Stone #4 Satan is real, don't dwell on or dismiss him!

1 Peter 5:8
"Be sober-minded; be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."

1 John 3:8
"Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil."

The word Satan is mentioned 56 times in the Bible. 
The word devil is mentioned 61 times in the Bible.
The word devils is mentioned 55 times in the Bible.

C.S. Lewis states in Screwtape Letters "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils.  One is to disbelieve in their existence.  The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.  They themselves are equally pleased by both errors."

I believe that Christians also fall into two equal and opposite errors.  One is to give him and his minions too much credit and power.  The other is to ignore the limited power that he is able to wield in this world.

Most times our sins and their consequences are our own making.   We fail to take God at his Word and flee temptation or stand firm against the sins of the flesh. 

On the other hand, we also fail to prepare ourselves, our families, and our friends through prayer and meditation on the word. 

Ephesians 6:11-12
"Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spirtual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

May God grant us His wisdom and discernment to know when temptation comes,  the courage to shine the light of Christ in the darkness of the world, and power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the devil and his schemes.

troy