Have you ever wondered why Jesus ran into the devil a whole lot more than Christians do today? It was because He is extremely dangerous to the devil. He upsets everything the devil wants to do. So, the devil came out to thwart whatever Jesus was doing.
Does the devil still try to stop the work of Jesus? You better believe he does! You can count on running into the devil if you are active in serving your Lord, Jesus.
The devil hates people coming to know Jesus as Savior. He does whatever he can to convince people that Christians are living in a psychological co-dependence. He tells people that it isn't real. He points to those who once said they believe in Jesus but now claim that was just a stage in their lives. He tries to make it appear silly or controlling or any other way to dissuade people from coming to Christ. He makes Christianity into a religion of hate. He attacks those who try to share their faith with those who do not know Christ. He can't stand it when even one soul is reached.
The devil will try to discourage Christians from living a joyful life. He will obtain permission from God to attack those who are serving their Lord. He can only go as far as God allows but he still attacks. He may attack the Christians money supply or his health or his relationships. God allows him to do so because God trusts the Christian to be faithful. That doesn't make it easy for the Christian but it is encouraging to know God trusts us.
The devil will try to get the Christian to fail in his relationship with Christ. He will tempt the Christian in his old sinful ways. The Christian may have been a boozer before coming to Christ, so the devil will tempt him with booze. The Christian may have had trouble with porn so the devil will put him alone with the porn available. The devil wants the Christian to fail and think there is no hope.
The devil will get other Christians to complain about the way the Christian is reaching people for Christ. It doesn't even occur to the complaining Christian that the way that works is better than doing nothing which is exactly what the complaining Christian is doing.
The devil will try to distract the Christian from service. I once sat in a meeting with Christians who were lamenting over a family who quit coming to their church. They said that these folks had stopped coming and when contacted said they weren't coming back because no one cared. The Christians were going to make a great effort to get this family back. I commented, "So, you are telling me that they stopped coming on their own for no reason. Now, they are saying that it is your fault for their not coming because, even though you had contacted them in the past in which they always had an excuse, that this time it was just too long before you contacted them. They are saying it is your fault that they don't come to church?" I dont' know why the Christians couldn't see that it was the absent family's fault for not coming to church. Now they were going to take the time and effort that could be used in reaching new people so that these unfaithful Christians could get attention. That is the work of the devil.
People who diligently serve their Lord out of their love for Him will regularly meet the devil. He goes to church every Sunday even if the Christian doesn't. He is there to stop the Lord's work. So, you are in great company when you run into the devil. You are in the company of the Lord Himself.
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