Finally,
be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor
of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
(Ephesians 6:10-11)
Beloved,
It has been a rough year for the Chicago
Bear U9 Flag Football Team for the Fort Mill YMCA. We have yet to win a game.
We are heading into the playoffs with a 0-6 record. We are hoping that we will
surprise everyone in the playoffs by finally stopping the offensive schemes of
the opposing team. The challenge has not been not knowing what the other team
is going to do, but rather stopping them. As coaches we know what is coming,
but our team is surprised at how the other team attacks our defense.
We often are like the Chicago Bear U9 Flag
Football Team. Our coach has told us what is coming, but we are still surprised
at the schemes of the devil. The devil is cunning and will use everything at
his disposal to work us woe. Pastor Tim Challies writes,
Satan
is a schemer. He will use any tactic, any strategy. He has spies who study you
and look for your weaknesses and he will exploit any weakness he finds. He will
try everything he’s got to see what works well and what doesn’t. He may use
temptation like he did with Jesus. He may use false doctrine, trying to get you
to deny what is true or trying to get you to believe and teach error. He may
use division, doing what he can do come between you and other Christians,
giving you reasons to turn your back on other Christians. Whatever it is, he
will do all he can and he is always plotting against you.[1]
Do
you know the tactics and strategy Satan uses against you? Do you know how he is
scheming to disrupt our fellowship? We must not be unaware of the devil’s
schemes.
One of the devil’s tactics is to provoke
us to ingratitude. He reminds us of all that we do not have and all the ways
people have sinned against us or what God has “withheld” from us. He gives us
reasons to be ungrateful. One of the repeated sins of Israel was their
ingratitude for what God has done. Their ungratefulness was expressed in
murmuring and complaining, anger and forgetfulness, arrogance and complacency.
Beloved, let us be strong in the Lord and
the strength his might by being grateful for God’s kindness. When you are
tempted towards bitterness when the devil reminds you of a friend’s failure, be
grateful that God in Christ has forgiven you. When you are tempted towards
anger when the devil reminds you of what you don’t have, be grateful that God
has given you life through the Son. Don’t complain, but rather give thanks.
Don’t murmur, but rather praise God for his tender care.
Thanksgiving is an essential part of our
Christian life. The Lord’s Supper is called the Eurachrist which means give
thanks. Every time we partake in the Lord’s Supper we give thanks for God’s
salvation in Christ. We give thanks that when we were dead in our trespasses
and sin, God saved us through his shed blood on the cross. We give thanks that when
we far from God, he has brought us in near in Christ. We give thanks for the
resurrection to come.
As we enter the season of
Thanksgiving, let us not fall to the scheme of ingratitude expressed in
complaining, and bitterness, but rather let us remember the kindness and mercy
of God our Savior. We always have much to be thankful for because we have
Christ. And if we have Christ, we have enough. Be strong in the Lord and the
strength of his might by always giving thanks for the gospel of the Son.
