One day my two younger children were playing in the backyard when I heard a scream.
I rushed to the door as my son and daughter bolted inside. A vicious dog, growling and baring its teeth, was right on their heels! I shut the door just in time. Luckily no one was hurt. But how did the dog enter our fenced-in yard?
Upon inspection, I found a hole in one of the slats barely big enough for the animal to fit through. Shortly after this incident at my home, I read a similar story where the outcome was much worse.
A woman raised miniature horses on her property which was adjacent to a wildlife park. She didn’t realize there was an opening in the fence until the day she found a lion tearing apart one of her beloved horses.
The woman didn’t invite the lion. She didn’t need to. The opening in the fence was all the invitation the lion needed.
The enemy works much the same. He looks for holes in our fences.
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
Tragically, we often don’t realize the fence is broken until the roaring lion is inside!
“Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls.” Proverbs 25:28 NKJ
Satan has no rights to our property, mind you. God gave human beings authority over the earth and everything in it (Psalm 8). But the prince of the world comes to steal, kill, and destroy (Ephesians 2:2; John 10:10 ).
As Christians, God has “raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Jesus Christ.“
This means we have authority over Satan and his demons through Jesus because “God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church.“
Beloved, Satan does not work alone. Ephesians 6:11-12 paints a clear picture of a well-organized army of demonic beings that follow the devil’s agenda and strategies. We refer to this as spiritual warfare.
The devil’s goal is to modify human behavior to accomplish his unholy agenda.
For the Christian, Satan and his army of demons manipulate outside influences to affect the inside decisions of the heart and mind.
In other words, the demons look for openings (footholds) to enter our lives and set up strongholds. They make camp in our territory!
I’m just going to come out and say this plainly. I do not believe that most Christian Americans have enough biblical understanding of God or spiritual warfare. Our modern culture has dulled our spiritual senses.
Take a look at these findings from a Barna research in April 2020.
- Americans are more confident about the existence of Satan than they are of God, with 56% contending that Satan is an influential spiritual being, yet almost half (49%) are not fully confident that God truly exists.
- 44% of Americans believe Jesus Christ sinned while on Earth.
- 52% said that “the Holy Spirit is not a living entity, but merely a symbol of God’s power, presence or purity.”
The results of the Barna poll above reveals a lack of biblical knowledge. But even more disturbing is another Barna poll in 2017 which reported that 55% of Christians believe the Bible as accurate in all the principles it teaches. And despite the fact that nine out of 10 believe that God is the all-knowing, all-powerful ruler of the world that he created, a minority rejects the idea that Jesus Christ sinned during his time on earth (43%) or believes that Satan is not a symbol but truly lives today (35%). Fewer than one-third of this group (31%) contends they have a responsibility to share their religious beliefs with those who think differently.
Ways We Risk Welcoming the Enemy into Our Lives
1. Ignorance
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6
The remedy for ignorance is godly knowledge found in the Bible. We must know the Lord and His promises. We must also be aware of the “schemes of the enemy” found in the Bible.
“So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.” Hebrews 2:1
During these uncertain times, we need the truth of God’s word planted in our hearts. The enemy is using ignorance of Bible—which teaches us the character of God— to strike fear, cause division, and a host of other adverse affects.
Are you reading and applying the Word of God daily? If not, you are leaving an opening for the devil and his demons to enter. Period.
Join me next week as we uncover additional ways we may be at risk of welcoming the devil into our lives.
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I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
Beckie, this is so true. I daily fight the enemy by letting him know he or any of his evil emissaries are not welcome in my life! We have the authority in Christ to stand up and say, “No way, devil!” but we don’t often claim it. Thanks for the refresher. Looking forward to next week’s follow up. Stay blessed, my friend. ~M.
Good for you, Molly Jo!
Beckie —
I wish everyone could read this
Del
I hope the Lord gets it to those who need it. Thanks, Del.
Amen!!
Beckie, your words of admonition couldn’t have come at a better time for me. Actually, your post makes up a trinity (perfect!) of Christian blogs I’ve read today that have helped me to beat back the devil’s attempt to disarm and destroy me as I’m trying to convey God’s wisdom in this world. These times can bring us down, and in my case, the evil one tried to take full advantage of my weaknesses. Thanks be to God, through His wisdom shared by folks like you, I feel cleansed and redeemed in order to continue the mission for His Name’s sake. May we never cease to pray for one another!
Blessings!
Martha, I had such a difficult time even posting this one. I had internet issues and almost gave up. I had to stop and pray.
I’m so glad you found you were encouraged, my friend. Thanks for sharing. Keep shining your light!
Love the article. Kass and I read it together.
Sincerely, Heather Ridenour
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I’m so glad this was something you and your daughter were able to read through together. Praise the Lord!
Beckie, what a powerful introduction and analogy. You’re simply the best at turning our eyes toward the truth when it comes to spiritual warfare. Not only through your Beauties from Ashes series, but here on your blog and seen in your words and life online.
Karen,
It is the desire of my heart to point others toward the hope of Jesus—the all-powerful and redeeming King of kings—while bringing awareness to spiritual warfare.
Your words brought tears to my eyes and encouragement to keep pressing on!
Thank you, my friend 💕
Ms. Beckie; Satan is indeed very real and very intent on destroying everything he can. His primary goal is to rob Christians of the strength and power of our faith. He’s not happy with deceiving and blinding so many; he desires to minimize Christ’s power in us by tempting us to harm our testimony of the Good News of the Gospel of Christ. Preying upon the sin nature we are have inside us, he and his minions await the smallest opportunity to pounce. We are constantly in a spiritual battle. Thank you so much for helping equip us for battle through God’s word! God’s blessings young lady.
I agree, JD. Let’s armor up in the name of Jesus Christ! The battle has already been won. We must take back the territory the enemy has stolen.