Many of the pulpiteers of the past fifty years acted as though the first and last object of their calling was the salvation of souls, everything being made to bend to that aim. In consequence, the feeding of the sheep, the maintaining of a Scriptural discipline in the church, and the inculcation of practical piety, was crowded out; and only too often all sorts of worldly devices and fleshly methods were employed under the plea that the end justified the means; and thus the churches were filled with unregenerate members. In reality, such men defeated their own aim. The hard heart must be ploughed and harrowed before it can be receptive to the gospel seed. Doctrinal instruction must be given on the character of God, the requirements of his Law, the nature and heinousness of sin, if a foundation is to be laid for true evangelism. It is useless to preach Christ unto souls until they see and feel their desperate need of him.
A.W. Pink

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BBD 03.10.21 Ban the Devil! (Classic)

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#1 · March 10, 2021, 10:53 am

Posted by: burningbushdevo <burningbushdevo@...>

Classic from 2002                     

Burning Bush Devotional

10 March 2021

 

Ban the Devil!

 

Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. - 2 Timothy 2:22-26.

 

Inglis, Florida has taken a positive step toward the elimination of evil in their community. Actually, it was the mayor who banned the devil. On the official town stationary the mayor has written a proclamation banning the devil from Inglis, Florida. It seems like a reasonable thing to do, at least to those of us who have had a few problems with the old beast. However, the ACLU is a little upset, and Howard Simon, who has been a director of the ACLU for 27 years says, "This is the most extreme intrusion into religion by a public official that I have ever seen.” Hmm, wonder what religion the ACLU practices? A resident of the town, in defending the mayor and town pride says, if you don‘t like the proclamation, "Next time she comes up for election, don’t vote for her.”

 

In reality, it is not that easy to ban the devil from a town, or our lives. Why? Because he is after all the devil who is a lying, conniving, stealing, killing destroyer (John 10:10a; John 8:44). He sneaks into our lives snaring us, and taking us captive through the allures of the flesh, and the world. Many have been blinded by the devil, and are not even aware that they are his captives. In 1 John 2:11 we are told, "he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

 

How can we find release from the darkness, from the evil one? The first step is to turn to the light. Jesus says, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life (John 8:12).” Receiving Christ as our Savior turns on the light switch (John 3:16-21). But to keep the light on, we must do as Jesus says and follow Him. The apostle Paul shares some excellent ways, in which we can follow our Lord more closely, and in so doing escape the captivity and darkness of the devil. Paul says run from the evil, and run to the good, pursuing righteousness, faith, love, and peace.

 

Have you been ensnared and taken captive by the enemy? Ban the devil, and give it the force of law in your life by resisting him, and submitting yourself to God (James 4:6-7). Make it official, write it out as your own personal proclamation banning the devil from your life, and inviting the Lord in. Sign it, date it, and you might even want to frame it, and hang it up on a wall to remind you of your own personal Independence Day.

 

Let’s all ban the devil and won’t that make the ACLU mad!?

 

Copyright © 2002 - 2020. Ed Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of those first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

 

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