Submit yourselves to God
Jas 4:7 SUBMIT YOURSELVES THEREFORE TO GOD. RESIST THE DEVIL AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU.
Ask yourself this question… do you resist the devil?
Seriously, go ahead and ask yourself it, and ask yourself seriously, not jokingly. Do you resist the devil?
I'm serious.
Do you resist the devil?
What does the word 'resist' mean?
re·sist-
verb (used with object)
1. to withstand, strive against, or oppose: to resist infection; to resist temptation.
2. to withstand the action or effect of: to resist spoilage.
3. to refrain or abstain from, especially with difficulty or reluctance: They couldn't resist the chocolates.
4. to make a stand or make efforts in opposition; act in opposition; offer resistance.
Do you withstand the devil?
Do you strive against the devil?
Do you oppose the devil?
Do you make a stand in opposition to the devil?
In order to resist something you have to believe it is real, don't you?
We hear a lot in the news lately about 'resistance groups', those who are standing up for various rights they feel have been trampled on. The resistance groups are opposing their government views hoping to effect change. The resistance is standing up hoping their actions will bring about some sort of change for the better. They are voicing their opposition. We can comprehend this because we too often wish we could be a part of those opposing the tyranny in supposedly free lands, and definitely in the lands oppressed under dictatorships- or close to them. We comprehend this sort of resisting. We also comprehend resisting the temptation towards evil actions don't we? We know what it means to have to deny ourselves lusts of the flesh whether those lusts are food, sex, money, etc. We understand that we should deny ourselves that extra helping of dessert because not to do so makes us guilt of surfeiting. We know that we cannot gratify our sexual urges even when they are at their strongest if it means breaking a vow before God, to do so causes us to sin. If a great deal comes along that could profit us with a lot of money only if we compromise our principles and lie just a little bit to get that money, it's wrong, and we know that. Often we try to justify our wrong actions, making excuses for why God should and will understand what we've done, but we are only fooling ourselves.
We comprehend the need to resist the evils around us, don't we? The morally wrong choices that are out there in great number tempting us, we understand for the most part. Society has done a GREAT job at lowering moral standards by labeling those with moral standards as being oppressed and prudish, as living in the Victorian age, the dark ages, times long ago before modern enlightenment revealed that having morals was somehow wrong and not overall a very good thing.
We do comprehend on this level I've been discussing, right? If so then you are capable of comprehending what it means to resist the devil because… HE IS AT THE SOURCE OF EVERY TEMPTATION! We cannot divorce him from our temptations NOT EVER! When we take the devil out of the evil we are tempted towards we are choosing to forget the enemy we fight, the enemy our SAVIOR bested when He died on the cross for us. We cannot let ourselves forget the devil though he wants us to do just that and he wants it very badly.
There are current movies just coming out or coming out soon about devil possession and you know what, the devil loves those sorts of movies because they fictionalize him even as they are 'basing them upon true stories.' They glamorize him even in the evil disgusting ways they portray the possessions inciting men's passions not to seek God, but to seek the thrill of that unknown evil- thinking it isn't really, real, that it can't really happen. If it did really happen, well, that's just uhm, a little crazy right? The person is really just psycho and in need of mental health treatment because real devil possession is a fable. So even while the truth is mingled with lies the devil is dancing happily about as more and more people are deceived by him.
People led their ordinary lives ignorant to any sort of real devil activity in their lives, forgetting that every little tiny sin they commit is devil born. You might not be possessed but you do interact with the devil all the time whether you want to believe it or not. Stick your head in the sand, shrug it all off. Hide because you don't like the idea that you are consorting with the devil, it hurts your delicate senses to believe because surely God only wants you to think about good things.
True, God does want us concentrating on good things-
Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
See, it is true, we are supposed to thing on true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtue, praise- all these things. Yet we are not suppose to allow ourselves to be blind to the evil that surrounds us so that we stop resisting the devil simply because we don't let ourselves believe there is a real devil. We are not to call evil good.
Isa_5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
We have to understand the reality of what we are resisting so that we are drawn ever CLOSER to the ONLY ONE who can give us the POWER to RESIST- JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD and SAVIOR!
We must resist but first we have to do this…
Jas 4:7 SUBMIT YOURSELVES THEREFORE TO GOD.
Submit ourselves to GOD!
Give our lives to God, this is the ONLY way we have any hope of resisting the devil and all he brings into our lives that would keep us from God.
Jas 4:7 SUBMIT YOURSELVES THEREFORE TO GOD. RESIST THE DEVIL AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU.
We must submit!
By the grace of our LORD may we all submit ourselves to GOD and then resist the devil so that the devil will flee from us!
All through the love of God!
All through His mercy, His love, His grace, always!
In HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ALONE!