Sleeping with the enemy...or at the very least shackin' up with him

Have you ever found yourself in that place of agreeing and taking sides with the devil? You know, if you have kids and they do something stupid, you're all over them about it. Or you don't like the way things are going at your work or church and you start griping and complaining about it? I mean who's side are we on? Are we fighting for those we love, or are we helping the enemy carry out his plans against them?

My thought here today is to help us see who's side we are on. For instance, we see something that we don't like in our church, so we start to complain to a friend or two, then they tell a friend or two and so on and so on, and before long the enemy really gets a foothold and things aren't as good as they should be.

We are created in the image of God. And one thing that the Bible stresses so very much is the power of our words. We have to pay close attention to what we say, and how we say it. The enemy knows this, and truthfully has no power over us that we don't give him. So what he tries very hard to do is to get us to make agreements with him, saying things that are contradictory to what God's Word says. He learned this lesson at the hands of Jesus in the wilderness only too well. So we have to put a guard on our lips and watch with an intense awareness of what we say.

During World War II, there was a p.r. campaign going on that said, "Loose lips sink ships!" The meaning behind that was to keep people from talking about things that could help the enemy to get a foothold and destroy our men in battle. Well, in case you didn't get the memo, we're in a battle. It's a battle with satan and his cronies. The war has been won, and yes Jesus purchased for us the victory, yet the devil obviously doesn't remember that because he continues to fight against us.

The bible calls him a "roaring lion" seeking whom he may devour. When we agree with his thoughts and words, then he can devour us. But we don't have to be devoured, we can stand against him, because of what Jesus has purchased for us through His death, burial and ressurection. We have but to stand up and face down the enemy. The bible says to submit ourselves to God, resist the devil and he will flee. I like that word flee...it means to run in terror. I like that, me submitted to God, resisting the devil's attacks and his words and watching him run in terror from me.

So I'm keeping a much closer eye on what I'm saying, and how I'm responding to things in my life. After all, wouldn't it be horrible to find out after this was all said and done that we had in fact been aiding the enemy in the battle instead of standing against him and opposing him at every turn? Strength and honor........and keep your sword tip up.....