Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Hide and Seek... winning

The devil is a seeker.. He seeks those whom he may devour:

 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8

He has no good lined up for you.  He has only ONE purpose:  

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.  John 10:10

In a way we are in a game of hide and seek.  Our enemy wants to find and kill us.  It's a serious battle.  If we try to fight the battle on our own without any protection, without any camoflage, we will lose.  If we look like US we are exposed.

Many are on the battlefield doing battle in the flesh and losing.  That was never the intent.  I know all the teachings about Spiritual Warfare and the whole armor of God.  That's all good... yet like a TV commercial "BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!".

We were never designed to do battle, even well armed, in hand to hand with the devil. We are to live in the authority given us by the Holy Spirit.  Yet that authority is HIS handed to us. Those weapons are not carnal. 

The only way to win the metaphysical battle of life and death hide and seek is to hide well.

Your life is to be HIDDEN IN CHRIST JESUS:

Colossians 3  
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your[a] life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.[b] You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile,[c] circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized,[d] slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

When we hide ourselves in Christ Jesus we are invisible to the devil.  He comes to tempt and abuse but you look just like that one he confronted in the Wilderness, like the one he conspired to kill again and again and failed.  

You look like the one who conqured death. Like the one who went and set captives free from his oppression.

Not someone he wants to tackle once again.  

Like the Dos Equis commercial, "Stay Hidden my Friend". 

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