Day 118 "The enemy's plans are no longer secret; we must simply watch in order to see them."

Day 118 Matthew 13:34-35 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.” Wow! I just learned a magnificent truth that will, I believe, rock you just as it did me. The word parable is derived from a Greek word Para + Balien–to throw more at the devil! It is also defined as a short, fictitious story used to illustrate a moral point, or shall we say that a parable is a short story designed to throw moral truths at the devil! Jesus, by speaking in parables, was, in the human sense, rather gently exposing mankind to truths that had not been spoken; things that God had kept from man because of his inability to understand them prior to Christ. In addition, by now exposing these truths that would soon be even more understood, He was revealing the underbelly of satan, his weak spot. The power satan had held over mankind would with every parable be further weakened–another way in which Jesus established His heavenly and earthly rule! I must confess that I am utterly dumbfounded at why it has taken me so long to find this truth, and I am even more confused as to why I have never heard this before, but so be it. Maybe everyone but me has always gotten it–wouldn't be the first time. I think about some of the great men of the Old Testament and how they fought their spiritual wars with satan–it was truly more in a physical sense. For example Moses, his battle began with Pharaoh, a man led by satan, and God gave Moses the power to defeat and ultimately destroy his nemesis. Then there was David, who took on satan in the form of Goliath, and gave God the glory by defeating him with a rock; and Gideon, who took on the enemies of Israel, again a representation of satan, and defeated them with a much smaller army by the power of God. We could go on and on with similar examples in the Old Testament. However, when Jesus comes on the scene, we see the scheming and the plans of satan truly exposed in the spiritual sense without human manifestation. We see that he is sneaky, mischievous, cunning, and actively seeking to destroy every man and woman, regardless of whether they follow God or not. Evil simply hates everyone; even its own. No longer does satan have anywhere to hide. It reminds me of one of the times when my daughters and I were at the beach. There was a rather low tide and, suddenly, many things that we had not seen were revealed. There was simply nowhere for them to go. We were able to locate a plethora of sea creatures we had never seen because, suddenly, they were trapped with nowhere to hide. Now they were subject to our discretion, and all of their hidden weaknesses were revealed; for them their literal existence lay in our hands. Could it be that, by Christ exposing the plans and scheming of satan, now he, too, can be rendered somewhat powerless in our lives, and unless we give him the liberty to control us and allow ourselves to be deceived, he can no longer control our lives? You do understand what that means, don't you? If this is true, then we are the ones who determine just how much power and effect the enemy has in our lives. By our obedience, or lack thereof, we truly do (to a certain degree) control our destiny. I say to a certain degree, for we must never discount the fact that we serve a sovereign God who can and will allow satan to influence our lives for our own good. Remember James, chapter 1. However, there is no doubt that we affect our own lives by giving into the temptations that satan lays out before us. All too often we ignore the warning signs as we are lured in by the instant gratification of the flesh. Could it be that all along we have given satan far too much credit and God far too little glory? Daily Prayer: Father, I thank you that Jesus has exposed satan for who he is and that you have revealed the hidden secrets of the past. Teach me, Lord, how to use these secrets to grow in my understanding of both You and my enemy. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen. "The enemy's plans are no longer secret; we must simply watch in order to see them." Pastor Gene Burroughs