Sunday, April 3, 2022
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
-1 Peter 5:8
Peter’s letter to the suffering Saints in Asia Minor (present day Turkey) provided hope, comfort and assurance that they were not alone in their struggle. The sovereign God is with them in their conflict with their adversary the devil. The devil is neither careless nor neutral his business is the destruction of God’s people and all that is good.
He likened the devil to that of a roaring lion who is always actively seeking an opportunity for a vicious attack. The Apostle no doubt alluded to the horrors of the Neronian persecution in the Roman Coliseum, in which lions and other animals of prey mauled and devoured Christians. Peter told them that the devil desired to do the same thing spiritually, to defeat their living testimonies. Satan is ever seeking, watching for the weak moment, the unguarded entrance, the unprepared occasion to pounce on God’s people. The life of the saint is one of constant conflict with “the accuser of the brethren.”
Hence, Peter commanded the Christians not to be lazy but to be sober and watchful in the great controversy between good and evil. The attitude of the Christian toward this lion-like adversary is not panic or flight but firm resistance in faith (1 Pet 5: 9). The good news is that the battle is not our own; it is the Lords. (2 Chron 20:15). He is on our side fighting for us and we will be victorious. “They overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” Stand still in faith and allow God to accomplish His purpose for us in this great conflict with our adversary the devil as a roaring lion. – Contributed by Dr. Milton Gregory
Heart Questions: What are you doing to allow yourself to be an easy prey to the enemy, ‘the roaring lion?” How much quality time do you spend in prayer and in studying the Scriptures? How often do you witness of God’s goodness to you in the midst of the cosmic conflict between God and the Christian’s adversary, the devil?
- Pray for the power to resist the devil, and for sobered mind, and to daily studying of God’s word
- Thank God for His goodness towards us during the cosmic conflict.
- Pray that we as church would ask God to send the Holy Spirit and teach us how to pray in a way that we will receive answers.
- Pray for the Possibilities Emphasis Day the last Sabbath of April
- Pray that church members in Bonaire and Cayman would understand that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is a prophetic movement with a prophetic message entrusted by heaven with a very special prophetic mission, and now is the time to shine for God’s glory.