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JUNE 2021Unmasked—Revealing theTruth BehindSatan’s LiesWe know that Satan is the “father of lies,” but are we cognizantand fully engaged in discerning his methods in order to deceive us?Unmasked—Revealing the Truth Behind Satan’s Lies takes themask off an evil villain who is all too real: Satan, the archenemyof God and His people. Satan loves to masquerade, to hide his evilpersona behind a subtle, crafty exterior. But when the mask comesoff, we find he’s nothing but a defeated enemy, powerless againstthose who are one with Christ.Let Unmasked shine the light of God’s Word on Satan’s truecharacter and equip you to stand firm against him as you learn thetruth behind his lies.This booklet includes the Victory Prayer bookmark to place inyour Bible.Unmasked—Revealing the Truth Behind Satan’s Lies is availablethis month for a gift of any amount to the ministry ofTurning Point.HOW TO RECEIVE THIS RESOURCE:www.DavidJeremiah.orgTurning Point P.O. Box 3838 San Diego, CA 92163D21FTYou can order Unmasked by using the enclosed card, calling1-877-998-3555, or visiting our website from anywhere in the world awww.DavidJeremiah.org/June.
TROUBLEMAKERs Are you experiencing trouble in yourlife? Beginning on page 6, learn moreabout the ultimate troublemaker.28303234MAGAZINE &DEVOTIONALResource:Spiritual Warfare SetWelcomeResource:Ultimate Answers LibraryDear Friend of Summer,Turning Point Events:Fall Rallies 20214Seek and You Will Find5Just Ahead6TroublemakerThe weekend devotionals remind usof the importance of being AuthenticChristians.Counterfeiter:Identifying a CheapKnockoff!4849501216202426Liar:Knowing a Lie When YouHear One!Tempter:Suiting up for the Challenge!Loser:Awaiting the Day ofReckoning!Resource:The Warrior’s PrayerBookmarkResource:Unmasked—Revealing theTruth Behind Satan’s LiesTurning Point Radioand TelevisionTurning Points ofInterestFiscal Year Ends8June DevotionalsThis month’s devotionalscorrelate to the current radio serieson spiritual warfare and are a timelyreminder that we need to be preparedfor Satan’s attacks on us.Do you want to learneven more aboutour enemy, Satan,in order to resist hisattacks? See theback cover for moreinformation aboutthis month’s resourcefrom Dr. Jeremiah,Unmasked—Revealing the TruthBehind Satan’s Lies.We love this month! It’s summer when gardens flourish and vacations start.In parts of the Southern Hemisphere, it’s the beginning of winter. Whereveryou’re reading these words and whatever your weather, I rejoice in yourpartnership with our ministry at Turning Point.June is a big month for us here because it’s the end of our fiscal year. Inan unstable economy, I’m thankful for the incredible stability of those whocontribute so generously to help us reach the world with solid Bible teaching.Thank you for standing with us!The economy isn’t the only unstable thing about our world, is it? Everythingseems precarious right now—our politics, our ethics and morality, theinternational scene, and the growing biological and health threats facing us all.I sense there’s more to the intensity of our problems than we can see on thesurface. We’re facing fierce spiritual warfare. We have a powerful enemy whowants to disrupt the world and destroy the Church.In this issue of Turning Points, we’re going to look at this diabolicaltroublemaker. It’s vital to know how Satan presents himself—as a counterfeiter, aliar, and a tempter. But here’s the good news—he’s also the loser, for Jesus Christhas already defeated him at Calvary and at the empty tomb.I hope you’ll find this issue informative and encouraging as we enter Junewith joy and victory in Jesus!Thanking God for you,David JeremiahTURNING POINTS MAGAZINE & DEVOTIONALPresident/PublisherManaging EditorDr. David JeremiahMyrna DavisEditor-in-ChiefArt & DesignPaul JoinerRicardo MompremierWriting StaffWeston AlbertWilliam KruidenierLaura BowlingRobert MorganBrittan DavisJane PotockiIssue Date: June 2021. Volume Twenty-Three, Issue Six.2COPYRIGHT 2000–2021 DR. DAVID JEREMIAH TURNING POINT FOR GOD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.Images licensed by Shutterstock.com3
Seek and You Will FindJust AheadThere is a troublemaker inthis world who uses lies,counterfeits, and contradictionsto stir up trouble in our life.(See page 7.)(See page 6.)(See page 16.)Satan is a deceiver from the beginning,and the father of forgeries. He inspiresdeception like pollen inspires allergy.(See page 9.)Only the truth of God’s Word can washSatan’s lies from your mind.(See page 14.)(See page 8.)(See page 20.)(See page 12.)4If you are joining us thismonth as a new reader,you will notice our Bible icon andreading plan at the end of eachdevotional. Join the worldwideTurning Point family as we strive toread the Bible, cover-to-cover, inone year.Satan has a hard time dealing withthose who use the trials he sends asoccasions for sharing Christ!(See page 18.)Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Victor—and in Himwe’re on the winning side, forever.(See page 23.)5
Since 1957, when The Music Mandebuted on Broadway, the tuneand lyrics to one of its most famoussongs have become iconic in Americanmusic history. See if you recognizethis snippet from the more than sevenhundred words of the rollicking hit,“Ya Got Trouble”:Friends, the idle brain is the devil’splayground!Trouble!Oh we got troubleRight here in River City!Right here in River City!With a capital “T”And that rhymes with “P”6And that stands for poolThat stands for pool!We’ve surely got trouble!We’ve surely got trouble!Right here in River CityRight here!Gotta figure out a wayTo keep the young ones moral afterschool!If you can’t hear that song in yourhead while reading those lyrics, searchonline for the clip of Robert Prestonsinging it in the movie version ofThe Music Man, which was releasedin 1962; I promise you won’t bedisappointed (and I’ll bet you’ll watchit more than once!)So what’s this long song, and theentire story, about? It’s all about acharming, fast-talking con man namedHarold Hill who comes to River City,Iowa. His con consists of visitingMidwestern towns to convince naïveresidents to fund a marching band forthe towns’ youth—a way to keep themoff the streets and out of trouble. Hecollects money for instruments anduniforms, then skips town with thecash without ever delivering the goodsor the marching band.Arriving in River City, Hill looksfor a “hook” to begin his deceptivesales campaign. He finds it when hediscovers the local pool hall has takendelivery of a new billiards table whichhas attracted the rabid interest of theRiver City boys. That’s it! All he has todo is convince the parents that pool isthe gateway to a life of degradation andsloth. Instead of seeing their youngpeople wasting their lives in the poolhall, let’s get them in a marching band!I won’t tell you the whole storyexcept for this: Harold is exposed,but a band is formed, and Harold andMarian the librarian fall in love. Sweet,right? It’s an amazing production—theoriginal Broadway version won fiveTony Awards and led to film (1962) andtelevision (2003) adaptations.So, why have I introduced you to acon man named Harold Hill? Becausethe way he tricked the people of RiverCity bears a striking resemblance tothe way the Bible’s “trickster,” the devilnamed Satan, tries to trick us.Harold Hill tried to convince theresidents of River City that a pooltable was the real trouble in their townwhen, in fact, he was the troublemakerbehind the scene. The travelingsalesman used deceit, emotions, andfalse promises to separate the residentsof River City from their money. Poolwasn’t the trouble; a troublemakernamed Harold Hill was the trouble!There is a troublemakerin this world who useslies, counterfeits, andcontradictions to stir uptrouble in our life.Does that sound familiar? If youknow your Bible, it should. There is atroublemaker in this world who useslies, counterfeits, and contradictionsto stir up trouble in our life. He tries toget us to focus our attention on variousversions of “pool”—circumstances,envy, finances, relationships,hardships—and blame God for theproblems they are causing in ourlife. When, in fact, the troublemakerhimself is the real source of trouble.If he can get us to blame God forthe troubles in our life, then he hassucceeded.When Job was in the midst of histroubles, one of his friends told him,“Yet man is born to trouble, as thesparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). And hewas right—in this world we will havetroubles. Even Jesus did! But if wetrace all of this world’s troubles back totheir starting point, guess who we findat the root of it all: Satan, the serpent inthe Garden of Eden. By contradictingwhat God had told Adam and Eve, heconvinced Eve to disobey God (andAdam followed). And there’s been“trouble in River City” ever since.In this issue of Turning Points,we’re going to pull back the curtainon the great deceiver, the ultimatetroublemaker, named Satan. We’llexpose his schemes and tactics, revealour defenses, and discover that his endis already written. There is troubleahead for the great troublemaker!FROM THIS POINT FORWARD:Beginning on June 1, to learn more about the One who guides us in thislife, visit our website at www.DavidJeremiah.org/Magazine to read thearticle “Our Guide” by Dr. Jeremiah.7
Our modern world is acounterfeiter’s dream. Forged 100 bills are popping up all over theUnited States. Designer knockoffs arecosting the clothing industry billionsof dollars. Nike has filed multiplelawsuits in its war against fake shoes,targeting hundreds of websites. Lastyear, the U.S. Border Patrol confiscatedmillions of counterfeit facemasks.Many people have purchased highend electronics, jewelry, and evenpharmaceuticals, not realizing theywere buying bogus products.Money magazine recently reported:“Thanks to the rise in sales one-commerce platforms like Amazon,counterfeiting luxury products hasbecome a ‘highly profitable venture’ .The cosmetics industry loses moremoney to counterfeit products eachyear than any other industry, losingaround 5.4 billion each year tofraudulent sellers.”In one investigation, “every singlecosmetic item purchased was believedto have been a counterfeit, includingan eyeshadow primer that was a nearexact replica of the actual product.”It gets worse. According to theFBI, some of these products containcarcinogens like arsenic, beryllium,and cadmium, which can seriouslydamage your health. Some have “testedpositive for high levels of bacteria andhuman waste.”¹The Father of ForgeriesThere’s more to counterfeitingrings than meets the eye. The ultimatesource of deception is the devilhimself. Counterfeiting is one of hisdeadliest skills, and it comes naturallyto those who don’t follow Christ. Satanis a deceiver from the beginning, and8the father of forgeries. He inspiresdeception like pollen inspires allergy.The apostle John wrote, “Manydeceivers, who do not acknowledgeJesus Christ as coming in the flesh,have gone out into the world. Anysuch person is the deceiver and theantichrist” (2 John 1:7, NIV).Satan is a deceiver fromthe beginning, and thefather of forgeries. Heinspires deception likepollen inspires allergy.In his book, The Strategy of Satan,my friend, the late Warren Wiersbedescribed five areas in which thedeceiver tries to replicate the genuinerealities of God that are relevant fortoday’s Christian.He seeks to create counterfeitChristians. Jude, the half-brother ofJesus, was so concerned about this hedevoted his entire book of the Bibleto it. He had wanted to write a morepositive letter, but felt he had to warnthe Church about fake believers andfalse teachers. He said: “Dear friends,although I was very eager to write toyou about the salvation we share, Ifelt compelled to write and urge youto contend for the faith . For certainindividuals whose condemnation waswritten about long ago have secretlyslipped in among you. They areungodly people” (Jude 3-4, NIV).Satan seeks to create a counterfeitgospel. After the apostle Paulestablished churches in Galatia, he wasalarmed to learn that false teachershad entered some of these churches,preaching a gospel of works. He wrote9
in Galatians 1:6-7: “I am astonishedthat you are so quickly deserting theone who called you to live in the graceof Christ and are turning to a differentgospel—which is really no gospel atall” (NIV).Satan also has counterfeitpreachers. The Bible warns us, “Satanhimself masquerades as an angel oflight. It is not surprising, then, if hisservants also masquerade as servantsof righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:1415, NIV). According to 2 Timothy 3:8,these people “have depraved mindsand a counterfeit faith” (NLT). That’swhy we need to know our Bibles andlisten with discernment to what comesfrom our pulpits and over our airwaysand streaming sources.The devil tries to forge a counterfeitrighteousness. Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woeto those who call evil good, and goodevil.” That’s exactly what’s happeningin our society. Think of the socialcommentators who feel compelled togive us their opinions. Some of themare celebrities. Some are politicalactivists. Notice how condescendingand self-righteous many of them soundas they advance a demonic agenda,telling us how good it is that we’renow liberated to do certain thingsforbidden by the Bible. Then noticehow they villainize those of us withbiblical beliefs, which alone are trueand holy.Along the same lines, Satan craftscounterfeit doctrines. The Bible says,“Now the Spirit expressly says that inlatter times some will depart from thefaith, giving heed to deceiving spiritsand doctrines of demons”(1 Timothy 4:1).The devil is building a counterfeitchurch. Peter warned, “But there were10also false prophets among the people,even as there will be false teachersamong you, who will secretly bring indestructive heresies, even denying theLord who bought them . And manywill follow their destructive ways”(2 Peter 2:1-2).One day, Satan will createa counterfeit Christ. Listen to2 Thessalonians 2:9: “This manwill come to do the work of Satanwith counterfeit power and signsand miracles” (NLT). According toRevelation 13, the Antichrist will evenappear to be killed and resurrected,and he will be part of a counterfeittrinity with an anti-father (the devil)and anti-holy spirit (the Beast fromthe earth).2 Satan is doing his best toimitate all the attributes and programsof God in this world, and he’s deceivingmillions of people.Satan is doing his best toimitate all the attributesand programs of Godin this world, and he’sdeceiving millionsof people.The Spirit of TruthYou and I needn’t be deceived,for as followers of Christ we havethe Holy Spirit living within us. Thefather of forgeries can never deceivethe Spirit of truth. Jesus promised togive His followers “the Spirit of truthwho proceeds from the Father” (John15:26). Our Lord said, “When He, theSpirit of truth, has come, He will guideyou into all truth; for He will not speakon His own authority, but whatever Hehears He will speak; and He will tellyou things to come” (John 16:13).There are three ways to keepourselves from deception. First, wemust know the Lord Jesus Christ asour Savior. Without Him, we don’thave the indwelling Spirit.Doreen Virtue followed theteachings of the false prophet MaryBaker Eddy since childhood, and shebecame a popular speaker and writeron the New Age Movement. Sheappeared on many popular shows,including Oprah, the View, and CNN.In her book, Deceived No More, shewrote, “On January 7, 2017, I had aprofound experience that catapultedme out of my career as a top-sellingNew Age author: I surrendered mylife to Jesus as my Lord and Savior.”Doreen now looks back on her pastbeliefs, amazed at how tenaciouslyshe clung to what was utterly untrue.But she also rejoices to have found thetruth of Christ.3When we come to Jesus Christand surrender our lives to Him, Hecatapults us out of the lies that havetied our brains in knots. We discoverthe refreshing truths of His eternalGospel. We are deceived no more.Jesus said, “If you abide in My word,you are My disciples indeed. And youshall know the truth, and the truthshall make you free” (John 8:31-32).Second, we must be filled with theHoly Spirit so we can grow in ourdiscernment. The Bible says, “As foryou, the anointing you received fromhim remains in you, and you do notneed anyone to teach you. But as hisanointing teaches you about all thingsand as that anointing is real, notcounterfeit—just as it has taught you,remain in him” (1 John 2:27, NIV).Ask God to continually give you aSpirit-filled life, full of wisdom anddiscernment. As I said, don’t believeeverything you read online or hearin podcasts. Ask the Spirit of truth,the Holy Spirit, to help you discernbetween truth and error.The devil has a hard timefooling a person who iscommitted to Christ.Finally, we must constantly studythe Bible—the Word of truth. Theonly way to spot a counterfeit is tobecome an expert in the real article. Asyou become a diligent, daily studentof God’s Word, you’ll come to knowthe truth as it relates to philosophy,morality, current social issues, andmatters of eternity. You’ll be less likelyfooled by Satan’s cheap imitations ofGod’s activities and attributes. Yourknowledge of God’s power can set youfree from every self-destructive lie ofSatan.The devil has a hard time fooling aperson who is committed to Christ,filled with the Holy Spirit, anddedicated to regular Bible study. Bethat person, and let the Spirit of truthfoil the father of forgeries in your life.1Kenadi Silcox, “The Hidden Costs of Buying Fake Cosmetics on Sites Like Amazon,” Money,January 19, 2021, ren Wiersbe, The Strategy of Satan (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 1979), 16-18.3Doreen Virtue, Deceived No More (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2020), xii.11
It’s hard to know when someone islying. Several ex-FBI or CIA agentshave developed books and seminarsdesigned to help us spot lies bystudying body language, eye flickers,facial expressions, voice pitch, andother things. But good liars can evenfool polygraph machines.Psychology Today ran an article lastfall by Christian L. Hart, a universitypsychologist who specializes indeception. Dr. Hart admitted, “Theresimply are no behavioral cues thatreliably indicate when someone islying. Researchers like myself havesearched high and low for such cuesfor decades. The best anyone hascome up with is a small number ofbehavioral cues that are extremelyunreliable.”“But don’t abandon all hope justyet!” wrote Hart. “There actually aresome fairly effective ways to reallydetect liars.” It’s not by trying to readbody language. The real secret is tolisten carefully to what’s being said.“Lying is nothing more thancommunicating false information,”said Hart. We have to pay attentionto the information we’re told, see if italigns with reason, with evidence, withwhat we know or can learn. We haveto ask questions and see if the storystands up to scrutiny.1That’s good advice when we suspectanother person is lying. It’s also howto deal with the never-ending lies ofSatan. He’s an expert liar, as Jesuspointed out in John 8:44, when He toldHis critics, “You are of your father thedevil, and the desires of your fatheryou want to do. He does not stand inthe truth, because there is no truth inhim. When he speaks a lie, he speaksfrom his own resources, for he is a liarand the father of it.”12The New International Version says,“When he lies, he speaks his nativelanguage.”Satan never tells the truth, but he’sa master at twisting the truth. Lyingis his native language, and it’s thelanguage of his people today. If wearen’t careful, the devil even promptsus to lie to ourselves, often withoutrealizing it.Johannah Mackin is the greatgreat granddaughter of evangelistJ. Wilbur Chapman, and she wroteabout her journey to learn more abouthim and to keep his legacy alive. Sheexplained that as a child, she facedmany surgeries on her legs, and in theseventh grade she began to feel selfconscious about her childhood scars.“For the first time I looked at myscarred legs and thought they wereugly,” she wrote. “In my mind Iconnected [my friend’s] lack of scarswith her attractiveness to boys. I hadcreated a standard of beauty, and Ijudged myself lacking . Whenever Ilooked in the mirror,” she said, “I onlysaw a flawed person.”2It took time, plus the truth ofScripture (aided by her great-greatgrandfather’s sermons, notes, andletters) to reassure Johannah of hertrue worth, value, and beauty beforeGod.Most of us can relate to that story.The devil is so cunningly deceptivethat we instinctively believe what hewhispers in our ears.Here are four other lies he oftentells us.“God Doesn’t Want Me to BeHappy”One of Satan’s worst lies is tellingus God isn’t the source of happiness;13
indeed, He’s a hindrance to it. VocalistAndrew Cameron Cline has a song inwhich he says, “All that I really wantis to be beautiful. I don’t care what itcosts; I only want to be happy.”3That’s the desire of literally billionsof people.How ironic! According to the Bible,God has made us in His image, Heloves us, we are His handiwork andcraftsmanship, and He longs to fill ourlives with joy! Yet most people rejectHim and go off looking for happinesson their own.If you’re struggling with issuesrelated to happiness and joy, I want torecommend Psalm 144, which begins:“Blessed be the Lord my Rock . I willsing a new song to You, O God” (verses1, 9). The Psalm ends: “Happy are thepeople whose God is the Lord!”(verse 15)Study this passage and apply it toyourself. Only the truth of God’s Wordcan wash Satan’s lies from your mind.Only the truth of God’sWord can wash Satan’slies from your mind.“I’m No Good”The devil also wants us to thinkwe’re no good. We often feel that waybecause of faults and regrets thathaunt us, and sometimes we damageour self-image by comparing ourselvesto others. Admittedly, without thegrace of Christ we are warped andruined by sin. There’s no denying that.In Romans 7:18 the apostle Paul said,“For I know that in me (that is, in myflesh) nothing good dwells.”14But Jesus placed a high value on us.He died and rose again for us.With Christ within us, there is onlyone “no good” we need to claim—thepromise of Psalm 84:11: “No good thingwill He withhold from those who walkuprightly.”I want to recommend you studyPsalm 84 if the devil is telling you thatyou’re no good. The twelve verses ofthis wonderful Psalm will combat thedevil’s distortions, reassure you of yourvalue, and uncover fresh blessingsfrom your Heavenly Father.“I’m a Failure”Another fabrication of Satan is thatwe’re failures. Yes, all of us fail at manythings, but the act of failure doesn’ttranslate to who we are as people.In Christ, we are people who viewfailures: (1) as learning experiencesand (2) as opportunities to find God’sbest plan for our lives. Psalm 73:26says, “My flesh and my heart fail; butGod is the strength of my heart and myportion forever.”Commander Guy Snodgrass, aTOPGUN Navy pilot and instructor,wrote about failing a practice dogfightover Nevada. His instructor literallyflew circles around him, and Guy wouldhave been blown out of the sky threetimes had the combat been real. Hedreaded what his instructor would say.In the briefing room, Guy explainedall he’d done wrong, and he wrote ona whiteboard all the items he neededto master. Then he braced himselffor rebukes and corrections. But hisinstructor simply said, “Overall, Ithought you did very well. Nice job.”The instructor went on to say thataerial skills take years to master andwe don’t succeed until we learn thevalue of failure.All of us fail at manythings, but the act offailure doesn’t translate towho we are as people.Guy’s takeaway: “When adversitystrikes—as it always does—refocusyour determination and try again.Commit to making each day betterthan the one before. Then do it againthe next day. In the long run, peoplecare far more about who you are thanwhat you do.”4If the serpent is hissing failure inyour ears, take some time to studyPsalm 73. The writer of this Psalmstruggled with a sense of failure andfrustration, but he overcame thelies with God’s truth, saying, “Myinnermost being was wounded . Yet Iam always with you; you hold my righthand. You guide me with your counsel,and afterward you will take me up inglory . My flesh and my heart may fail,but God is the strength of my heart, myportion forever” (Psalm 73:21-26, CSB).“I Can’t Overcome ThisTemptation”In addition to the devil’s otherlies, let me mention one more. He isa master at deceiving us with selfdestructive habits. He wants us to sayto ourselves: “I can’t overcome thistemptation.”To counter that lie, I suggest Psalm51, which is David’s great prayer ofconfession after his moral failure. Heimplored God’s forgiveness, and inverse 12, he prayed, “Restore to me thejoy of Your salvation, and uphold meby Your generous Spirit.”We can’t withstand temptationin our own strength, but the Lordforgives us, restores our joy, and thenupholds us by His generous Spirit. Hewill uphold you in temptation. StudyPsalm 51. Accept it as truth, and thetruth will set you free from Satan’sdebilitating lies.To counter that lie, Isuggest Psalm 51, which isDavid’s great prayer ofconfessionThe four questions I’ve addressedare samples of how to deal with the liarand his lies. In every case, I’ve directedyou to the book of Psalms, but we havea total of 66 books of Scripture. Thereis a living truth from God for every lieSatan throws at you.Don’t listen to a single word fromthe devil because lying is his nativelanguage. Learn to spot his lies andto counter each one with the brillianttruth of God’s infallible Word.1Christian L. Hart, “The Only Way to Really Detect When Someone Is Lying,” Psychology Today,November 23, 2020, omeone-is-lying.2Johannah Mackin, The Inheritance (USA: Johannah Mackin, 2018), 24-26.3Ed Masley, “Best July Singles,” AZ Central, July 19, 2017, 001/.4Guy M. Snodgrass, TOPGUN’S Top 10 (New York: Hachette Book Group, 2020), 12-13.15
As followers of Christ, we’reengaged in active combat, fightingSatan at every level. He’s a relentlessfoe, and we must never underestimatethe battle. According to Ephesians6, unseen spiritual forces are behindmuch of the evil in our world andin our own lives. When a personproclaims Christ as Savior and Lord,these evil forces line up against him.But we’re not fighting alone. OurCommanding Officer has already wonthe war, and He has given us bodyarmor for the temptations we face, aswe learn in this climactic sixth chapterof Ephesians.This passage tells us to put on thefull armor of God so we can take ourstand against the devil’s schemes(verse 11). The apostle Paul was writingthis while chained and guarded by aRoman soldier, so it’s not surprising hemade the set of analogies we read inverses 14-18.In this article, I want to focus on thepractical meaning of Paul’s language.You will also find me teaching onspiritual warfare all month on June’sTurning Point radio program. I take adeep dive into each piece of the Armorof the Believer. But simply put in thisarticle, just what is the Lord telling usin this passage about temptation? Toprepare for battle.First, we must sheathe our mindwith Scripture. Ephesians 6:14says, “Stand therefore, having girdedyour waist with truth.” It’s not just amatter of wrapping our mind aroundScripture; we have to wrap Scripturearound our mind. Our personal lovefor God’s Word ought to be one of themost transparent and transferableaspects of our life. If you want to fightthe devil, you have to wrap the truth of16Scripture around you like a belt.Scripture memory is a tremendousaid to this. Prior generations thoughtnothing of memorizing long passages.Reformer William Wilberforce oncewrote in his diary, “Walked from HydePark Corner repeating the 119th Psalmin great comfort.” That Psalm is thelongest chapter in the Bible, with 176verses.I’m not suggesting you memorizePsalm 119, but you know your strengthsand weaknesses, and you have someidea of how Satan attacks you. Finda handful of verses related to thoseareas, write them on cards, and beginmemorizing and internalizing them.Second, we must live abovereproach. Ephesians 6:14 says,“Stand therefore, having girded yourwaist with truth, having put on thebreastplate of righteousness.” Thebreastplate of righteousness meansyour heart is shielded from Satan’stemptations by your determination tofollow a lifestyle that reflects righteoushabits. The devil loves to use our badhabits to get footholds into our lives.The breastplate of righteousnessrepresents our resolve to live arighteous life.New Mexico pastor Rick Hale wrote,“My wife and I have been marriedover 35 years. I can honestly say I havenever been tempted to be unfaithfulto her. This is not because I am sospiritual that I am beyond temptation.I am convinced it is because I havecarefully and intentionally erectedspiritual guardrails that steer me clearof the very appearance of evil. It’sreally not rocket science. I will nevergo over the cliff if I stay away fromthe edge. Sure, this limits where I go,who I am with, and what I see. But the17
reward of fulfilling my life purpose andmaintaining my integrity to the finishline is worth the sacrifice.”1It is vital to establish biblicalconvictions and practices early inlife—as it relates to sex, to money, tomaterialism, and to any elements inlife that could become addictive! Wedare not go into any day without thetruth of Scripture around us and thebreastplate of righteousness firmly inplace.Satan has a hard timedealing with those whouse the trials he sends asoccasions for sharing Christ!Third, if we’re going to live invictory we have to cultivate the artof sharing the Gospel. Ephesians6:15 goes on to say, “And having shodyour feet with the preparation of thegospel of peace.” This is talking aboutthe readiness to share the Good Newsof God’s peace. If
The Warrior's Prayer Bookmark 26 Resource: Unmasked—Revealing the Truth Behind Satan's Lies 28 Resource: Spiritual Warfare Set 30 Resource: Ultimate Answers Library 32 Turning Point Events: Fall Rallies 2021 34 This month's devotionals correlate to the current radio series on spiritual warfare and are a timely reminder that we need to .
