Are you aware that there is a battle going on … a battle for your mind? Indeed there is. God wants control and so does Satan. This never ends while we live. It is a moment by moment, second by second matter. I want to state upfront that only God knows our thoughts. Satan does not. However, Satan and his demons have had a very long time to observe and study mankind and even each one of us … everything there is to know about us. He can’t read our mind, but he often can figure out what we are thinking and what we may do or be persuaded to do.

Temptation is part of his game plan. He even tried using it on Jesus, but God can not be tempted and so Satan failed to get Jesus to do what he wanted Him to do.

Doubt is another one of Satan’s tools. In particular he wants us to doubt God … to doubt that He will do as He says He will. In other words … to doubt God’s Word.

Fear is another thing Satan uses against us … to get us to fear. God has told us not to fear so Satan knows the power of planting thoughts or doing something to get us to fear.

Satan is not all powerful like God, but he is very powerful and we need to be aware of that. We need to be very careful and never underestimate Satan and his demons. We need to respect his power. This is especially true for those who are not saved.

Lying is another means Satan uses in our lives. One thing that immediately comes to mind is the Fake News Media which has misinformed and misled multitudes for many years.

The devil wants people to think he is everywhere, knows everything, controls everything, and has unlimited power. But Scripture never presents Satan as equal with God. God has given much authority to true Christians over Satan and his kingdom. Sadly most do not know and understand this and they certainly don’t exercise it.

The age old battle of good vs evil is real … very real. We live in a fallen world as when sin occurred it change nearly everything. Satan didn’t exist before Adam sinned. But sin brought death and Satan had the keys (the control) over death. But thanks be to God when Jesus came to earth to die in our place upon His resurrection from the dead He went to hell to take back those keys from Satan.

Satan no longer has control over us upon death. Our lives are in God’s hands. He alone will be our judge upon our death. God has told us all that we need to know. He gave us His Word to read and help us.

Yes, we have the written Word of God to turn to and help guide us and to understand what is important in this life. But it is not read much like it should be. God has said … “My people perish for lack of knowledge and understanding.” How sad!

I say to you … if Satan (the devil) is not real in your life then he has already accomplished his work in your life. He doesn’t need to do anything more. He already has you in his grip … under his power and control. He’s got you right where he wants you. But you can change that. All you need to do is call on the Name of Jesus. Understand that your sin is a problem and is serious. Be remorseful (very sorry) for your sin and be willing to stop sinning (repent). Acknowledge your sin unto God and ask for forgiveness. Ask Jesus to come into your heart and life and save you. Believe that Jesus died for you to provide that forgiveness. Accept Him into your heart and life. And then read His Word daily. Pray … talk to Him just as you would a close friend. Get to know Him and have fellowship together with Him. Obey Him. Live your life committed to Him. He will turn your life around.

The devil will try to tell you that you are not saved and will come up with all sorts of things to convince you of it including that you are too sinful … have done such bad things that you could not possibly be forgiven. Don’t pay any attention to him. Remember he is a liar and a thief. He wants to deceive you and destroy your new relationship with God. Don’t let him fool you.

Another thing you should do as a new Christian is to find a good church … one that is friendly. One that teaches, preaches and practices the bible. One where people are getting saved. If these things are missing then you are in the wrong place. There are lot of “dead” churches around so be careful not to get caught up in that senario. Satan would love for you to get involved in such a church.

My own mother spent her whole life in churches like that. She taught Sunday school, but she was not saved … she didn’t understand salvation … not until right near the very end of her life. She was 84 when she got saved. The devil thought he had her but my sister and I were praying for her salvation for many many years. I asked her when the last time was she saw anybody get saved in her church. She answered “never”. That proved my point. As she aged she could no longer physically go to church. Finally when she was in a nursing home (which happened to be Christian) she got saved. She watched the Jesus film they showed and afterward the pastor led her to Jesus. We were so very thankful. It was definitely an 11:59 PM happening. 9 years later my atheist dad also got saved just before he passed away. My wife and I prayed for him for many years.

I imagine that most of us have heard the saying … “a mind is a terrible thing to waste”. Yes, it is and so is a life. We must never forget that we are eternal beings. The grave isn’t the end as all too many believe. God gave us this life. He wants us to give it back to Him. He deserves no less. But it is our choice.