Monday, April 28, 2008

Daily - 4/28/08

1 Peter 5:8-9

8 Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for (someone) to devour.
9 Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings.

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Satan is mentioned in the Bible more than 50 times by name, and as the devil another 100 or so times, depending on the translation. In 1972, Pope Paul VI had this to say about him: "What are the Church's greatest needs at the present time? Don't be surprised at Our answer and don't write it off as simplistic or even superstitious: one of the Church's greatest needs is to be defended against the evil we call the Devil."

Pope Paul VI - Confronting the Devil's Power

Fifteen years later, his successor Pope John Paul II said: "The battle against the devil, which is the principal task of Saint Michael the archangel, is still being fought today, because the devil is still alive and active in the world. The evil that surrounds us today, the disorders that plague our society, man's inconsistency and brokenness, are not only the results of original sin, but also the result of Satan's pervasive and dark action."

John Paul II On The Devil

Ephesians 6:10-17 speaks more about this battle, and the weapons at our disposal.

10 Finally, draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.

11 Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil.

12 For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.

13 Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.

14 So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,

15 and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace.

16 In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all (the) flaming arrows of the evil one.

17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.


Keep quenching the flaming arrows!