Good Morning Girls!  Today we will talk about the other culprit of temptation......the devil.  It says in the Word that the devil is a thief and he comes to kill, steal and destroy.  This includes your health, your finances, your joy, your dreams, and your goals.  He uses a varity of tactics.  He uses people, even fellow Christians.  He uses cirmcumstances.  He uses inconveniences.  He uses your basic needs.  He uses your strengths as well as your weaknesses.  He even uses the Word.  When the devil tempted Jesus in the dessert, he quoted scripture to Jesus 3 times.  He twisted it and used it for his own agenda.  Jesus countered back with correct use of scripture.  After 3 unsuccessful attempts, the devil left.  However, the devil did not leave forever.  It says "the devil left until the next opportunity came."   We learn a lot from Jesus' encounter with the devil.  First of all, if we do not know the Word accurately, we can easily be tricked by the enemy's misuse of it.  We also learn that he may come at us repeatedly and we have to stand firm against him repeatedly until he leaves.  Thirdly, we are told that the devil is always near, waiting for his next opportunity.  It took me years to truly grasp this.  I knew that being a Christian did not mean life was going to be perfect, we are not promised a perfect life until we are heaven.  However, I still felt so surprised when the devil struck me a blow.  More often than not, I was caught off guard like a deer in the headlights.  I would spend a couple of days in a daze asking "where did that come from?".   After one too many times of being caught off guard, I realized the best defense against the enemy is to get on the offense.  I became proactive, rather than reactive.  Sure, there are still times when the devil sneaks in a sucker punch and knocks the wind out of me for a minute or two, but I am much quicker at catching my breath and firing back with two uppercuts followed by a right hook.  Lets not forget, the ultimate fight night has already been determined, and it ends with a big KO.  (That little boxing reference was for the 2 guys that are reading this.  I won't mention your names.......yet)  If you find yourself being more reactive than proactive when it comes to the devil.......tune in tomorrow.

Luke 4:13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.

Love you all-
Jen