"One little word will fell him!"

John 12:31
Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out.

1 John 3:8
The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

Hebrews 2:14
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through death he might destroy him who has the power of death, that is, the devil.

Part of the problem of evil is the problem of why Satan is given so much freedom to harm the world, when God has the right and power to throw him in the pit. God will one day do away with Satan altogether (Revelation 20:3, 10). That will be no injustice to Satan. Nor would it be unjust for God to do it today. So why doesn't He, in view of how much misery Satan causes?

“Satan loves disorder and error, both schism and heresy. One weakens the body by amputation, the other by poisoning. By both he keeps the church in constant turmoil. But polemics (rigorous defense of the truth) is never the problem.”
—from “How to Be Polemical Without Being a Downright Nasty Person,” by Michael Horton, in Modern Reformation (Sept/Oct 1996)

At junior high summer camp last week we showed two pictures and asked the campers to indicate which one they thought might be Satan. Picture A was a gentle-looking angel in a peaceful-looking pose, and Picture B was a bony-fingered, angry-looking ogre.

Then we asked them to read this verse from the Bible.

Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.—2 Corinthians 11:14

Satan masquerades. He strives to conceal himself. And where does he hide? Often he masquerades in the excuses we offer.

“The next time the devil reminds you of your past, remind yourself of his future.”
—Anonymous clipping I found this past week in a file while looking for something else
 

Sent_Into_the_Harvest.pdf

What if a crisp October wind blew through “the way we’ve always done things” at Halloween? What if the Spirit stirred in us a new perspective on October 31? What if dads led their households in a fresh approach to Halloween as Christians on mission?

What if spreading a passion for God’s supremacy in all things included Halloween—that amalgamation of wickedness now the second-largest commercial holiday in the West?

Pastor Bud Burk recently led the pastoral staff in a discussion of corporate prayer, including the following points.

(Read the introduction, Part 1, Part 2, »

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