come across people who are unable to accept their mistakes and maintain grudge and anger to harm those who correct them.

The satan that left Jesus in the wilderness, always did try to capture Him through the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law. When the time came for Jesus to be handed over to the power of the world, satan re-entered through His own disciple Judas Iscariot. (John 6:70)

The Holy Scriptures indicates the return of the devil with seven more badly than him.

If we go through the Light of the Holy Word it mentions a woman, Mary Magdalene from whom seven devils were cast out; she resisted the devil and went on to be Jesus’ constant follower, observing the Crucifixion with the Lord’s Mother.  She was blessed to be the first to witness and converse with the Risen Lord.    

Similarly, in the Gospel of Mark the devil himself confesses that ‘there are so many of us’. (5:9)

Lord Jesus rebuked and cast out all the evil spirits, proving His power and authority; so that whoever believes in Him need not fear the power of the world.

In the Holy Bible, the number ‘seven’ is a symbol of completion and perfection. While the devil traps you with his seven destroyers, the Holy Spirit anoints our life with His seven wonderful gifts.

It is important to correct oneself  at the  on start of the evil trap be it a small white lie or a casual disobedience; or else these habits may grow to more serious and cruel deeds. The satan throws in all his perishable and poisonous pleasures and turning him/her to a murderer or destroyer of the world. One of his worst natures is cheating and deceiving each other. When you do evil, sin is crouching at your door.

So let us be alert and control our life from the lust of eyes, body and pride. The devil is always in action capturing the number, power and spreading wickedness in all its fullness, as he knows he has very little time left. (Rev 12:12).

Lord Jesus said through the parable that those who are not ready to repent and have a stagnant life will advance to such tragedy, that they will be thrown in the lake of fire and sulphur along with satan. 

When our actions are accurate in the sight of God, the joy that radiates will be relevant on our face. St. Paul, undoubtedly declared that human race has the power of victory over the demons as he wrote in his letter to the Romans (16:20),’God our source of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.’

It is prudent to resist the entry of devil into your life. He blinds us to our numerous blessings through discontentment, throwing our attention to others and their prosperity, spinning a web of aloofness; striking the flame of enmity between your dear and true ones who flourished your life with prosperity.

If you have shared your heart with evil some you will turn a deaf ear to the Voice of God.  

Turn to the Savior Lord Jesus and the Merciful Lord will pardon and save you, and He says, ‘I will never leave you; I will never abandon you. So let us be bold and say the Lord is my Helper, I will not be afraid what can anyone do to me?’ (Hebrews 13).

The Holy Bible says, “They will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil who had caught them and made them obey his will.”  (2 Timothy 2:26)

Dear ones in Christ, you may consider that it is impossible to overcome temptations. But it is possible when you lead a life in union with Christ, filling your heart with His constant love; and shielding your thoughts, deeds and speech with God’s love and fear.

Though we do not belong to this world, yet there would be tendencies to fall into the trap but as an ardent believer of Christ we all must be aware of the devil and its tricky nature.

Blessed are those whose journey on this earth is steady and union with the Blessed Trinity. 

Even when you go through a mountain of suffering, be sure that Christ is leading you. Accept the rejections and insults for the sake of God and even if you fall through weakness, pray with greater determination to rise in good spiritual and physical health. Fight like a good soldier for the Kingdom of God.

Pray as the Lord taught, “Do not bring us to the hard testing but keep us safe from the evil one.”  

Keep your soul always shining; let your peaceful life be an inspiration for others to overcome their anxiety, fear and desperation.  Never argue or boast about your faith - especially to those who abandoned and wandered from true faith.  You may encounter many such people, so guard your faith as the only treasure which can reach you to your goal.  Pray to God for His grace that you may avoid sin. 

St. Peter warns us, “Be alert, be on watch, your enemy the devil roams round like a roaring lion for someone to devour.”  (1 Peter 5:8)  While St. Peter warns, , St. Paul advises us, “Be alert against the devil putting on the armor that God gives you so that you will be able to stand up against the devil’s evil tricks”  (Eph. 6 : 11). 

Whoever calls for safety of Lord under His protection can achieve victory over the devil. 

Lord Jesus has given us an example to use the Word of God like burning arrows to shoot against the devil, so when you confess the Word of God against it, your temptations will be powerless and disappear. 

Confessing your faith in Christ will help win over evil thoughts.  The one who believes in the Name and power of Jesus can overcome the tricks of the devil.

 The God whom you trust says to you, “He will crush the head of satan.”  When the Lord is your refuge you need not fear the wicked spirit. 

Let us imitate Job, who succeeded his faith test, confessing “His hands will kill the escaping monster.”  (Job 26: 13).

Lord Jesus has given His power and authority over the evil to His disciples and believers when He declared, “Believers will be given the power to drive out demons in His Name.”  (Mark 16 :17)

St. Paul says to the people who abandon their faith, “I am surprised at you! In no time at all you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are accepting another gospel.”  (Galatians 1: 6). 

St. Peter wrote about those who turn to sin again, “If the people have escaped from the corrupting forces of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Son Jesus Christ and then are again caught and conquered by them, such people are in a worse state at the end than they were at the beginning.  What happens to them shows that the proverbs are true – a dog goes back to what it has vomited  and a pig that has been washed goes back to roll in the mud.” (2 Peter 2: 20-22)

Never get discouraged dear ones.  Lord Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and Deliverer; also a High Priest who can wash us once again and accept us.   Whoever holds out to the end will be saved. 

Let’s all pray together to keep our faith alive by not restraining the Holy Spirit and also do not despise inspired messages.  The Holy Bible says, “Pray at all times, be joyful and be grateful to God in all circumstances - favorable or unfavorable.  Avoid every kind of evil – be it great or small. 

Things may change, life may change, surroundings will change, people around will change, but your Lord who called you never changes, would never forsake you, because He is a Faithful God.  Amen.

Reciting few prayer beads like the below will spiritually increase your zest to grow in the goodness.

‘Jesus, meek and humble heart, be my love’,

‘My Lord, my God, I love and trust in You’,

‘Soul of Christ sanctify my soul’

Give assurance to your mind – I prefer death than disobeying God.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ