Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Dear Saints and Sinners,

I was in the military back in the “Cold War” days. In those days I was responsible for defending the nation serving as a Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile launch officer. Fortunately, I never had to do what I was trained to do. Though I spent hours and hours over the years practicing for my mission in the simulator, I never had to execute it. One could argue that through our nation’s preparedness, we were able to deter this horrible conflict from ever happening.

Preparing is something we often do to be ready for some event we hope never happens. For example, we prepare for hurricanes by stocking up on food, water, and, in my case, propane so I can still make hot coffee in the morning. We prepare for serious injury or illness by trying to stay in shape, eating right, and taking out insurance to pay expensive medical bills. These kinds of things happen because of sin which entered the world the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed God. They are part of the curse Adam and Eve brought upon all mankind (Genesis 3:17b-19a). The deception of Adam and Eve came about because they weren’t prepared to face evil. Have you ever thought about how you might prepare to encounter the face of evil itself?

God tells us the best way to prepare … Paul in his letter to the Ephesians urges us to “put on the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11) to include “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17).” Jesus demonstrates in vivid fashion as, accompanied by the Holy Spirit,  He encounters the “face of evil” himself, Satan, up close and personal. After 40 days and nights fasting in the wilderness, Jesus was hungry and, I would imagine tired and thirsty too. Satan tempts Jesus to turn rocks into bread to feed Himself. Jesus, counters Satan by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then Satan tempts Jesus to test His Father’s promise to protect Him from harm by quoting from the Psalms. Jesus reminds Satan, there’s more to God’s Word than cherry-picking a few verses here and there quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Finally, Satan offers the ultimate temptation to Jesus. He tries to trick Jesus into worshiping him in exchange for something he actually can’t give, God’s creation. Again, Jesus fights back with God’s Word, quoting Deuteronomy 6:13, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” In the face of the sword of God’s Word, Satan flees!

Evil certainly exists in the world today, looking for targets to turn against God and His will.  The best defense against Satan’s attacks is the strong offense of God’s sure, certain, and truthful Word. Satan cannot stand against it. It takes constant preparation to be able to fend off Satan’s vicious attacks. Through regular study and devotion over God’s Word in groups and on your own, as well as prayer, you can be prepared, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to stand firm against Satan’s attacks too. 

                                                                                        Your Fellow Saint and Sinner,

                                                                                        Pastor Jim