Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mac . I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day . So grab your cup of coffee , sit back , relax and let me help you start your day right .
Let me ask you this today , have you found it becoming more difficult to spend the time you want to with the Lord and reading His Word ? There are so many distractions that come against us and we struggle to be able to keep that part in our lives and I know there are times at the end of my day I look and say , man , I didn't talk to Jesus enough .
Today it seems to be getting more and more difficult to make sure that there is time given to God . I came across this fictional story that I think helps us to understand a little bit of , maybe , what the devil is trying to do to us , because we know that he is our enemy . Ephesians 6.12 tells us .
For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies , but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world , against mighty powers of this dark world and against evil spirits in the heavenly places . That's our battle and that's who we're fighting with .
But this short story this morning , I think , will help us to understand a little bit of Satan's tactics that he likes to use against us . Listen carefully Satan called a worldwide convention . In his opening address to his evil angels he said we can't keep Christians from going to church .
We can't keep Christian believers from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth . We can't even keep a Christian from conservative values . But we can do something else . We can keep them from forming an intimate , abiding relationship experience with Jesus . If they gain that connection with Jesus , our power over them is broken .
So let them go to church , let them have their conservative lifestyles , but steal their time so they can't gain that experience in Jesus Christ . So here's what I want you to do , angels Distract every Christian from making that vital connection with their Savior and maintaining that connection throughout their day . The angels shouted how shall we do this ?
Satan replied easy . Keep Christians busy in the non-essentials of life . Invent unnumbered schemes to occupy their minds . Convince Christian wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work six or seven days a week , ten to twelve hours a day , so they can afford their lifestyle . Keep them from spending time with their children as their family fragments .
Soon their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work .
Then overstimulate their minds so they cannot hear that still small voice , entice them to play on their phones , listen to the radio or digital media wherever they drive , and keep the TV and online streaming going constantly in their homes and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly .
This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ , even in their recreation . Let them be excessive . Have Christians return from their recreation exhausted , disquieted and unprepared for the coming week . Don't let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders .
Send them to amusement parks and sporting events , concerts and movies instead , and when they meet for inspirational spiritual fellowship , involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotion . Or you can let them be involved in soul winning .
Go right ahead , but crowd their lives with so many good causes that they have no time to seek the power of God . Soon they will be working in their own strength , sacrificing their health and family unity for the good of the cause .
It was quite a convention in the end , and the evil angels went eagerly to their assignments , causing Christians everywhere to get busy , busy , busy . Assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busy , busy , busy and rush here and there . I gotta tell you those schemes of the devil seem to be pretty active in our lives .
1 Peter 5 , verses 8 and 9 , says Stay alert , watch out for your great enemy , the devil . He prowls around like a roaring lion , looking for someone to devour . Stand firm against him and be strong in your faith . Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through this same kind of suffering as you are .
So , my friends , be strong , be faithful , and we must determine within ourselves to not let the enemy distract us from building and keeping that relationship with God and seeking His power and wisdom in our lives . Have a great day , my friends . We will talk again tomorrow .
Thank you for joining us today and I invite you to join us every Monday to Friday , right here at Starting Right with Danny Mac .