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bigmike

1 Peter 5:8 (LSB) 8 Be of sober spirit, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Most of us would rather not think about the reality of this verse.
Nonetheless, it is something we must face. We do have an enemy. And he is bent on destroying as many children of God as he can before God eliminates him and relegates him to hell for eternity.
Take heart, though, in knowing that we are not defenseless!
God has given us every weapon we need to defend and protect ourselves.
He has given us the Holy Spirit, prayer, and His Word as mighty weapons of warfare, just to name a few.
But there is one that we often overlook. And wielding this one weapon is necessary if the others are to be effective.
Bear in mind that this weapon is rarely labeled as such. It is often overlooked. But it is powerful, regardless. In fact, it is REQUIRED.
What is this weapon?
Humility!
You see, without humility we are setting ourselves up for failure; doomed to fall into the traps laid by Satan himself.
Look at what Peter wrote just two verses prior to the one above.
1 Peter 5:6-7 (LSB) 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
"Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God."
This action on our part lays the foundation for protecting ourselves from the wiles of the enemy.
We MUST allow God to show us our pride. And then we MUST allow Him to remove it from us.
And let us pray that He does not have to do so through circumstances that leave us with no choice but to bow before Him in surrender, repenting for what we have done in pride.
Be sober of spirit, be humble, be wholly surrendered to God, and the enemy will have no foothold in our lives.
Pastor Curt & Pastor Ellie

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