My brother-in-law and his wife returned from out of town to find their house ransacked. Especially the master bedroom. The robbers had pulled out drawers and emptied them in search of valuables.
Contrast that with what happened to me Christmas night. I went on Facebook to see what my friends and extended family had posted about their celebration. A friend had posted a sale on the cutest nativity sets. My only debate was whether to buy one to be sure the quality matched the photo or a half dozen as gifts for next year.
I punched in my credit card info and pushed purchase. A wonky URL flashed on the screen. I scrambled to stop the transaction. But for the first time in months, my internet and computer synced, processing my purchase in a nanosecond.
Reviews of the link warned the site was a scam. I called my bank, but the transaction went through. Thankfully, I’d only purchased one.
Do you know the difference between a robber and a thief? A robber may hide his identity behind a ski mask, but he doesn’t hide his intentions. A robber uses unlawful force or threat of violence to steal from you. You know when you’ve been robbed. But a thief steals secretly or without open force. Sometimes he even wins his victims’ cooperation.
Jesus calls Satan the thief. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10 NIV).
A New Series
I’m starting a new series to equip you to protect yourself from the thief. Today, I want you to become aware of the thief because he is the master of deception. Like the charming nativity scene on a friend’s Facebook on Christmas night, Satan masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).
Are you aware that there's someone who wants to steal your joy, peace, and purpose? Here's a new series to help you protect yourself from the thief. #spiritualwarfare, #discernment Share on XJesus warned, “There is no truth in him…he is a liar and the father of lies” (John. 8:44 NIV). It doesn’t matter if the lies come from world, the flesh, or the demonic realm. The father of lies instigates the lies that masquerade as our thoughts. If we believe them, like the Christmas scammer, he secures our cooperation in his diabolical schemes without laying a hand on us.
The Thief Manipulates Your Thoughts
When Satan wanted to destroy Israel, he gave King David the idea to take a census of Israel’s troops (1 Chronicles 21:1).The Bible calls David a man after God’s heart. If David had known this idea came from the devil he would have run from it. But he thought it was his idea. His error cost the lives of 70,000 people (1 Chronicles 21:14).
Remember Jesus’ disciple Peter? One minute Jesus commended Peter for recognizing Him as the Messiah.
Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being.” (Matthew 16:17 NLT)
A few verses later, Jesus rebukes Peter for teaming up with Satan in trying to keep Jesus from the cross.
Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” (Matthew 16:23 NLT)
The Battleground of the Mind
Our minds are battlegrounds where deception wars against truth. Paul wrote, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5 NIV).
Every thought. We can’t be passive. The Christian life is lived on a battleground, not a playground.
You know how cartoon characters have thought bubbles over their heads to show their thoughts? Imagine a thought bubble sits on top of your head. Would you be more diligent to monitor your thoughts if you knew others could read them? Here’s a more powerful motivation. Satan uses our thoughts to steal, kill, and destroy. We must bring them into submission to Christ.
Would you like a tool to help you recognize and resist the thief’s mind games? In our next posts we’ll be unpacking the acronym DARTS to help identify Satan’s schemes. In the meantime, you can download a free PDF on DARTS under handouts on my free resource page.
Do you monitor your thoughts, or do you passively accept every thought as your own? If you have a question you’d like addressed in this series, post it in the comments or contact me.
Strength Builder: Stay alert and practice monitoring your thoughts this week.
For Part 2 go here.
Resources
- Free PDF on DARTS under handouts
- Give Yourself a Break Bible study
- Give Yourself a Break from Temptation and Spiritual Attacks E-book
- Little Strength, Big God (Chapter 8)
Blessings,
Sometimes I link with these great sites:
#InstaEncouragements, #TellHisStory, #Let’sHaveCoffee, #Grace&Truth
I am looking forward to this! Even tho I have been walking with the Lord for many years I still struggle with this area, especially over the last few years
Ann, it can be so subtle and our enemy knows our vulnerable spots. And he doesn’t like being exposed!
Thank you for this well written and intriguing post. I would like to learn more about DARTS.
Thank you, Heidi. I hope you enjoy the series. Many have told me this has helped them.
Love this Debbie! For some reason I couldn’t get to post to fb but I’ll keep trying:)
Thanks, Stephanie. I added a link in the comments. It looks like the link didn’t go through.
Yeah, Debbie, the enemy of our souls prowls around looking for whoever he can devour. But greater is He who is in us than He who is in the world. Eyes up to Jesus, our Savior and our King!
Amen, Linda!
Brother in law Adam needs prayers for healing of stage 1 cancer. Mother in law will be buried on Sat. Please pray for family and friends. John will do the eulogy.
Thank you Debbie
Blessings,
John and Jean
That’s a lot. Sending a prayer right now.
This post reminds me of something I read recently (and will recount imperfectly) about Satan’s attitude toward sin. He’s all supportive of it for the onramp (“Come on… It’s not going to hurt you), but after the deed has been done, he condemns (“Look what you did! You’re damaged goods now!).
No wonder he’s called the Deceiver!
Michele, what a good illustration of how he works!
I’m looking forward to the rest of this series. So wonderful. Thank you Debbie
Thank you, Yvonne.
Satan can sneak into my thoughts and he’ll find his way into my words unless I apply God’s filter first. I wish I did it every time, but like any tool, the more you use it, the more proficient you become using it. God’s blessings ma’am. Much needed truths.
J.D., he certainly knows how to slip in. We must always be on guard while living in enemy territory. Thanks so much.