Beating the Devil . . .

We probably don’t need preachers or bloggers to explain to us that we are at war with the devil.  The temptation to be thoroughly human, corrupt, and self-indulgent, is never far away from us.  This temptation is constantly challenging us to move away from God and only the constant reminder of our need to draw closer to him shakes us back to the reality of the devil’s war against us. So how can we, as  a community of faith, help each other wage this war and beat the devil?  Clearly our passion for God’s grace and the sacrifice of Jesus brings us to victory.  But there is more . . . there is the sharing of our stories and the way God has proven Himself faithful in our lives. I was witness to this on Sunday.  As we shared our burdens for prayers I heard stories of faith as people ministered to each other with their own stories . . . their testimonies.   My own personal history has given me multiple opportunities to share my stories.  But all the while I was talking, I was robbing others and the community of faith of the opportunity to hear other’s stories.  The power of our testimony is unmistakable in beating the devil.  Just hear the words of John in Revelation 12! 7And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:    "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,       and the authority of his Christ.    For the accuser of our brothers,       who accuses them before our God day and night,       has been hurled down.  11They overcame him       by the blood of the Lamb       and by the word of their testimony;    they did not love their lives so much       as to shrink from death.