Day 19 Of 20 (1 Peter 5:8-14

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Reading from nbsp 1st Peter chapter 5 verses 8 through 14 Be alert and of sober mind your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour Resist nbsp him nbsp standing firm in the faith because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kinds nbsp of sufferings nbsp And the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ nbsp – nbsp after you ve suffered a little while nbsp – nbsp will Himself restore you and make you strong nbsp firm and steadfast nbsp To Him be the power forever and ever – AMEN With the help of Silas whom I regard as a faithful brother I have written to you briefly encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God Stand fast in it She who is in Babylon chosen together with you sends you her greetings and so does my son Mark Greet one another with a kiss of love nbsp Peace to all of you who are in Christ nbsp New International Version This is the third time in nbsp 1st Peter that we are nbsp told to have a sober mind We are to pay attention nbsp – to be aware – to have a mindset of readiness and watchfulness nbsp This time however the object of our awareness is the fact that we aren t just floating through life unopposed There s an enemy prowling nbsp around like a roaring lion looking for something to destroy nbsp – nbsp to devour This verse reminds me of the beginning of the book of Job Remember when nbsp the Lord asked Satan from where he came nbsp And Satan replied from roaming about on the earth been walking around on it nbsp Perhaps Peter even had that passage from Job in mind as he wrote that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour Please don t misunderstand nbsp Peter is NOT trying to inflict insatiable fear into our hearts nbsp He s calling us to be alert and sober yes But then he goes on to tell us that we CAN successfully nbsp resist the devil How do we resist Satan nbsp nbsp Peter says we do so by standing firm in the Christian faith nbsp Even through times of hardship nbsp Peter tells us we can be encouraged in the knowledge that we don t go through difficult times all alone nbsp Indeed there is great strength in sharing our burdens with one another and praying together 1st Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13 nbsp reminds us there hath nbsp no temptation taken you but such as is common to man nbsp That s a very fancy King James way of saying that we don t face difficulties and temptations all by ourselves nbsp Peter says it like this nbsp The God of all Grace who called us to his eternal glory in Christ nbsp after we have suffered a little while nbsp will himself restore us and nbsp make a strong firm and steadfast To him be the power forever and ever – Amen Let s pray Father in Heaven You are the God of all Grace You have called us to your eternal glory in Christ When we face trials please help us to know that we can persevere nbsp because You have the grace to forgive us nbsp You have the power to restore nbsp us nbsp You have the loving-kindness to lift us up and to make nbsp us firm and steadfast We put our hope and trust in You We pray in Jesus name – Amen Click here to visit this podcast episode