Sometimes, his attacks are directly on us, trying to get us to succumb to temptation and fall. Other times, the attack is more indirect. In the Book of Revelation, John points out that Satan persistently attacks us before the Father;
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. (Revelation 12:10)
Thankfully, Satan isn’t the only one presenting a case before the Father. Jesus successfully combats the accusations of Satan by interceeding for us (Rom. 8:34). When Satan points out our sin, Jesus points out what He accomplished at the cross … our salvation and justification.
While these passages show this happening before the throne of God, I think Satan often uses the same tactic with us … he reminds us of the guilt of past sin and makes us feel defeated and hopeless. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again … Satan reminds us of who we’ve been and what we’ve done in the past … Jesus reminds us of who He’s making us to be! Satan tries to make us forget what Jesus accomplished at the cross … forgiveness and justification. We must never let Satan win.
Casting Crowns has a great song entitled East to West., which reminds us just how far our sin is removed from us (based on Psalm 103:12 et. al.). Today, I invite you to reflect on the chorus of that song:
Jesus, can You show me just how far the east is from the west ~ ‘Cause I can’t bear to see the man I’ve been come rising up in me again ~ In the arms of Your mercy I find rest ~ ‘Cause You know just how far the east is from the west~ From one scarred hand to the other.
In His grip,
Pastor Decker
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