Verse of the Day - 2 Thessalonians 3:3

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. ~ 2 Thessalonians 3:3 (NIV)

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I used to have pretty bad nightmares as a little kid. Monsters were common, and other really scary circumstances were vivid in my sub-conscious. But my conscious mind was also very aware of the devil -- and he scared me, too. My sister used to have little comic Bible tracts, and I remember some of them being extremely graphic for a little kid, with pictures of hellish demons and flames of eternal fire. Sheesh, talk about scaring the "hell" out of someone...! I did not want to go there, and I was scared of the devil who was going there! (I guess that was the point, but I'm not sure that's the kind of motivation we really want to spark in people to move toward God...)

Certainly, the devil is real, and His tactics are dangerous and ever-present. But if the Lord God is your Father in heaven because you choose Him to be and Jesus is your Savior because you choose Him to be and the Holy Spirit is your internal counselor because you choose Him to be, then you have the eternal spiritual backing to stand confident in the face of the evil one. He may assault you, but he can't defeat you. He may tempt you, but he has no power over you that you don't give him in your life, because greater is the Spirit of God in you than the spirit of the world (1 John 4:4).

The Lord is faithful to strengthen and protect His children from the evil one. Don't be afraid, my friends, when you sense his attacks. Stand firm in the strength of your God, and move forward in doing good and advancing God's kingdom. Although the devil is powerful in the world, he is no match for the God who created him and who reigns victorious over all the earth. I hope you can take great comfort in God's victory over sin and death and the evil one, and grow in spiritual strength as you lean on and learn from Him. God is mighty to save, amen?

Love,
Joelene