June 20, 2019

THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT

1 Peter 5:8-10

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

Personal Challenge

We are informed throughout the scriptures, both old and new, that the devil is constantly trying to trip us up in our walk with our God. It is so easy for us to choose to sin and to proclaim the saying that Flip Wilson made famous, "the devil made me do it?" But this is never the truth. the devil cannot make us do anything. He and his minions may orchestrate all forms of temptations for us, but it is our own free will that chooses to act on those temptations or reject them. In order to reject them, we must be sober and vigilant in our walk with the Lord. We must be able to resist the enemy by being steadfast in our faith and relying on our God to give us the strength to resist. We do this because we know that we have been called to His eternal glory. Glory be to God!