The Devil made me do it:
A comedian by the name of “Flip” Wilson made that statement popular in the 60’s and 70’s. We used to chuckle about it and when we were caught doing something that was not 100% correct it was,” The devil made me do it!”
Wilson not only popularized the phrase "The devil made me do it." But the catchphrase "What you see is what you get," often used by Wilson's “Geraldine” character, inspired researchers to create the acronym WYSIWYG for computer software.
So why this Word?
Today, we as Christians are under attack from all sides. Those attacks come at us from out of the blue, and hit us when we are vulnerable. Whoa, whoa, Ed you keep using the word “attack”. Yes, I do, because that’s what some of them are. And those attacks by that unseen enemy are designed to draw us away from our Heavenly Father and the relationship we have with Him. They are designed to deceive us and turn us away from the riches that we have with Him.
Now, before I am raked across the coals and thought to be a person who sees everything as Mr. Wilson popularized, “The devil made me do it!”, let me tell you this. Not everything that happens in our lives is from an unseen enemy. We are human and we can cause our own problems. From “carelessness” all the way to “stupidity.”
We need to understand, however, how the enemy works. We need to realize that some of the things that we are experiencing are from him and we need to understand that when we are attacked, we have the tools that God has put in place for us to win against him. What are they? Let’s look at several passages that deal with this.
FACTS:
John 12:21 Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. John’s reference is to Satan as the ruler of this world (the earth we are living on) and that he is a defeated enemy.
1 John 4: 4 You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. If you are a believer, you have the Holy Spirit living within you, guiding you and dealing with the enemy. We need to call upon His power to resist and win the battle. Look at this part of that verse: “and you have conquered them,” Conquered who? The enemy’s minions. His cohorts that he sends out to do his bidding.
These are facts that we can depend on, but He also tells us, through Paul, in Ephesians 6, to “Put on the Full Armor of God.”. That’s a great instruction, but what is the Armor?
Ephesians 6:10-17 CSB
10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. 13 For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. 14 Stand, therefore,
- with truth like a belt around your waist,
- righteousness like armor on your chest,
- your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace.
- In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
- Take the helmet of salvation and
- the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God.
The Truth, Righteousness, the Gospel, Faith, Salvation, and The Sword of the Spirit (God’s Word). This is what it takes to win the Battle. This is the way we deal with the defeated enemy when he sends his fiery darts to separate us from our Heavenly Father.
Where do you keep your ARMOR?
Yes, Mr. Wilson, there is a “devil” out there. He is real! But he doesn’t have power over those of us that get our power from the Source.
Ready for the Battle,
Ed Johanson