Don't Give Place To The devil

In Ephesians 4:27, the apostle Paul writes, "Neither give place to the devil." He is so territorial that he wants it all. But to start his campaign to conquer all those areas of our lives, he must first find an entry point from which he can begin his campaign of unleashing his devilish destruction in our lives.

We often throw open the door to the devil when we:

• Refuse to let go of old hurts and wounds.
• Refuse to acknowledge what we did wrong.
• Refuse to forgive others for what they did.
• Refuse to stop judging others for their grievances.
• Refuse to admit we were wrong too.
• Refuse to say, "I'm sorry" when we're wrong.
• Refuse to lay down our "rights" for others.

If you and I do any of these things, we leave a "marked-off place" through which the devil can enter to accuse others in our minds. But we don't have to fall victim to the enemy's tactics. What about you? Have you ever given place to the devil by allowing anger, resentment, bitterness, or unforgiveness to have a "place" in you?

Rather than allow this to happen, stop and tell yourself, Okay, this isn't as big of a deal as I'm making it out to be. The devil is trying to find a place in my mind to get me to start mentally accusing that person, and I'm not going to let him do it.

Offense, Jesus said would come to us all. It's knowing how to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves" that is the hard part. Watch out for those snares that the enemy has laid for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to take the criticism out of your heart and to cause the love of God in you to flow toward that other person or group of people. Pray for an opportunity to strengthen that relationship so all the entry places to your life and to that relationship remain sealed. Stop the devil from worming his way into the middle of your relationships with people you need and love! "Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1John 4:4).

BLESSINGS!
MT