TODAY IS…

the ideal day to see through his disguise.

“Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.”  Ephesians 6:11 NLT

Somewhere along the line, someone decided to turn satan into a “cute” cartoon figure.

Many people conjure up images of an “impish” person with horns, a cape, and a trident who sits on one shoulder while another cartoon figure of an angel sits on the other, both whispering in our ears trying to get our attention. Many people even find it clever or cute to dress up as the devil at Halloween. Children and adults alike tend to come away from these depictions of the devil with the impression that he is an imaginary person and, as such, is not to be taken seriously.

This is a serious mistake to make that can have disastrous consequences.

We must see through satan’s many disguises and recognize him for who he is: The evil one who would see all of us denied an everlasting life of joy, peace, love, and happiness. When we don’t view him as the source of evil that he is, we help him to achieve his goal.

Paul, in his Second Letter to the church in Corinth, addressed the subject of those who would disguise themselves as apostles of Christ to deceive people and lead them away from Christ instead of toward Him.

“No wonder, for even satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14 NASB).

There is nothing cute, impish or cartoon-like about satan’s efforts to lead us away from the gift of salvation held out to us all. It can be confusing sometimes because the voice of satan disguised as the voice of an apostle of Christ can be loud and convincing. How many good “Christians” were duped by satan into joining the Ku Klux Klan, an organization of alienation, segregation, hate, destruction, and death that presented themselves as “Christians?”

How many cults have proliferated throughout history that are, ostensibly, formed as a way for us to become members of a “select” group handpicked by God’s own personal prophet, but are nothing more than satan’s fan clubs set up to serve a sexually immoral and isolationist leader who is actually an emissary of satan himself?

History is riddled with those who have tried to twist the words of the Bible to fit their own personal agenda. There can be no greater sin than to lead God’s children away from the truth and into a life that promotes immorality, hatred, superiority, or the need to isolate from the rest of the world or pass judgment on others.

We must all wipe the cartoon image of satan out of our minds and see through his disguises and know that, given the chance, he will push us to deny ourselves the very promise that Christ made with His death on the cross.

We must see through the many disguises of evil, and today is an ideal day to start.

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Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson