"THE ENEMY!"

Ephesians 6:10-13                 (ESV)
"10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
12 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 SPIRITUAL FORCES OF EVIL IN HEAVENLY PLACES.
13 Therefore take up the WHOLE ARMOR of GOD, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm."



Many times I have written about "THE ENEMY" and his deceptive, wily tactics.  Humans can be such an easy target because we are such creatures of the moment that we overlook the real battle that lies before us.  "THE ENEMY" can, and does, camouflage himself with so many different suits of battle that we are so upset at his apparel that we ignore who is occupying the clothing!

In Genesis 3:1 the Bible says "the serpent (satan) was more crafty than any other beast of the field".  His nature is to deceive and destroy!  Throughout the Bible we are taught to be aware of "THE ENEMY" and his tactics!  In 2 Corinthians 2:10-11, the Apostle Paul says "Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of CHRIST, so that we would not be OUTWITTED by satan; FOR WE ARE NOT IGNORANT of his designs."  If we are "not IGNORANT" of his designs, we are certainly not expecting them sometimes based off of our actions/reactions.

We should prepare ourselves for battling "THE ENEMY" by taking up the WHOLE ARMOR of GOD everyday.  If "THE ENEMY" can keep our focus on who he is using rather than that he is the one causing the problem, then he is accomplishing part of his strategy.  We should realize that "THE ENEMY" uses race, wealth, beauty, and anything that mimics a godly attribute to manipulate opinions to agree with his.

When JESUS CHRIST was hung on a cross at Calvary HE defeated "THE ENEMY"!  Sure, the battle still rages on, but the Victory is won and 'THE ENEMY" has lost!  All of the deception and deceitfulness will prove to be futile when TRUTH is revealed!  DO NOT be over taken by the masks and trickery that "THE ENEMY" uses.  We must recognize "THE ENEMY" so we can know where our battle lies!

..........and let me add......the most effective tool in the tool bag of  "THE ENEMY" is the thought we "don't have time"!!  Dr. Charles Stanley says "GOD can lay you flat of your back and then we will see who has time!"  You may need to SLOW DOWN!!!