Small Bites

I don't mean small plates of food!  I'm talking about the small bites the enemy takes out of us little by little, day by day.  I always used to say that if the enemy took a large bite out of us, like biting off our arm,  we'd notice that, wouldn't we?  Instead, as wily as he is, he takes a little bite here, and a little bite there.  We are less apt to recognize what is going on if he keeps a low profile.  He doesn't want to shock us out of our sin.  He doesn't want to stop our progression, he wants to accelerate it!  What better way than to convince us, one tiny bite at a time, that everything is really okay, we haven't really done anything wrong...Soon our arm is missing and we didn't even notice it disappearing.

Now granted, sometimes we are convincing ourselves that what we've done is okay.  And boy are we masters at that!  We convince ourselves so heartily that we believe our own lies to ourselves.  Do you have any ongoing situations where that has happened or is happening?   Just a little of this won't hurt!  Or a little of that won't change anything!  Ha!  May it never be.  If you feel that still small voice nagging, or that queasiness in the pit of your stomach, that is your warning sign that something is wrong.  Heed it!  Don't push it away or sweep it under the rug! Don't rationalize and lie to yourself.  Take care of business and take care of your sin!  Having unconfessed sin in your life is not a good way to live.

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."   James 4:7-10 (NIV)

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.   Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."  1 Peter 5:8-9  (NIV)

"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.  If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."  1 John1:5-10 (ESV)

"Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves."  Matthew10:16 (ESV)

"Jesus said to them, 'If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you?  Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!'"  John 8:42-45 (NIV)

"Don't become partners with those who reject God.  How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That's not partnership; that's war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God's holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way: 'I'll live in them, move into them; I'll be their God and they'll be my people. So leave the corruption and compromise; leave it for good,' says God. 'Don't link up with those who will pollute you. I want you all for myself. I'll be a Father to you; you'll be sons and daughters to me.' The Word of the Master, God."  2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (The Message)

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."  Philippians 4:6-8 (NASB)

 Dear Lord,  Make us a people without compromise.  Help us to see our sin and not lie to ourselves about it.  Help us to confess it to You and receive Your forgiveness.  Help us to resist the enemy and  make us strong in Your word so that we might be victorious in You.

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