We Have Met the Enemy and His Name Is...

The old quote is "We have met and enemy and he is us." In this case though the enemy of the committed disciple of Christ is the same enemy that Christ encountered during his stay on Planet Earth. The truth of the matter is that he is a defeated foe. Jesus took care of that on Mt. Calvary and in the Garden Tomb over 2000 years ago. Someone has said, "At Calvary Jesus pulled Satan's teeth. Though he can no longer bite the believer, he can certainly gum them alot." There are some safe guards for the believer against the arch enemy of Christ.
  1. Confess all known sin and repent of it. Unconfessed sin gives Satan an entry into your life and affairs. Confession should be a part of your daily prayer time, and also should occur whenever the Holy Spirit makes you aware of sin in your life.
  2. Remove all idolatrous and satanic trappings from your home or person. Often posters, books, statuettes, album covers (or CD gem cases) DVD movie covers, tattoos, jewelry etc have satanic or supernatural ties. These in a home or on ones' person, give the devil an entry point.
  3. Never try to converse with the devil. Remember, he is a liar and the "father of lies". Anything he tells you is suspect at best.
  4. Whenever you're aware of or suspect the presence of the evil one, do the following;
    a. Resist him (1 Peter 5:8) There is a pattern to follow. First, submit yourself to God by confessing all known sin and acknowledging Christ as Lord of your Life. This is best done aloud. If you have memorized scripture that relates to the temptation or oppression you are experiencing, quote it aloud.
    b. Then speak aloud to the enemy (you don't need to shout). Say something like, "Satan, in the mighty Name of Jesus, I command you to leave." That's it. Don't go into a rant. Just calmly and firmly demand that the enemy leave, and he will.
There is no reason to think that every bad circumstance you encounter is from the devil. James warns us that often times it is our own lusts that lead us into sin and there will always be consequences to sin. But...be aware that you are not defenseless when it comes to dealing with the devil.

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