The Wednesday evening service at Bethany Baptist Church was cancelled because the parking lot was ice covered. Several other events were postponed, but Sunday morning there was a good turn out for church.
Norma Stillings sang a special song. Pastor Bob Sorensen brought a message from 2 Timothy 2:24-26, “Has Satan taken you captive?”
Christians may be snared by Satan by his clever devices. You can’t mess with Satan, he will capture you every time. The devil wants to confuse, control, consume, and condemn you.
The devil confuses people about salvation. Are we saved by doing good works? Are we saved by staying true to religious principles or simply by trusting in Jesus? The Bible says that we are saved by grace through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ, not works.
The devil tries to confuse you about serving the Lord. What people see in your life is the overflowing of what is in your heart. Satan wants to control your thinking and your actions just a little at a time. Worldly living by Christians hinders the spread of the gospel, and steals their joy.
The devil wants to confuse you on scripture. With numerous versions and translations confusing the issue of reliability, the King James 1611 version of the Bible is still the best, most accurate English translation of the Bible. It is absolutely reliable.
The devil wants to consume you spiritually, financially, emotionally, and physically. He is always out there seeking whom he may devour. He will lead you to the wrong places, tempt you to spend your money in wrong ways, wear you out emotionally with worries, and wear you down physically doing things that are not God’s will.
The devil wants to condemn you, to strip you of all your blessings now and for eternity. God wants to give abundant blessings in this life and in the next.
The devil tries to convince you that he is not the enemy and that what he offers will do you no harm. He will certainly tempt you. He will try to hinder your testimony and prevent your witness to the lost.
If we resist the devil, he will flee, but we must put on the whole armor of God. We have only a short time on this earth. Give that time to the Lord. The rewards of serving the Lord are far better than what Satan offers.
