©2001 Charles Darby

As I grew up I had an Uncle whom I loved to visit. He was always full of laughter. Loved to tell jokes, funny stories that would make you laugh. He had jowls that hung from his face and when he laughed, he laughed all over. I always looked forward to the family visits to his house.

One of the stories he loved to tell and I liked to hear was this. A young man came to visit his girl friend. He, his girl friend and all the family sat on the front porch. Well, the young man stayed later than usual so the family went inside the house and left the young man and his girl friend on the porch. The family had a vicious dog that stayed under the porch, most of the time, and he lived to chase any thing that moved!

When the young man was ready to leave; it was well after dark. He didn't want to call the girl's family to call the dog off so he decided he would jump as far as possible and run as fast as he could. He did and ran as hard as he could. He could hear the dog right behind him.

He ran till he was very tired, then slowed down. When he did he could hear a sound that sounded like the dog was right behind him. Well, he ran until he could run no more, he was tired and out of breath. He decided the dog would just get him.

 When he stopped the noise stopped as well. He found that the noise was from his overall gallus! The dog had give up long ago and returned  home! Fear had caused him to run much longer than he needed to.

This is what I would like to have happen in my own life. I would like to be in heaven at least thirty minutes before the devil realized I had stopped chasing him! The devil is a defeated foe. My Lord defeated him and made a show of him openly for all to see. He put His foot down so hard on the devil's head that it bruised His heel, but He also bruised the devil's head for all to see. Our problem is not really the devil. It is a problem of unbelief.

For those who are in Christ. The devil is a defeated foe. The devil comes around like a roaring lion but he has no claws or teeth. He is full of lies, the father of lies, and he is a creature of darkness. Light will always chase darkness. The word is light. Jesus, the word made flesh, is light in action. When the enemy comes shine the light on him and he must flee. He has no choice, because it is written.

I have heard some say "the devil has been on my back all week". This is a lack of understanding and should not be. The devil is like a former lover. If I should come home after being gone for a few days and my wife said to me "Charles, one of my former boyfriends has been here all week." What do you think I would do? What if it was the other way around, what would she do? I shudder to think about it!

We have another lover of our soul and His name is Jesus. He bought and paid for us with His own Body and shed Blood. Let us tell the former lover to get moving and stay away from us. We now belong to Jesus lock, stock and barrel. We are now the temple of the Holy Ghost and the devil has no place in us!

The devil comes to all of us and seems to work hardest on the babies in Christ, the young and those weak in faith, those who are unlearned in the word of God. That is one reason why I am so determined to feed the church, the word of God that will cause the devil to flee from the Child of God. How dare him try to steal or hurt the young and the weak, which belong to God!

The truth will set us free. Let us learn the truth, as the Holy Spirit will teach us. He will take the things of Jesus and show them to us. We must put on the whole armour of God and get the truth in our mind and in our mouth. Get ready for battle. Be ready to give an answer to the devil's accusations.

Don't let the devil do all the talking, talk back to him. In one place he said "Jesus I know and Paul I know but who are you?" Tell him who you are because of Jesus Christ and His finished work. Tell him you come against him in the name of Jesus. Tell him the blood of Jesus Christ is between you and him. Stop listening to him let him hear you. He will not stay if you stop listening to him. He must flee.

I used to hunt a lot in my younger days and when a covey of quail would come up they would flee in a hurry. This is what I see in my mind's eye when I resist the devil. When the light is shined on him he will go as fast as he can to get out of the light.

We should all let our faith grow not only for our own benefit but also so we can help those who are under attack. These are not to be looked down on or talked about. These need our compassion and words of encouragement. Pray one for another. If God be for us who can be against us?

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Thank you for reading.