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1 Peter 5:8-9
Holman Christian
Standard Bible
8 Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is
prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. 9 Resist
him and be firm in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are being
experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.
When the serpent (devil) tempted Eve, he had very little to
go on. He used ventriloquism to make it appear that the serpent was actually
talking and promised Eve that, as the serpent, had gained the ability to speak by eating the
forbidden fruit, she, Eve, would gain precious knowledge by eating it. She was
tricked, and all the evil in the world today resulted from her falling for it.
Likewise, the devil will stoop to any deviant, low, and mean
device to capture us. Shortly after I got to high school, we had a discussion
in a Friday night meeting about things to do on the Sabbath. Some students
suggested that since God is love, and that he gave us love, including physical
love, we should read novels about love. A lot of students thought that was a
good idea.
I countered that since God is love and, in the commandment,
He stated that the seventh day is the “Sabbath of the Lord Thy God,” therefore, we ought to be reading about our
love for God instead of physical love. My reasoning sort of brought the
discussion to a close.
Several of my fellow students approached me afterwards and
told me that my reasoning was very convincing. They would appreciate it if I
used it “on our side.” Their compliments fed my ego, and I began looking for places
where I could support “our” side, and there were lots of places that I could.
Some of those places actually supported what I considered to be the Lord’s
side. On the other hand, it is also easy to use reasoning to support evil.
For example, just the other day, I overheard someone
commenting that as scientists have examined some global structures on Mars,
they have come to the conclusion that, early on, Mars was covered by water.
Those same scientists examine the very same structures on earth and conclude
that the earth was never covered by water. Why not? Because that would support
the concept of a Genesis flood, and that is unconscionable.
Oh Lord, may
my reasoning be guided by your Holy Spirit!
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