April 1st is a day for jokesters and pranksters. We expect bizarre fake news stories to pop up on our computers and whoopee cushions to sound off in our chairs. It becomes nothing more than a moment for laughter when we hear those words, “April Fools!”
April Fool’s Day comes once a year to us, but to the devil, it is April Fool’s Day every day of the year. He will destroy us with our foolish natures, if we choose to let him.
There are three ways the evil one will attack us in our Christian walk.
Attack #1: He will try to skew our view of what church is all about.
We read in Proverbs 1:7 that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
When Sunday mornings become a fashion show rather than a time to learn about Jesus, we are moving into dangerous territory. When we spend more time criticizing the fabric on the pews rather than greeting our brothers and sisters in Christ, then foolishness has taken hold in our hearts.
Attack #2: He will appeal to our base natures, distracting us from God.
Paul talks to us in Titus 3:3, comparing the old man to the new man. In this verse, he lists the evidence of a foolish man. Disobedient. Following false teachings. Chasing after passions and pleasures. Passing time in malice and envy. Hated by those around him. Hating others.
When we allow the old man to creep back into our lives, we have let the evil one’s foolishness separate us from God. Almost as bad, we have let the evil one separate us from the family of God, and without our Christian family, we cannot survive.
Attack #3: He will encourage us to deny God.
Read David’s words in Psalms 14:1-4. A man is a fool who says in his heart that there is no God. Such a man is corrupt, and he does no good at all. The Lord looks down upon his creation, searching for one who is not a fool, and none are to be found who are willing to call upon his name.
The evidence of God is all around us. From the intricacies of biology to the billions of stars in the heavens, how can any deny the hand of a supreme deity? Even closer to home, our very natures cry out to him. In Luke 19:40, Jesus says the rocks will cry out to God if man refuses to acknowledge his presence.
We know the end of the story, though. God has spelled it out letter by letter. In Revelation 20:10, we see the final end of the deceitful one, for the Word says the devil who deceived mankind will be thrown into the lake of fire with the beast and false prophet to be tormented forever.
The source of wisdom is found in the Lord our God. To draw to him is to become wise. To withdraw from him is to become a fool.
Copyright © 2013 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: C.2.12b.vp