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Greg Laurie daily devotion - February 14, 2014

Call for Backup

My brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. - (Ephesians 6:10)

Just as police officers call for backup when they sense that danger may be imminent, the first thing we must realize about spiritual battle is that in our own strength, we are no match for the Devil. I think a healthy respect of our adversary is in order for believers today. We don’t want to underestimate him, nor do we want to overestimate him. We want to accurately assess who he is and what his abilities are. We need to recognize that he is powerful, and we don’t want to take him on in our own strength.

When I hear some preachers on television or the radio calling the Devil silly little names, laughing at him, or making jokes about him, I remember what Jude 9 says: “Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the Devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’ ” Even the highranking archangel Michael didn’t dare to mock or condemn the Devil. He simply said, “The Lord rebuke you!” There was a respect for the enemy.

The reason we need to “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” is because Satan wants to remove us from that very resource! Why? Because it is our power base. He wants to separate us from God because the moment he gets us away from Him, we are open prey. For this reason, the Devil wants to put a wedge between God and us.

The only power that can effectively drive out Satan is the power of Jesus Christ. Be strong in the Lord. Stay close to Him. Don’t let anything come between you and God.

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