Diary of a New Christian: Part II (The Devil's Due)

I received an email recently from an old friend that basically asked why it was that every time she attempted to get right with God, she would be assualted with things in her life.

What a great question! What a great point!! Here's a little story:

About three weeks after I got saved, I was contacted by a life-long friend named Doug. He had been saved quite a few years earlier and talked a few times, but of course this time we REALLY connected!

As we were talking, Doug quieted me down and told me to listen closely...

"You are switching sides right now...and boy...You are about to get the crap kicked out of you!"

I was stunned! I mean...here I am gushing about my new found faith and all the wonderful things that I am seeing for the first time...and my best friend is marshing my mellow!!

He continued:

"Seriously! The devil has had you as a star player for decades!! You don't think he is pissed that you are switching sides?? He is going to do everything in his power in the first few months to knock you down and destroy your faith! But you have to stay strong in your faith and remember that when you are at your weakest, God shows His true strength. Rely on Him!"

Wow!! I'll say it again...WOW!! Now that's a true Christian brother!!

The crazy thing is that I had never given the devil much thought. I mean...I believed in God and stuff...always had...but never really the devil. I would guess that many people are like this! It's easy to believe in the good power...but believing in the bad power forces us to admit that we NEED protection. Not an easy thing for our prideful society!!

So once I began considering that the devil was real...my mind was completely blown! The Bible straight up tells us that the devil is real AND that he has demons in his service. Satan is mentioned by name in 47 passages (NIV)and the devil is mentioned in 33 more. The Bible also tells us that the devil is extremely slick and rarely works against us directly, but chooses to influence us indirectly through temptation and manipulation!

He also has/is the perfect weapon: Sin! It's our kryptonite!

The devil DID end up hitting me extremely hard and in all the weak spots! He crushed my pride! He toyed with my heart! He caused me to stumble quite a few times...and still does!! But the inital talk from Doug helped me immensly through my beginning weeks and months...

"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil -1 John 3:8"

The fact is that the devil and his minions are always at work! Faith is our best defense against their attacks!

The problem is that as new Christians, we are generally weak in faith! Add to the fact that we all think that now that we have been saved, all our troubles are behind us and you have a recipe for failure!!

Our faith grows in strength as we grow in Christ! We grow in Christ through the Word of God...IE: READ THE BIBLE!! I simply cannot stress this enough!! Find a version you like (thumb through the different versions in a book store) and read it! I personally like the NIV version...but whatever version speaks to you...Read!!

Faith also grows through trials. It's funny, but the more often you put your trust in God and see His grace at work...the stronger your faith becomes!! So...Trust in God to see you through your troubles...what do you have to lose?

Now...

For the experienced Christians among us: Help to destroy the MYTH that once you accept God into your heart everything in your life will just fall into place and troubles will simply disappear.

Ummm...Ask John the Baptist (beheaded)...Peter (crucified upside down)...Job (lost EVERYTHING!)...Noah (Asked to build a massive ship in the desert!)...Abraham (Told to sacrifice his own son!)...

Just because you are saved does NOT mean you will not experience severe trials...heck...I personally think it means you are signing up on the "Wish List Of Crap That Can And Will Happen To Me"!! However...it does mean that you will be able to lay your head down every night with peace in your heart and sleep well knowing that your Father above is in control!!

PS - The devil sucks!! Whenever I experience a trial (almost daily), I simply smile and taunt him asking: Is that really all you got?? Most people think that's crazy to taunt him...but in all seriousness...Devil, you got NOTHING! :)

** I am posting these on my phone since we are having technicul difficulties with the laptop. Please share this with anyone you think might enjoy. **

Thanks for reading!! Love your neighbor as yourself!!