Growing up in a Freewill Baptist Church, attending a Southern Baptist Church in Georgia, being a member of an United Brethren Church, and worshiping at a Methodist church I noted very little was said about Satan and demons. There are those occasions when we say we feel like we are under spiritual attack but usually that could be discounted as a string of bad luck. We joke by saying “the devil made me do it” but that is meant to pass off our responsibility or blame onto somebody else.

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In the world of Christendom, there is another wing that spends a great deal of time and focus on Satan. To them there’s a demon under every bush. If Satan is not attacking, they pick a fight. To some, it is the measure of your spirituality. If you are not under attack, you must not be as tight with God as you say.

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I do not profess that I know the truth on the subject. I suspect that the truth lies somewhere in between. I have experienced spiritual attacks, witnessed demons speaking from a person’s mouth, and strange activity in a house I lived in. I have no doubt that we live in a world shared by demons and angels. What I do know is that Satan is a defeated foe. God is all powerful. Yet the saying “fools rush in where angels fear to tred” applies. We need wisdom and discernment. All too often we lack both. To survive the Christian life we really need 4 things: a deeper relationship with God, knowledge of the enemy and his tactics, protection of the full armor of God at all times, and a band of believers we can trust. That will help us “see" the battle before us and use the armor and weapons to be victorious.

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We all know that Satan is the father of lies, manipulation and confusion.  In Genesis 3, He used a serpent to manipulate Eve by questioning -- what did God really say? He still does that but now he uses people. Wait, that can’t be true, aren’t we all God’s children? Was the serpent evil? His questioning led to confusion. Eventually, her confusion led to questioning God’s intent. In the process our first parents opened up themselves to a rebellious heart. Satan started this mess with a rebellion from God. We continue the rebellion even as believers. We rebel when we refuse to submit to God, and our sins are the symptoms of our refusal to submit to God's rule over our lives.

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One of my pet peeves is how we read scripture and attend bible studies without practical application in our lives. Jesus calls this building our house on the sand when we listen but don't do what He says. We see how stupid the Israelites, disciples and the Pharisees were yet fail to admit when we do the same thing. Satan continues to use lies, manipulation and confusion. We tend to be passive and disengaged. Why do we flirt with evil and then be surprised by the chaos in our lives?

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The bride of Christ is always under attack. As called warriors when we see our brothers and sisters under attack, we need to stand up, speak out and come along side. There are only 2 sides in this, choose wisely. For the record, not choosing is choosing and the default is not good.