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May 2nd
Canceling
Satan’s Plans “the
thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have
life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 NIV Organized
crime provides a vivid picture of how Satan runs his kingdom. As the godfather
of sin, Satan rules his “family” with violence, intimidation, and murder
(John 8:44). He entices people to
join the family through various temptations like money, sex and power.
Through weapons like pornography, he subdues potentially threatening
people, like would-be servants of God. He
aims to destroy God’s plans for them and bring them under his control.
Satan
used mafia-like tactics against Jesus. He
first contracted killing Jesus through Herod’s execution of males 2 yrs. and
younger. That failed, and Satan
later tried to persuade Jesus to work for him (Luke 4:5-8), promising him
authority and worldly power. Jesus
resisted, but Satan finally succeeded (or so he thought) through Judas and the
Pharisees, who conspired to have Jesus arrested, tried and
crucified (Matt. 26:15-16; John 13:27). Satan
will try to entice us to work for his kingdom, just like he tried with Jesus.
He will offer us all the pleasures of the world in exchange for
allegiance to his kingdom. If we resist, we can expect him to send attacks our way.
He does not give up easily. Though
he may not try to murder us outright, he will try to destroy us through whatever
footholds our sin has given him. Satan is
determined not to let anyone leave his family alive.
He will do almost anything to either keep us under his power or keep us
from being effective for God. The
truth is that no matter how deep our bondage is, we CAN break free and live in
victory! Jesus is infinitely more
powerful than Satan. We can apply
the blood of Jesus and cancel every satanic plan against our life.
The
Bible says that God has good plans for us:
“For I know the plans I have for you,"
declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give
you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).
This may be difficult to believe, especially if we have indulged greatly
in sin. God can restore what the
devil tried to kill, steal and destroy in our lives! Questions
for further thought:
Prayer:
If you have been a slave to sin and are ready to break free from
Satan’s grip, please pray this suggested prayer for freedom:
“Heavenly
Father, I confess that I have sinned against you in the following ways:
_____________ (list them). Father,
please forgive me for my sin. I
turn away from my sin and renounce it now.
In the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of his blood, I cancel every
plan Satan had for my life. I
declare them null and void. By
faith in Jesus Christ, I call all of God’s plans for me into existence now.
Father, may your will be done in my life as it is in heaven.
Please strengthen me to live for you exclusively.
Thank you, Father! In
Jesus’ name I pray, Amen!” |
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