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NOT A HEART FILLED BY SATAN (II)
SATURDAY, JUNE 12
Acts 5:1-11

1 Peter 5:8

 

“Be sober, be vigilant…”

 

NOT A HEART FILLED BY SATAN (II)
 
In all the working out of his devices, Satan remains consistent in his general character and motive. Having fallen in his pride, he remains motivated by the same desire to usurp the worship and adoration due to God alone: thus he sought to bring mankind under his dominion, and thus he rules as the god of this age. Having departed from the truth, he seeks to keep mankind in the same darkness: both by the “snatching away” of God’s truth, and the introduction of his own deceptive lies. Having settled himself in hatred and enmity towards God, he persists in a malignant campaign against mankind: thus in the garden he brought  man under the power of death, and aims to keep him in that state; so Satan continues a “murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44).
 
Satan’s designs against mankind may succinctly be summarized thus: he seeks ultimately to destroy man, by separating man from God. The primary sphere of his influence over man seems to be the mind and heart. Hence, in those outside the pale of the church, he achieves this separation by blinding their minds (cf. 2 Cor 4:4), or taking the Word of God out of their hearts (cf. Luke 8:12). And even for those within the community of the church, he seeks to achieve separation from God by temptations to sin: targeting the mind (cf. 2 Cor 11:3), or filling the heart (cf. Acts 5:3).
 
It is against this great spiritual adversary that the believer is called to fight: never in his own strength, but in the power of the Lord’s might; clad in the armour of God; and assured of victory only by virtue of vital connection with Christ the Victor.
 
Dear reader, in all that we have said thus far regarding our hearts, it is well for us to be aware that there is another, an enemy, who seeks also to work in and to influence our hearts. Let this recognition then cause us to redouble our efforts, with sober vigilance (cf. 1 Pet 5:8) ‒ our hearts are a battleground, and we dare not be complacent!
 
THOUGHT: If I do not seek actively to fill my heart with God’s truth, the devil will fill it with his lies.
PRAYER: “Oh, for a heart whiter than snow! Saviour divine, to whom  else shall I go? Thou who didst die, loving me so, give me a heart that is whiter than snow!” (Hewitt)

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