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Revelation 12:7-17

7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
11 They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.”

13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.

Think

Obeying God’s law will make you a target of Satan. Sorry to bring bad news, but it is true, and it makes sense. Satan is the lawless one. Satan—the great dragon, the serpent, the tempter—rebelled against God, who is right and just, who wrote his law into the universe.

Satan knows who all the followers of Christ are. We are “those who keep God’s commands” and hold to the testimony about Jesus. We are not wearing moral camouflage. We are recognized as followers of Christ because we aim to live by God’s law of love.

So Satan is constantly after us. He tempts us. He mocks us. “What, you think you need to be sexually pure? How naïve.” “You think you need to give one day a week to God? You’ll never get ahead.” “You think you need to tell the truth, even when you’re online? No, online communication is different.” There is no end to the ways Satan can tempt us. Ever since he broke the law of God, he searches for others to join his rebellion. And that happens when we leave the path of God’s truth and follow the lies of Satan.

As long as you live, Satan will tempt you to turn away from God. And we turn away if we ignore or disobey God’s law. This is the battle of our lives.

Pray

Lord, help me to overcome temptation. I know that Satan wants me to ignore or disobey you, but you want me to love and obey you. Help me to be victorious, in Christ, I pray. Amen.