Logos Baptist Church
Effective Salt Shakers for Christ
Words of Encouragement
Behind all the world’s deception is the archdeceiver, the thief, the murderer, and the destroyer which is Satan the devil.
Peter describes him as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
John 10:10 shares with us that the devil has a plan for our lives.
We all have had something stolen from us.
Thief had no other purpose but to steal.
It gives a picture of a bandit, pickpocket, or thief who is so artful in the way he steals that his exploits of thievery are nearly undetectable.
They can slip their hands into a person’s pockets, take what they want, and be long gone before that person discovers they were even there.
Jesus uses this word to let us know the devil is very cunning in the way he steals from people.
PLAN TO STEAL
The devil is a taker, not a maker. He takes what is good and mislabels it.
The thief comes to steal, to seize, to invade, to deceive, to carry away the property that belongs to another, carry away the sheep of Christ.
The thief just wants to ruin anything he can get his hands on.
Today, Satan can steal our most precious commodity which is time spent in prayer and meditation with God.
Satan also steals time away from our families with the gimmicks and gadgets in our homes demanding our attention and keeping us distracted from bonding with our children.
The devil steals by planting mistrust about God, the serpent was able to steal eve’s trust away from god in the garden and we know what the end results was.
PLAN TO KILL
To kill is to take a life physically, to murder.
Remember Jesus said the devil is a murderer.
He actually comes to take our physical lives.
He does it through sin, through sickness, through all sorts of pressures that he brings against us.
PLAN TO DESTROY
The word “destroy” in the Greek carries the idea of something that is ruined, wasted, trashed, and devastated.
He wants to destroy your job, your joy, your happiness, your health, your finances, your marriage, and your kids.
He seeks to destroy your defenses by drawing you away from the word. Drawing you away from fellowship. Drawing you away from prayer.
BUT GOD HAS A PLAN AS WELL
Plan to give you life.
Jesus, drawing from a familiar scene of shepherds on a hillside keeping watch over their sheep.
The job of the shepherd was to lead, protect, and feed the sheep.
The opposite of steal would be to give.
The opposite of kill is to give life.
The opposite of destroy is more abundantly.
To destroy something is to pull it down, wreck it, demolish, obliterate, or ruin it.
To have something in abundance is to have plenty of it, it is lavished upon you, bountiful, copious, and plentiful.
You won't find life in pleasure.
You won't find life in performance.
You won't find life in possessions.
You won't find life in position.
You won't find life in pursuits.
The truth is that life is not found in pleasure, performance, possessions, position, or pursuits; it is found in a person.
That person is Jesus the Christ.
Be encouraged and don’t let the devil carry out his plan for your life.
Pastor Willie E. Kline, Sr.
“Aspire To Inspire Before You Expire”
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Words of Encouragement - Faith that Grabs Jesus Attention
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