Thought of the Day !!

Be careful!  Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy.  He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.  Take a firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith.  Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

                                   1 Peter 5:8-9 (NLT)

Even though the suffering that Peter was talking about here was the persecution of the new believers in the first century Church, I believe we can receive a comforting message as well.  First, he tells us that the devil is real.  This is something we must come to terms with.  Satan is not a red guy with a tail and a pitchfork like you see in the old cartoons.  He is a spirit.  And he is always lingering and "looking for some victim to devour".  

His greatest weapon is temptation.  And it is here that we can, oddly enough, find comfort.  You see, the devil can tempt us Christians who are robed with the righteousness of Christ.  But he can never make us do anything.  The temptations may be so strong sometimes that we believe we were made to do something.  But in reality, we all have the ability to choose.  There will be times when we choose unwisely.  But the great thing about Christ is that He's willing to forgive.

Peter reminds us that we are not alone.  If you are struggling with sin right now in your life, be it something big or some smaller things you just seem to continue to struggle with, know that you're not the only one.  We are in this together.  "Your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are", Peter wrote. 

What makes this comforting is the fact that there are others out there that we can talk to and that can help.  Find someone you trust and hold each other accountable in love.  Help each other fight the temptations of the devil.  When we do this, he hasn't got a chance.  

In the love of Christ,

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