ICS Daily Devotions
Do Not Succumb to the Devil

Phil 4:6-8 (Amplified Bible) Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours]. Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].

Many of us will be doing very well in life until we receive some challenging news either from an update, a telephone call or an email. Such an unpleasant information may cause the peace in our mind to be stolen. But to keep the peace in our heart and mind in the midst of chaos or tribulation is important because it is difficult to make wise decisions when we are unsettled in our heart and mind.

The last frontier is the battlefield of the mind because our spirit is born again while our body is temporal. There will always be a fight between what we are experiencing in the natural that causes us to be anxious and what we actually believe in heart regarding the word that we have received. It is easy to lose focus on God and forget the promises that He has given us when we are faced with a situation.

God wants us to have peace in our heart and mind in Christ Jesus. The peace of God and the peace with God belongs to every believer of Jesus Christ, therefore we need to guard it jealously to prevent it from being stolen. We have peace in our heart and mind when we are filled with the Word of God. On the other hand, we have anxiety when we think of the negative. We must not forget that we are living in a fallen world and the god of this age is still operating around us to kill, steal and destroy. He will attempt to steal your dream, vision and passion.

2 Corinthians 4:4 (NKJV) Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

We live in an age when the god of this age is still in control because Adam and Eve gave away the rights to the world to the devil. He is still operating and influencing the world with one third of the fallen angels. They are influencing the world’s values, principles and possibly inflicting mankind with all kinds of suffering. He works through people who succumb to them, yield to or are manipulated by them.

There is a certain spirit within a city that is influencing the people and you will be able to identify it if you listen to conversations of people. The prince of the power of the air, the principalities and power have influence. They do have influence over a city, but the Kingdom of God also rule and reigns in our lives. Therefore, we are able to live our lives differently in accordance to the Word of God. We are able to overcome the world. We need to differentiate the work of the devil so that we can take authority over it and reject the devil at the same time with the name of Jesus.

It is important for us to stand guard against the scheme of the devil to steal from our lives. It is easy to identify the work of the devil which is anything that kills, destroys, and steals. We need to be alert and watchful for the work of the enemies so that we can pray, intercede or take authority over the situation in the name of Jesus.

Sermon series: Meditating on the Names of God