The Devil

The Devil Leaveth Him

Matthew 4:11

"Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."

If you do anything for the LORD, you can expect to get the Devil's attention. Jesus barely started His ministry on Earth, when the Devil came to tempt Him. You would think the Devil would know better than to tempt Jesus Christ, but he still tried to no avail. When the Devil was done, the Scriptures said that he left Jesus. Wow, that must have been a relief; however, when the Devil left Jesus, he didn't leave Him for long because you find later in the Scriptures that he came back.

Knowing the tactics of the Devil is just as important as knowing how to overcome his attacks. There is nothing fun about having to ward off the attacks of the Devil. The Devil doesn't play by the rules. He is a dirty player. He doesn't care how he gets at you, he is simply out to win. You must be careful in thinking that the Devil is done fighting you when he leaves you. He will come back, and he will come back with a vengeance. Let me give you some thoughts about this truth.

First, just because you won the battle doesn't mean the war is over. The Devil is a sore loser. If you won the battle over one temptation, you can always rest assured that he will come after you with another. One of the mistakes many Christians make is that they become overconfident when they win a battle over the Devil. Many times you will find that the Devil will allow you to win a battle just so he can defeat you with overconfidence. Christian, always remember when you win a battle, the Devil will not be happy about it, and you must beware that you are still in the battle.

Second, you must continue doing after the battle what you did to win the battle. Jesus did not stop His prayer life after He overcame the Devil's temptation; rather, He kept praying because He realized more battles would come. When the Devil leaves you, don't think that you can let up in your walk with God. You are going to need your walk with God to strengthen you for the next time you face the Devil.

Third, the absence of the Devil is temporary. Luke 4:13 says, "And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season." Notice, it was not a permanent departure, but a temporary one. I point this out because you need to prepare yourself for the next battle with the Devil when he leaves you. You must always remember that everything the Devil does is temporary. The joy he offers from sin is temporary, and the reprieve from the battle is also temporary. When you win a battle, enjoy it for a very short moment, but remember the war is not over and the Devil will return.

Finally, let me encourage those in the battle with the Devil that he will leave you. When you are in the battle, it can become discouraging because you wonder if he is ever going to leave. I can testify that he will leave. You simply need to hang in there and realize that a reprieve is on the way. You may think that you can't take it, but the LORD will step in and will never allow the battle to become greater than you can bear.

The Devil is a fierce opponent. The greatest victory you will achieve in life is overcoming the Devil. But, when you overcome him, always remember he will bounce back. Be ready! Don't let him catch you off guard when he returns.

Walls

Towns Without Walls

Zechariah 2:4

"And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:"

A town without walls in Zechariah's day was clearly a sign of weakness. The restraint of walls kept the enemy from invading the town. The restraint of walls kept the wild animals from killing children. A town without walls was a weak town. As long as Jerusalem remained without walls, it was vulnerable to the attack of the enemy.

God told Zechariah to speak to the young man. This is interesting because God expected the young man to be the one to build the walls again. The young man had his whole future ahead of him, and God wanted the young man to be sure to build the walls in his lifetime. For what purpose? For the purpose of protecting those whom he loved and for the purpose of protecting his family. Without walls, the city would be destroyed and those within it. It was imperative for the young man to build walls for the town.

Christian, just as it was dangerous for this town to have no walls, it is just as dangerous for you not to build walls in your life. Your town is your life and those for whom you are responsible. Your town is your spouse and children. Without walls, your life and loved ones are at risk of being destroyed. Let me remind you that the Devil is out to destroy God's children. He will send everything your way to destroy their mind, attitude and life. It is very important that every person realize that they need to build walls in their lives so that they don't become a town without walls. Let me give you a few areas where you need to build walls in your life.

First, build walls of decency in your life. You should have guidelines by which you abide concerning your dress. You should realize that young ladies should always be decent. Every time we tell someone to dress decently, we are building the walls of decency. In my home, I have built walls of decency for my wife and daughter by setting guidelines on how they should dress. The walls of decency consist of making sure the necklines are not too low, the dress lines are not too high and the fitting is not too tight. These are walls of decency we have. We also built walls of decency where we are always decent in front of each other. Just because we are family does not give me a right to run around with my shirt off. There needs to be walls of decency in every home.

Second, build walls of friendship. Friends will ultimately determine what you or your children will become. The best guideline a person can have for themselves is to never have friends who would pull you away from what you have been taught. I try to make sure that every friend I have would not spiritually weaken me, but they would strengthen me. Furthermore, parents need to build walls of friendship for their children. Parents should decide with whom their children can associate. This may seem extreme, but if you don't keep walls for your children's friendship, they may meet one person who will destroy them. Parents should always determine the friendships of their children.

Finally, build walls of spirituality. I am talking about making sure you daily spend time walking with God in His Word and in prayer. This will help you build walls in your life. Likewise, you should build walls by attending every service of your church. Whenever you miss one service, you are missing one brick of truth that will help you build walls in your life.

Don't be a town without walls. Be sure to build the walls in your life, and be sure the walls you have built do not decay. If your walls are strong, then you will be able to withstand the attack of the enemy.

Matter?

It Really Doesn't Matter

Zephaniah 1:12

"And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil."

One of the statements that really gets under my skin is when a person says, "I don't care."That seemed to be the attitude of the Jews. The verse above says that they were "settled on their lees." "Lees" is the sediment of the wine in the barrel. It was the refuse of the juice. If you have ever drank something and got to the bottom of the cup and saw some granules that settled at the bottom, that is the lees of that drink. These people we happy with the refuse of life. It really didn't matter that they could have it better in life, for they were settled on having what they had.

Even worse, the Scriptures tell us that in their heart they said, "The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil." In other words, they had the mentality that God didn't care that they lived this way. They had a mentality that God was far off and uninterested in their life. What a sad mentality! The attitude of settling for the "lees" of life caused them to have the mentality that God doesn't care. That mentality led to their destruction. Thinking that it really doesn't matter led them to the judgment of God.

I would like to remind the Jews that it really did matter. It mattered because there was another generation who watched their careless attitude. It mattered because lives were destroyed by sin. It mattered because the best in people was not being realized. It mattered because God is a God Who expects excellence. It really did matter because their attitude led to destruction. The Jews were better than having a careless attitude. It really did matter to God, and it should have mattered to them.

Sadly, I find many Christians who seem to have the same attitude, that attitude that it really doesn't matter. This is one of the most selfish attitudes a person can have. The reason is doesn't matter to many is because it doesn't personally affect them. As long as what goes on doesn't touch them, then they really don't care. Churches are filled with Christians who have a careless attitude about what happens in their church and society. Our nation is filled with people who really don't care about wicked policies that are destroying their nation. As long as they are happy and they can live and die without those policies affecting them, then they settle on their lees.

Let me remind you that we should never accept the lifestyle that lives at the bottom of the barrel. Whatever happened to the drive inside of people to better themselves and their surroundings? Where are those who take upon themselves the attitude that they will leave every place a better place?

Let me challenge you to become a person who doesn't accept the careless mentality that says, "It really doesn't matter." Let me challenge you to make everything matter in your life. Every action that you perform should matter. Every thing that God allows your hand to do should matter. Every project that you start should matter. Every person who is hurting should matter to you. Every soul that has an eternity should matter. Simply put, become a person who truly cares about everything you do. If you will make your life one that strives for excellence, then your life will be one in which everything truly matters.