Daily Devotional For Friday, May 10, 2024

Well, it is Fabulous Friday and you are almost to the moment of enjoying the weekend. When you hear or read the word “predator,” what comes to your mind? Nature is full of predators — great whites, orcas, cobras, copperheads, black widows, brown recluse spiders, hippos, lions, and tigers and bears oh my. Relationally, people can be predators too. There are rapists, murderers, thieves, molesters, abusers, liars and etc. Sometimes the people who you trust the most or love the most turn on you and take advantage of you or attack you in some way. 

Hollywood has made billions with predators on the Big Screen and in video games: the Wolfman, Dracula, The Mummy, Cujo, Michael Meyers, Norman Bates, Aliens, Sauron, Emperor Palpatine, Delores Umbridge, Cruella de Vil, The Joker, Freddy Kreuger, Valdemort, Dark Sidious, and etc. In case you are wondering, I googled “The Most Evil Villains In Movies” to get this list. Hollywood glamorizes evil to make it more acceptable and we wonder why crime goes up and care for one another goes down.

Yet, there is another kind of predator. There are spiritual predators. The Bible lists the devil and his demons as predators. Jesus said this about the devil in John 8:44, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (ESV). Jesus said this about the devil in John 10:10, “The thief (devil) comes only to steal and kill and destroy . . .” (NIV).

1 Peter 5:8 really shows the devil as a predator: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (NLT). A lion is a fierce and fearful predator. Maybe we all should listen and heed Chuck Swindoll’s words about the devil in his commentary:

“Whoever lives under the impression that satan doesn’t exist is living in a dreamworld. In clear, unmistakable terms, Peter identifies and describes the devil in 5:8. satan goes by several titles throughout the Bible. In 1 Peter 5:8 Peter uses the terms “adversary” (antidiko in the Greek test), “adversary”) and “devil” (diabolos in the Greek test translated as “slanderer, diabolic, devil, malicious gossip”). 

The term “adversary” makes us think of the name “satan,” which comes from a Hebrew word for “adversary” (satan]). ]Diabolos (accuser) refers to how he falsely accuses God’s people. In Revelation 9:11 he is called Abaddon and Apollyon, meaning “Destroyer,” titles that refer to his destructiveness. Together, these and other labels for the adversary describe him as a dangerous, destructive deceiver who slanders and accuses us at every opportunity. Revelation 12:9–10 describes satan’s future and final fall from the heavens in vivid terms that reveal both his nature and his activity:

`And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.’

I take satan very seriously. No, I’m not intimidated by him. I’m not afraid of him. But I don’t underestimate his power to inflict great harm on people through temptation, deception, and destruction. satan is the source of all kinds of pain and suffering in the world, even in the lives of believers. His activities may come in subtle forms of temptation and discouragement. Or he may unleash absolute fury, tragedy, and destruction. We can’t ignore the potential damage he can do to our physical and spiritual lives.

However, there is no reason to overestimate satan’s power. Too many Christians do this. They believe that anything bad that happens to them comes directly from the devil or his demons. This is as much a mistake as underestimating his power. satan isn’t the immediate cause of all suffering and sin. Fallen, depraved human beings can do enough damage to themselves and others without the devil’s prodding. Furthermore, the world system offers its own evil allurements that can take a vicious toll on the believer’s walk.

Acting on these two extremes—attributing too much or too little power to satan—leads either to overreaction or a lack of preparation. So an awareness of some of satan’s tactics is necessary for believers” (Source: Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary, “1 & 2 Peter,” pp. 270-271).

J. Dwight Pentecost wrote this in his book about the devil:

“No military commander could expect to be victorious in battle unless he understood his enemy. Should he prepare for an attack by land and ignore the possibility that the enemy might approach by air or by sea, he would open the way to defeat. Or should he prepare for a land and sea attack and ignore the possibility of an attack through air, he would certainly jeopardize the campaign. No individual can be victorious against the adversary of our souls unless he understands that adversary; unless he understands his philosophy, his methods of operation, his methods of temptation” (Source: J. Dwight Pentecost, Your Adversary The Devil, p. 9).

My experience is Hollywood over estimates the devil and his power and people underestimate the devil’s power and influence. The reason Christians must cultivate the preceding attitudes of submission, humility, trust, and self-control is that they face fierce and relentless spiritual opposition from satan and his demons. Believers must not become indifferent to that reality. In 1 Peter 5:8, Peter tells us to “be alert” — a military term used of a watchman on post. Peter identifies the devil as “your adversary.” This pronoun makes it personal. The devil has each of us in his sights — not just the rapist or the murderer. 

Just like a lion, a predator, hunts in the middle of the night to kill its prey, so does the devil. He and his demons never sleep or rest. The Greek New Testament word translated as “devour” is [καταπίνω, katapino]. It means “to swallow down whole, to drink down fully, to swallow up.” I think what Peter has in mind here is not lion safely behind barriers in a zoo, but actually maybe referring to lions ripping Christians apart and swallowing their remains in the coliseum in Rome for entertainment. Peter either knew of this or witnessed it. 

Many Christians attribute all suffering to the devil, but I think this overlooks and excuses some of the other sources of suffering in the world. We at times can be spiritually myopic when it comes to satan, sin and suffering. So, what are the sources of suffering in the world? (1) First, satan and his demons are. We see this in Job 1-2 in how God allowed the devil to afflict Job in every way except take his life. (2) Second, person sin — much of our suffering is by own sinful hands. Third, the sin from others. We do at times have to experience the consequences that come from the sin of others. And (4) Fourth, this broken and fallen world. Things happen in this world because it is fallen: earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, wars, illnesses and etc. 

When we read the life of Job, nowhere in the Book of Job does it tell us that Job knew the source of his suffering — the devil. This tells me that when we do suffer, we should do a quick evaluation of our own lives to see if we are actually the source for it. And if we are, confess it to God, seek forgiveness from God and another affected by it and then pursue holiness, godliness and righteousness. 

When I was a teen, an African-American comedian by the name of Flip Wilson had a character he portrayed. It was an African-American woman named Geraldine Jones. She was sassy, sarcastic and she had a line that took America by storm, “The devil made me do it.” The devil cannot make us do anything. He lays the bait, but we have to take it. 

Questions To Consider

1. The Bible says we are in a spiritual war with evil spirits we cannot see. Their goal is to steal, kill and destroy. When and where have you see this? What was your response to it and why?
2. Why do you think some people have a fascination to evil villains such as seen in the movies or in real life such as serial killers and etc.? What does that tell you?
3. The devil has many names in the Bible: slanderer, murderer, liar, killer, thief, lion, adversary accuser and etc. God is doing everything He can to help us see this evil spirit for what he really is. Why do you think many Christians never see him for what he really is?
4. When have you or someone you knew either overestimated the devil and underestimated the devil? What were the results? Why do you think people do this?
5. To say that all suffering is from the devil is biblically wrong? Why? To day, “The devil make me do it,” is also wrong. Why?

Scripture to Meditate On: Ephesians 6:12, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (NLT).

Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, please give me wisdom and discernment when it comes to the evil one and evil. Help me see that some of the suffering and evil in the world is by my own hand, by the hands of others, and by the hands of this fallen world. Convict me not to excuse my hand in causing suffering nor blaming the devil for it every time. Help me put on my spiritual armor to fight this spiritual battle in a spiritual world I cannot see. Until either I die or You throw the devil in hell, into that lake of fire for all eternity,  I will fight for righteousness, holiness, godliness to Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”

I love you Southside! — Pastor Kelly