The Accuser

 Who is the one who condemns us? Christ Jesus is the One who died [to pay our penalty], and more than that, who was raised [from the dead], and who is at the right hand of God interceding [with the Father] for us.  Romans 8:34....."The enemy accuses us day and night and Jesus intercedes for us day and night. We decide who prevails." Susie Larson

The people of God have an enemy. An enemy who despises and seeks our ruin. In seemingly infinite ways, he seeks to destroy us. The thing is, he can't. Christ's victory over death and sin on the cross has crushed Satan, He is literally under the feet of Jesus. The devil knows he's defeated, but as a good friend once said, "he refuses to accept that." So he attacks us relentlessly, and his primary weapons are lies, hurled like fiery darts into our minds. Lies about God, about Christ, and about ourselves. If he can get us to believe them, he can spiritually paralyze us, and rob us of the life we've been given in Christ. He's been very successful in doing this in too many believers' lives. Has he been so with you?

Satan is a thief and we need to not only be aware of that, but also see, as Larson says, "the patterns of his theft in our life."

Through his lies he has blinded us to who we are in Christ. As a result, we live as victims and not victors. He has made us believe the lie that we are at his mercy, and when he does that, he has a pathway to tormenting and attacking us on every level of life. Physical, mental, emotional, and above all, spiritual. He convinces us that we're defenseless, which may be his greatest lie. We're not, because if the Life of Jesus Christ reigns within us, then we have overcoming, victorious life in Him. His Word tells us that all authority in all things is His. Therefore, in Him, we too have spiritual authority, especially over Satan. Scripture says he's been crushed under the feet of Christ through His victory on the cross and in His resurrection. So, as Larson says, "We have the authority to put our foot on his neck," because Christ's feet are already there.

As quoted in the beginning of this writing, the devil will ceaselessly accuse and condemn us "day and night." Christ, as Scripture promises, will ceaselessly intercede for us before the Father "day and night." He will seek to lay guilt and condemnation on us for sin that has already been forgiven. He will try to convince us that despite His free offer of grace, we must work to win His approval. In one way or another, he will try to make us believe that we simply "are not enough," that though we may be forgiven, we will never be enough to be accepted by Him. 

The Accuser is not going to leave us alone this side of eternity, but we must rejoice in the reality that the One who intercedes for us will never leave us to his devices. He will prove to us, over and over, that the One who is with us, in us, is greater than the one, along with all his demonic power, that is against. The devil's lies against the King's Truth. Which is prevailing in your life today? Dare to trust in the One who lives to make intercession for you.

Blessings,
Pastor O