Daily Devotional

In the book of Matthew we read the story of the sower and the seed. You see, Satan will do all he can to get the Word of God out of your life. As long as you have the Word of God abiding in you and the Word is alive in you, the devil will try different strokes against you but he will not succeed.

The first stroke the enemy uses is ignorance. "When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then comes the wicked one, and catches away that which was sown in his heart."

Reading the Word is one thing, understanding is completely different. If a fire alarm sounds, and you do not know that sound, you will not respond to it. So, instead of just reading the Word of God, read it to understand it.

The second stroke is thus, "He that received the word into stony places, the same is he that hears the word, and receives it with joy, but he has no root in himself and endureth only for a while. When tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, by and by he is offended."

Tribulation will arise because of the Word abiding in you. And all Satan wants to do is to get the Word out of you ... that is his mission. He will bring whatever problem he can to destroy you.

The third stroke is "the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches" that "choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful." So the one extreme is tribulation, the other extreme are the riches of this world. If Satan cannot destroy the Word through persecution, he will use temptation ... fancy cars, big houses, money, casinos, and whatever else entices you.

Do not be ignorant of the enemys devices. Get on your knees, develop a strong relationship with God built on the rock Christ Jesus, and get your direction and blessings from God.