BBD 08.26.02 The Devil's Evil Schemes
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The Burning Bush Devotional
08.26.02
The Devil's Evil Schemes
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the
wiles (evil schemes) of the devil." - Ephesians 6:10-11.
Thailand has under consideration the manufacturing methamphetamine pills
that look like the real thing but actually are fake and will cause headaches
and vomiting. The hope is that it will stop the abuse of drugs. Sitha
Thiwaree, a member of parliament and a former fighter pilot said, "If drug
addicts take these fake pills and vomit, they may later feel scared and not
want to touch them again." Methamphetamine abuse is considered one of the
primary social problems in Thailand. In the USA methamphetamine abuse is
rampant and even in the rural area in which I live it is a problem.
Wouldn't it be nice if everything that is harmful to us looked and acted its
part? So many times people begin the use of addictive substances and at
first it may very well give them some relief from reality. But over a
period of time they will discover that those substances will result in
problems far worse than whatever reality they may have been escaping from.
A few weeks ago I had to take my Dad on a short trip to another town to
straighten out a situation regarding my mother's hospice care. He insisted
that we take his car and everything seemed fine at first. It was very hot
outside and I turned on the air conditioner but it was several miles later
when I realized the air conditioner was not helping. In fact by the time we
arrived at our destination we were more than hot. After our meeting and on
our way home I finally found that part of the problem was that not only did
the air conditioner not cool it was blowing out hot air! Because the air
had heated up gradually on the way we had grown accustomed to it and had no
idea that the air conditioner was blowing out hot air.
In much the same way as we had grown accustomed to the hot air many grow
accustomed to addictions and other habits, which are harmful. At first
there seems to be little danger but then we realize we have become the
prisoner of our habits and addictions. Before you use that drug, or drink
that drink, or look at that porn, or have sex outside of marriage take a
moment to think about the long-term consequences. It may just be that it's
not worth it. It may very well be that those things will result in your own
personal degeneration and very possibly your ultimate physical destruction.
You don't have to wait until someone develops a new fake drug that causes
you to vomit before you stop using. You don't have to wait for that
sexually transmitted disease to invade your body and cause you misery for
life at best and death at worst. No, through the power of God you can say
no to all of the devil's evil schemes and say yes to life.
Put on the full armor of God, be strong in the power of the Lord and make
your stand against the devil.
Copyright © 2002. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the
devotionals on a non-profit basis with source credited.
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