...the Devil.
The Devil will have his own reasons, for doing what he is doing - but if you leave him to act unconfronted, he will make your life worse, in so many ways. You really have to be prepared to be angry at the Devil. He does not know one sin from another, he does not know how to deliver your soul from anguish or anything else. He does not have the upper hand.
You need to be angry, at the Devil taking everything he has taken, everything that he has corrupted, everything that he has perverted. If you can put distance between you and the Devil do it - Jesus said "settle with your adversary on the way, lest he drag you before the Judge and the Judge throw you in prison" (from memory, the gospels). If you don't depart from the Devil at the earliest possible opportunity, he will accuse you of everything and give you no way out.
Once you have been angry at the Devil, and told him why, he will have no excuse before the Judge, about what he was told was wrong and why and the effort you made to restore the relationship you had with him. The Devil without excuse, is a very sorry "devil" indeed. From there your relationship with the Lord will get stronger and you will be ready to spot the Devil trying to get through where it is not right. You will be able to defend yourself from the Devil.
The point I made about giving an offering as a sign that you were well, applies here - you will benefit from making a gift on the Devil's behalf, as a sign that you are no longer following in his footsteps: that is something that the Judge will heed well, if you keep it between you and God. For God Himself can attest that the Devil does not do as he should and that he accuses the brethren day and night before God, but never makes a sacrifice himself that his lies appear "true" - God will defend you, if He sees this, He cannot ignore the sacrifices of the faithful. I am not saying I have specifically made sacrifice in this way, but I have continued to tithe and I can attest that that strengthens one, in a way that the Devil cannot.
The power of this, is simply putting distance between the Devil's lawlessness and your own principle. Even if all you do is pray, you can gain strength, that the adversary can make nothing of. Yes, the Devil sows tares and yes those tares must be gathered and thrown in the fire, but we have time from God that we must be faithful with as well. If we have been complicit or complacent, we will have to give an account of it, in the Day of Judgment - being angry with the Devil puts a stop to this! If you can keep the Devil from "pushing your buttons" and instead put him on the back foot, what can he do to you? How can he affect you/put you off balance?
The answer is that if you are angry at the Devil at all, there is no way he can accuse you of commanding sin, that it grow, that you were ready to benefit from its taking root! We command many things, in the spirit - but far be it from us that it be said we "commanded" sin. You must treat this as a warning, if nothing else - you may even need to repent, that you have not been angry before now!
I leave this for you to consider, in all due diligence, in the things of the Spirit.
The Devil will have his own reasons, for doing what he is doing - but if you leave him to act unconfronted, he will make your life worse, in so many ways. You really have to be prepared to be angry at the Devil. He does not know one sin from another, he does not know how to deliver your soul from anguish or anything else. He does not have the upper hand.
You need to be angry, at the Devil taking everything he has taken, everything that he has corrupted, everything that he has perverted. If you can put distance between you and the Devil do it - Jesus said "settle with your adversary on the way, lest he drag you before the Judge and the Judge throw you in prison" (from memory, the gospels). If you don't depart from the Devil at the earliest possible opportunity, he will accuse you of everything and give you no way out.
Once you have been angry at the Devil, and told him why, he will have no excuse before the Judge, about what he was told was wrong and why and the effort you made to restore the relationship you had with him. The Devil without excuse, is a very sorry "devil" indeed. From there your relationship with the Lord will get stronger and you will be ready to spot the Devil trying to get through where it is not right. You will be able to defend yourself from the Devil.
The point I made about giving an offering as a sign that you were well, applies here - you will benefit from making a gift on the Devil's behalf, as a sign that you are no longer following in his footsteps: that is something that the Judge will heed well, if you keep it between you and God. For God Himself can attest that the Devil does not do as he should and that he accuses the brethren day and night before God, but never makes a sacrifice himself that his lies appear "true" - God will defend you, if He sees this, He cannot ignore the sacrifices of the faithful. I am not saying I have specifically made sacrifice in this way, but I have continued to tithe and I can attest that that strengthens one, in a way that the Devil cannot.
The power of this, is simply putting distance between the Devil's lawlessness and your own principle. Even if all you do is pray, you can gain strength, that the adversary can make nothing of. Yes, the Devil sows tares and yes those tares must be gathered and thrown in the fire, but we have time from God that we must be faithful with as well. If we have been complicit or complacent, we will have to give an account of it, in the Day of Judgment - being angry with the Devil puts a stop to this! If you can keep the Devil from "pushing your buttons" and instead put him on the back foot, what can he do to you? How can he affect you/put you off balance?
The answer is that if you are angry at the Devil at all, there is no way he can accuse you of commanding sin, that it grow, that you were ready to benefit from its taking root! We command many things, in the spirit - but far be it from us that it be said we "commanded" sin. You must treat this as a warning, if nothing else - you may even need to repent, that you have not been angry before now!
I leave this for you to consider, in all due diligence, in the things of the Spirit.
