Last week I wrote about my favorite animated Christmas show “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”  (https://d2dministries.com/2011/12/08/how-the-grinch-stole-christmas/) and how the Grinch had a changed heart after he understood the true meaning of Christmas.

Well Christmas is 7 days away and you still have a few opportunities to watch another of my favorite Christmas movies “Home Alone.” “Home Alone” is just a fun movie to watch as Kevin uses Looney Tunes–type traps and tricks to fend off the bad guys.

The bad guys understood Kevin’s weaknesses and then devised…a plan to attack him.  But Kevin was smart – he understood his own weaknesses and developed a plan, a strategy to fend off the bad guys.

While we generally don’t have to worry about the bad guys like Joe Pesci we do have to worry about the ultimate bad guy.  Satan uses the same strategies as the bad guys – he knows our weaknesses and he develops plans and strategies to attack us.

Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

Satan observes and learns our tendencies, our weaknesses and how we are tempted. He then uses this information to develop strategies to attack us.  We all have weaknesses (pride, lust, anger, selfishness, etc) and we are all vulnerable to them unless we have a strategy.

So how do we defend ourselves as well as Kevin did? First, we can’t do it alone and second, we need more than traps and tricks.  Continuing in Ephesians 6:

1. Verse 13 “Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground…” In Biblical times you only put on armor to fight and we need to fight against Satan. And the best way to fight is to prepare and have a plan.
2. Verse 17 “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Our best plan is to memorize scripture, specifically scripture that can help in areas of weakness. Memorize a few verses and then when you are attacked you can fend off his ploys.
3. Verse 16 “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

(Note: The Roman shield was not the standard “medieval-esque” shield most picture in their minds. It was instead a very large, slightly curved, rectangular shield that was able to deflect even the most vicious blows and function in a limited offensive capacity as a means of knocking an opponent backwards.)

This is a great word picture of how we are not only to defend ourselves against Satan but we are to have more of an offensive mindset against him to knock him off his game.

Yes we will be attacked and in our biggest areas of weakness. But if we are prepared and if we have a plan we will defeat the evil one as God promises in James 4:7 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

In His Service,

Ed