"I'm Not Here"

Wow.....this is so true. This is exactly what a friend taught a series on....Strategies of the Enemy. We are only deceiving ourselves if we think the devil does not exist. He is the real enemy, not people. There is a real battle raging, and as the word tells us, we have to put on the whole armour of God, As I put on myspace a while back, pull out our sword and face the enemy. We don't have the luxery of backing down, turning our backs on him, we have to stand....Praise God the battle is His......but.....we do have to show up! The great news is we are stronger together than we are alone. Ecclesiastes 4:12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

"Incredible. What a self-indictment. “Nothing dangerous is happening here.” Those men have already been taken out because they’ve swallowed the Enemy’s first line of attack: “I’m not here—this is all just you.” You can’t fight a battle you don’t think exists. This is right out of The Screwtape Letters, where Lewis has the old devil instruct his apprentice in this very matter:

My dear Wormwood, I wonder you should ask me whether it is essential to keep the patient in ignorance of your own existence. That question, at least for the present phase of the struggle, has been answered for us by the High Command. Our policy, for the moment, is to conceal ourselves.

As for those who want to be dangerous (cutting-edge), take a close look at 1 Peter 5:8–9: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”

What is the Holy Spirit, through Peter, assuming about your life? That you are under spiritual attack. This is not a passage about nonbelievers; he’s talking about “your brethren.” Peter takes it for granted that every believer is under some sort of unseen assault. And what does he insist you do? Resist the devil. Fight back, take a stand." (Wild At Heart , 159, 160)