Daily Devotional October 24 - Life Can Be A Little Complicated

"And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, satan hath desired to sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." Luke 22:31-32

Are you doing a good work? Do you believe that Jesus is Lord? Have you decided to follow Jesus? Are you a member of a church? Do you teach Sunday School or have a ministry? Are you trying to do the right thing in your family life and your business life?

If you have said yes to any of these questions, then listen carefully.

• satan will try to take away all the progress you have made.
• satan intends to take back from you all that you have gained; money, friends, responsibilities, integrity, land, houses, children, parents, spouse, anything and everything that you are steward over.
• satan will use trickery, advertisement, people, money, lies, family, friends, church friends, anything to make you change your mind about God.
• satan will entice you, try to crush you, tickle your ears, divide you from those you love, break your spirit, take your things, plant weeds, make you think your something you are not, buy you, and try to make you into a fake.
• satan is real and satan is smart, cunning, crafty, calculating, sneaky, scheming, treacherous, deceitful, duplicitous, deceptive, misleading, conniving, hateful, vile, relentless, repulsive, wicked, malevolent and foul.

When Jesus says he (satan) will sift you as wheat, Jesus knows what you are up against. Jesus knows that satan will attack you without reason, without cause, without consideration, without fear of reprisal, without any consideration for you, your family, your business, your friends, your church, your anything. If satan decides to sift you as wheat it is because you exist. You don't have to be doing a good work, living a holy life, nor do you have to be messing up, having fallen to the bottom, losing the battle or thoroughly ruined, having fallen away from what you know is right.

satan comes to sift you as wheat because you exist.

Jesus understands the whole dilemma. That's why Jesus tells Peter he is going to pray for him. That's why Jesus prays for you. That's why you need to be praying for others. Prayer provides a disconnect that thwarts satans ploys. Prayer has the power to step in between a situation and sever satans hold/stronghold/s. Prayer contains the power to overpower satan.
Ignorance does not have the power to overpower satans projects.
Denial doesn't work either.
Only prayer was designed to pull the plug on satan's activities.

Jesus prayed that Peter would hold fast to his faith. Jesus knew that there was a storm coming unlike anything that Peter had ever experienced. The only way to survive was to implement his faith. It is the only way you will overcome the wiles of the wicked one also, simple faith. If the faith you have is only in yourself, you are faced with having to fight against a powerful enemy with no weapons, naked and vulnerable, unable to stand against, fight against or even run from the evil one. No faith means no protection and no weapons to fight back.

Next Jesus says something rather disconcerting. Jesus says to Peter, who had been with him for three years, side by side, watching all the miracles and seeing results from his own hands, "when thou art converted, strengthen the brethren."
I will just say this.
Playing with God like he doesn't exist, or he is your toy or genie in a bottle will not be enough when you are tested in battle.
Playing church because it is apropos will not help you in the time of need.
Acting like you have faith while you are living out another life provides no protection against the evil forces of this world.
You have to have faith and it must in God, through Christ.

Jesus told Peter what Peter didn't want to hear. Jesus dressed him down to save his soul. Peter believed he was as strong as Jesus. Peter believed he would be protecting Jesus. Peter was wrong about Jesus and many today are wrong about who they think Jesus is too. Go ahead and read verse 33-34 and verses 54-62 and see how easy it is to think something different than what Jesus says. I would rather believe what Jesus is telling me than to create my own version and hope I am right.