Successfully Fighting the Devil Part I.

Romans 12:2
2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

There's a difference between knowing and believing. You may know in your mind that Jesus loves you, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you truly believe in him. Your actions are what reveal that truth. Until the trustworthiness of God's character becomes a reality in our lives, then the devil will continue to deceive and destroy our lives. When we repeatedly sin, it suggests that we believe sin is better than obeying God's word.

If your mind contains the evil contents of the devil, then you're going to follow the behavior and customs of the world. The world says that we should act now! However, if we let God transform the way we operate, then we will be made into a new person who makes wiser decisions.

In middle school, I realized that I was a very gullible person. I believed just about anything. In fact, someone came up to me and said, "Did you know that gullible isn't in the dictionary?" I said, "Oh, really, is it because of the suffix?" I literally tried to reason with it and even told some of my other friends. They had to confirm that this wasn't true. In order to change this sequence of events, I had to clear up the deception that was causing this and look in the dictionary for myself.

Meanwhile, when you're faced with temptation and you know that you really want to obey God but can't, think about who it's coming from. Whenever you are tempted, two voices sit on your shoulders - that of Satan and God. If you learn the character of whose talking to you, then it's much less confusing when you have to make a decision.

God tells us throughout the Bible that his intentions are to provide us with an abundant life filled with love. He sent his son to die for us so that we could experience this. On the other hand, Satan is the complete opposite; he is anything but trustworthy and loving. Everything he says is a lie no matter how good it may sound, while everything that comes from God, no matter how unreasonable it may seem, will lead us to abundant life.

"Real love is proven by actions, not by words, or even emotions." ~Mike Guzzardo