Introduction

In today's life, men find it exceedingly difficult to navigate through the mine field of challenges, distractions, and temptations. This is very applicable to young men who sometimes lack the experience and knowledge to run the race of life successfully. Today we will have a look at the gameplan of the enemy and how that plan attempts to derail our lives as godly men.

The enemy

In Eph. 6:12 we can see there is an ongoing battle. So, let us not make any mistake about the fact that we are facing an enemy. We also read in John 10:10 that the enemy's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.

The good news for us is that in the same verse, we see God's intent: to give us life in abundance.

The enemy's gameplan

The sad thing is that the enemy's game plan is as old as history itself because it is so effective. 1 Cor. 10:13

First, the enemy will try to keep a person from accepting Jesus Christ. If he doesn't succeed, he then focuses all attention on making a godly man ineffective.

He does this by tempting godly men into bad and sometimes into deadly habits. When you continually fall into these habits, you potentially end up living a life of resentment. As godly men, we do have the forgiveness of Christ, but if you continually fall, you struggle to grow.

God's plan

We already know that God wants to give us life and that in abundance (John 10:10). God also want us to have a future (Jer. 29:11).

God also acknowledges the time of our youth:

• Ecc. 11:9 (NLT)
  • Young people, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.

So, let us dive into some key points over the next few days to see how to grow as a godly and masculine man.