Love God Greatly - 1 & 2 PeterSample

In this passage, Peter describes the enemy of God, Satan. Our ability to recognize and discern counterfeits can only come when we have been saturated with the authentic Truth. When we roam outside of the safety and care of the Lord’s hand, we risk becoming prey to the enemy’s lies, accusations, deceptions, and temptations. This passage instructs believers to be clear-minded and attentive, because the enemy’s sole goal is to kill, steal, and destroy. He opposes God’s agenda. He works against God’s plan. He violates God’s character. He assaults God’s people. But…the enemy uses crafty, subtle, attractive methods to convince believers of his lies. He will whisper that God’s way is just a little too hard, that God is just a little too far from us, that God is just a little too busy for us, that we have to be the only ones struggling in our situation, that we have to be good to receive God’s blessing, that the Bible is mostly almost always true, that life was meant to be easy, comfortable, and personally fulfilling.

Am I treating this fallen world like it is playground or a battleground? If we are not paying attention, we can find that our hearts have strayed far from God. Therefore, we are told to pay attention in order to resist the enemy. This can only be done through full and total reliance of God using spiritual weapons of warfare – never on our own or in our own strength.