THE DEVIL (SATAN) IS NOT IN HELL….YET

BIBLE PASSAGE:
The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout
the earth, going back and forth on it.”
(Job 1:7)

MEDITATION:
The biggest enemy of God is the devil – the evil one.
Have you ever thought about the names
that are given to him in the Bible?
He’s called:
    Deceiver (Revelation 12:9)
    Destroyer (1 Peter 5:8)
    Murderer; liar (John 8:44)
    Accuser of the believers (Revelation 12:10)
    Tempter (Matthew 4:3)
    God of this age (world) (2 Corinthians 4:4)
    Prince of this world (John 12:31)
    Thief; evil one (Matthew 13:19)
    and Leader of darkness (Colossians 1:13)

He shows his cleverness by getting
people to think that he does not exist at all.
Some say,
    “Oh well, yes, he exists. He’s dressed all
      in red and is in charge of hell, isn’t he?”

No, the devil is not in hell.
He is alive and prowling the earth to accuse,
confuse, tempt, and destroy the lives of many.

1 Peter 5:8 tells us,
    “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls
     around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
He confuses many into believing he is their friend,
but the scriptures clearly tell us he is our enemy.

He is angry with God for casting him out of heaven and he
wants to express his wrath by destroying the lives of people.
He’s not in hell, yet; he’s busy on earth
trying to distract, discourage, and destroy!

He is the antithesis (direct opposite) of God.
God loves people and wants what is best for them.
Satan hates people and wants to ruin their lives.
God wants to encourage and lift the spirits of people.
Satan wants to discourage and destroy their lives.

The evil one finds pleasure in deceiving,
and luring people away from God and His goodness.
He has an arsenal of wickedness at his disposal and
loves using every one of them to accomplish his evilness.

Satan’s battle is with God and since he cannot win any
battles with Him, his next best choice is to defeat God’s people.
He is driven to destroy God’s creations (not only the living,
but also those who have not yet been born).
If he can dupe us into overlooking the magnitude
of his evilness and destructive ways, then he will
succeed in destroying our lives currently, and eternally.

ACTION:
How do we resist the efforts of the evil one to ruin our lives?
The scriptures give us a three-pronged formula:

1. Flee from his temptations (initially and continually).

        We should not invite or embrace his temptations,
        but instead turn them away at the very beginning.
        As one example, when Satan tries to convince a married
        person that flirtations with someone else is just fun
        and harmless, that person needs to recognize it as the
        first step of being tempted and reject it immediately.
        Don’t allow opportunities for flirtations, and don’t just
        walk away from them, but flee them as dangerous threats.

        Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person
        commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually,
        sins against their own body. (1 Corinthians 6:18)

        Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.
        (1 Corinthians 10:14)

2. Pursue righteousness and submit to God.

        How? We spend time with God and other believers.
        Pursuing righteousness is not a passive, but an active
        effort to see and understand what God wants of us.
        It means creating and nourishing a fellowship with
        the One who will determine where we will spend eternity.

        But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue
        righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance
        and gentleness. (1 Timothy 6:11)

        Submit yourselves, then, to God.
        Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

3. Quote scriptures.

        Whenever we are tempted, we should have a scripture
        that we can whisper (or yell) to Satan.
        It is difficult to focus on sin when quoting scriptures.
        Jesus knew the value of quoting scriptures and He
        used it to turn Satan away whenever He was tempted.
        (see Matthew 4:1-11)

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, You know the power of the evil one and
how he can tempt me in many ways. You also know my
weaknesses when I am tempted. Father, I pray that You would
help me to develop a resistance to the evil attacks from Satan.
Thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to help me in my efforts.
Teach me to employ His presence as my first line of defense,
because I know that my greatest strengths fall short of His
power, and He can help me to flee temptations from the very
beginning.”

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