Pastor Ellen's Daily Devo -- Fighting Our Dragons
Posted on March 12, 2010 with 0 comments
Revelation 12:7-8 “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.”
Sleeping Beauty is one of my favorite movies of all time. The dragon in the end (who is Maleficent transformed) gets slayed right in the heart by Prince Phillip with his charmed sword. It’s a happily-ever-after ending, like most fairy tails, but that dragon is quite ominous and looming!
Jesus wants us to know that the battle of good vs. evil takes place first in heaven, not on earth. Michael and his troop of angels defeat Satan and his minions (hooray!), and they descend to earth as the losers they are. Yet these losers are probably sore losers, so I doubt if they settled on earth as contrite and reformed angels ready to do good instead of evil!
For us as Jesus’ followers, we can just know that Satan and his fallen angels are lurking about all around us. They can hardly wait for us to slip up and fall prey to our doubts, our fear, and our sins and temptations. Of course we’d stay clear of any red dragons or evil sinister characters, but Satan is rather tricky and can appear to us in forms for which we’d let our guards down. He can reside even within those we trust and love – friends, family, and loved ones (how sneaky is that!). And through these normally staunch supporters of ours, Satan can weasel through their weaknesses to trip us up and bring us down (and away from Jesus!). It may seem like a slight detour from our regular actions or speech. Yet degree-by-degree we can end up further away from God than ever! Let’s not let any red dragon and his cohorts of the dark even get remotely close to us! All we need to do is say, “No way! Go away!” And we can actually escape from Satan’s snares without getting trapped in his webs of sin that he can weave around us. Let’s be brave (like Prince Phillip in the movie!) and charge forward with Jesus to protect us and give us His strength and power now and always.
Dear Jesus, I don’t know that I can slay any dragon, but I know I can stand strong in you, no matter what. Help me to rely on your power and strength to turn away from any sin or temptation Satan puts in my life. In your name, Amen.
Sleeping Beauty is one of my favorite movies of all time. The dragon in the end (who is Maleficent transformed) gets slayed right in the heart by Prince Phillip with his charmed sword. It’s a happily-ever-after ending, like most fairy tails, but that dragon is quite ominous and looming!
Jesus wants us to know that the battle of good vs. evil takes place first in heaven, not on earth. Michael and his troop of angels defeat Satan and his minions (hooray!), and they descend to earth as the losers they are. Yet these losers are probably sore losers, so I doubt if they settled on earth as contrite and reformed angels ready to do good instead of evil!
For us as Jesus’ followers, we can just know that Satan and his fallen angels are lurking about all around us. They can hardly wait for us to slip up and fall prey to our doubts, our fear, and our sins and temptations. Of course we’d stay clear of any red dragons or evil sinister characters, but Satan is rather tricky and can appear to us in forms for which we’d let our guards down. He can reside even within those we trust and love – friends, family, and loved ones (how sneaky is that!). And through these normally staunch supporters of ours, Satan can weasel through their weaknesses to trip us up and bring us down (and away from Jesus!). It may seem like a slight detour from our regular actions or speech. Yet degree-by-degree we can end up further away from God than ever! Let’s not let any red dragon and his cohorts of the dark even get remotely close to us! All we need to do is say, “No way! Go away!” And we can actually escape from Satan’s snares without getting trapped in his webs of sin that he can weave around us. Let’s be brave (like Prince Phillip in the movie!) and charge forward with Jesus to protect us and give us His strength and power now and always.
Dear Jesus, I don’t know that I can slay any dragon, but I know I can stand strong in you, no matter what. Help me to rely on your power and strength to turn away from any sin or temptation Satan puts in my life. In your name, Amen.