Be of Sober Spirit

Be of Sober Spirit 

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

 Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then follows the creation of everything, including man. Verse 31 tells us that God saw all he had made and said, "it was very good." Genesis 2, God planted a garden in Eden where he placed the man he had created. God then created a woman to be a helper with the man. As chapter 2 comes to a close, all is well and good in the Garden of Eden. But now as chapter 3 begins, it all changes when the serpent being used by the devil deceives Eve into disobeying God (Genesis 3:1-13; 2 Cor. 11:3, 14; Rev. 12:9). The devil is alive and well today and is still attempting to influence people in the same way he influenced Eve in the garden. Simply put, that way is to cheapen the word of God in the minds of people.

 The devil works tirelessly in the effort to convince us that the Bible is just another good book in a long line of good books. It's okay to read it, but you don't have to believe it, after all, God doesn't really mean what he says. Isn't this exactly what he told Eve? And we know what the result of that was (Gen. 3:14-24).

 We live in a land of Bibles. It would be difficult to know just how many Bibles are in existence today. Most of us have several Bibles in our homes. Yet, sadly to say, for a lot of people, it is a lost book because the devil has convinced them that it is not an important book. You have a Bible, where is it? Is it just sitting out being displayed for others to see? Is it hidden in a book shelf with all the other unread books you own?  What does your Bible look like? Are its pages still clean and crisp as the day you bought it or are those pages worn, some with little folds in them. Do the pages have passages highlighted or little notes scribbled on them? The devil has convinced many that they have time for the morning newspaper, the nightly newscast, all kinds of books, magazines and novels and television but little or no time for the word of God. Many have time for golf, tennis, fishing, ball games, movies and all kinds of recreational activity but just not enough time to seriously feast on the word of God.

 The home robbed of the book of ages is a home where there will be ignorance where there should be understanding (Acts 17:30-31; 2 Tim. 2:15). It will be a home where there is uncertainty where there should be certainty (1 John 3:18-19, 24; 1 John 4:4, 13; 1 John 5:2. 13). It will be a home where there will be confusion where there should be peace and strength (Phil. 4:6-7; Eph. 3:14-21). It will be a home where there will be trust in man when there should be trust and reliance on God (Prov. 3:5-6, Psalms 118:8; Acts 5:29). Our faith is under constant attack by the devil. Don't fall prey to him by believing any of his lies. Arm yourself with the truth (Eph. 6:10-18; 2 Pet. 1:5-11; John 14:15, John 8:32).

 Charles Hicks