RED ALERT!
“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
As a kid growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, I watched my share of TV. Few shows were as exciting to me as Star Trek. I thought Captain Kirk was too cool for school. He always seemed to know just what to do and was ready to do battle with the most menacing of aliens.
In Star Trek, if the ship was ever in danger, Captain Kirk would give the command, “RED ALERT! RED ALERT!” Red alert meant that all crew members were to report to their battle stations and be ready for whatever threat might be coming down the pike. Once the “red alert” was sounded, all crew members rose to maximum awareness and precaution.
ARE YOU ON ALERT?
The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 5 that we are to live “on the alert.” We are not to fall asleep at the switch because the enemy is out there and we must be ready. Our enemy is Satan. He is like a roaring, stalking lion who wants to devour you and me. Jesus told us that he comes only “to steal, and kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). He is a formidable foe. We would be very foolish to turn off the alarm and treat him as if he were a non-factor.
While we are to be alert against the devil, we need not fear the devil. He is a formidable foe, but he is also a defeated foe. “Greater is He who is in you [Jesus] than he who is in the world [Satan]” (1 John 4:4). God has given us all we need to stand firm against the devil and beat him every time.
THE SHIELD OF FAITH
God tells us that the shield of faith extinguishes all the fiery arrows of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16). When the devil roars at you: that God does not love you, that your life is going to crash and burn, that things are never going to get better, that God is never going to answer your prayers, that you are never going to break free from your addiction, that you are never going to find the person of your dreams, that you are destined for failure and misery and a black, bleak existence, lift up the shield of faith.
Speak the truth with conviction and faith: God does love me! God is in control and knows what He is doing! God has a good plan for me! God is for me, not against me! God is going to answer my prayers at the proper time! God is going to provide for my needs! God is going to give the victory!
When the enemy comes in like a flood, speak the words of young David when he faced off with Goliath and met that giant’s mocking challenge with the shield of faith.
“You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands.”
(1 Samuel 17:45-47).
David won the battle, and you will too. The devil is no match for King Jesus. Be alert and lift high the shield of faith. Victory is ours in Jesus Christ.
Love,
Pastor Jeff Schreve,
From His Heart Ministries
Dr. Jeff Schreve believes that no matter how badly you may have messed up in life, God still loves you and has a wonderful plan just for you. From His Heart provides real truth, love and hope on over 700 radio stations each day, in 182 countries each week on TV, and is always available online. Pastor Jeff takes no income from this ministry. All donations go to furthering the broadcast outreach. As a listener/viewer supported ministry, we thank you for joining with us to help speak the truth in love to a lost and hurting world. Go to www.fromhisheart.org for more information.
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