Bible Verse of the Day Monday October 2nd, 2023

1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

The Apostle Peter is encouraging all that read this to remain clear-headed, metaphorically sober, to be spiritually alert and watchful. This is critical for Christians because Satan never does rest nor does he sleep, he is vigilant and always on the lookout for someone to engulf and overwhelm. Sober people, as sober is used here, are those that possess poise and an ability to remain stable in the ever-changing world that we live in. This is only accomplished with the ability to apply God’s truth to all situations we find ourselves in.  We must spend time every day of our lives in the study of God’s Word because that is the only source of truth that can be found in this life. We must also be able to apply this truth to our lives because even if we know the truth and it does not control our movements and actions, we will not be “alert and of sober mind” enough to recognize the subtlety by which Satan will roar into our lives and take control.

1 Thessalonians 5:6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.

1 Thessalonians 5:8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

As Christians, we enjoy peace with God because of the sacrifice made by Christ Jesus on the Cross of Calvary. Unfortunately, we do not live in a world of peace with our enemy Satan. When I was in the Navy, we would post lookouts in strategic places on the ship out in the ocean. You could only see water and sky; the horizon was 360 degrees around the ship. These lookouts would constantly scan the horizon in case the enemy were to try to overtake our ship. We must do the same spiritually, that is, keep a lookout in case our enemy Satan tries to devour us. Whether we realize it or not we are at war and we have a clear-cut enemy that is out to destroy our lives. Satan cannot take away our salvation, that is securely in the hands of Christ Jesus. However, he can make our lives miserable which is his quest because he figures if we are focused on our misfortune through worldly actions, we will spend less time witnessing for Jesus. Even though he can’t change our eternal destiny he will attempt to try and stop us from leading others to Christ.

Some pretend that Satan is not real, like Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny, but that is not the case, he is real, his powers are real, and he intends on bringing injury and damage to our lives. Instead of spending our time agonizing over Satan, resist him when we are tempted and focus on Christ Jesus. He has already won the victory over Satan at the Cross of Calvary, so now all we have to do is resist Satan and he will flee from us.