Today’s Devotional Theme The Devil is a Bloviating Maniac
Daily ScriptureMatthew 4:8-9; 1 Peter 5:8
“Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.’”
“Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ”
Encouragement
My mother used to say to me, “I’m dead-set against your doing that.” That meant if I stubbornly went ahead and “did that,” as I often did, I would pay a very heavy price. I learned that the words “dead-set against” meant my mother, against whom I was powerless to stand, would stand in the way against my desire to do something she didn’t want me to do. “Resistance is futile,” intoned the Borg in a popular, long-departed TV sci-fi series. We are exhorted (1 Peter 5:9; James 4:7) to resist the devil—to dead-set ourselves against him, not on our own authority but on God’s. I needn’t point out that the devil delights in scaring the stuffing out of us and seeking to devour us. But we have God’s authority and assurance that we can successfully stand against him if we have our guard up and our armor on.
Apply God’s Word
So – am I accurate in calling the devil a bloviating megalomaniac? You decide. To bloviate means to talk a lot – especially saying empty words that intend to build the talker up and tear the listener down. Sounds like Satan when he keeps whispering or shouting things at us like we’ll never amount to anything or our past sins are too horrible for God or us to forgive and forget or a myriad of other roadblocks he throws in our path. And a megalomaniac is someone who is self-important and self-deluded into thinking he or she has great power over others. Sound like Satan when he offers to set Jesus over all the kingdoms of the world in Matthew 5:9? These things are not Satan’s to give; they’ve always belonged to God alone! The devil only has temporary custody. It would be like my giving away a car I’m only renting. An eternal lake of fire awaits that stuffed-shirt blowhard, as graphically pointed out in Revelation 20:10.
Come into His Presence
All-powerful God Who has total dominance over the devil and permanent ownership of the world and all that is in it, we thank You for the blessed assurance that when we exercise the authority You’ve given us to resist that devourer the devil, You’ll pull his teeth so that he cannot chew us up. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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