Our Enemy, the Devil - Pt 4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:3-10 ESV). Dadgummit! Or at least something to the effect is often thought or said every time we do something we know better than to do. It’s called guilt. Like the pain we feel when we step on a sharp piece of glass, guilt is our moral warning system. Guilt is not necessarily a bad thing, because it is a reaction to something in our lives that is not right. However, the devil can use guilt to drive us to despair, losing hope, and feeling defeated and rejected. This is why it is important to distinguish between Satan's accusations and the Spirit's conviction. A feeling of guilt and shame is not a bad thing if it comes from the Spirit of God. But if it drives us to despair and hopelessness, then we have listened to the wrong voice. The devil is called the accuser (cf. Revelation 12:12). He has no remorse or shame in leveling the cruelest of accusations against the people of God. His personal mission is to convince us that we are not worthy to approach God. Unfortunately, there is some truth to that accusation. We were never worthy. We will never be worthy. On our best day, we weren't even close to being worthy. The only means of becoming worthy to approach the presence of God Almighty, Creator of the heavens and the earth is in the work of Jesus Christ, His Son and our Savior. As believers, we have been made acceptable to God through what Christ did for us on the cross. We have been made acceptable in the Beloved. It is because of Jesus that we can come to God. So don't ever let the devil's accusations drive you away from the cross, where you will find forgiveness. You have a choice. The next time you sin, you can either give up in despair, or you can come back to the Lord and repent. Remember this simple truth: Satan will always seek to drive you away from the cross, but the Holy Spirit will always draw you back to the cross. There will never be a time we are not welcome there!