On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before Him. Job 2:1
The book of Job tells us: When the angels presented themselves before God for worship, Satan was present. The New Testament gospels report that Jesus attended the synagogue in Capernaum. Present there was a man possessed by a demon, who said through his victim: “What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us?” (Mark 1:24).
What possible reasons could Satan have for going to church, a place so many people find unattractive? A partial answer may be found in a fresco painting in Roskilde Cathedral, Copenhagen. It shows a grotesque figure of the devil, with an inscription that says he “writes down the names of those who are late or loiter about with idle talk.” Why would the devil want to do that? He considers the church a good place to get a line on people, a good place to find prospects for greater temptations.
Take the case of Judas Iscariot. Satan must have noted Judas’ fondness for the collection money in the treasury of that little congregation. That gave Satan a hint of how vulnerable Judas was for the betrayal of his Master for 30 pieces of silver.
The devil keeps his own records of people, even of church people. The story is told of a time when Satan confronted Martin Luther with a long list of his sins. Asked if this was the total list, the devil replied: “Oh, no, I have other even longer lists.” Luther asked that he bring them all, and when this was done, he wrote these words across them: “Paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ.”
You and I can do the same thing when the evil accuser confronts us with his notes of our spiritual delinquencies. Then his church-going to spy on us will do him no good.
PRAYER: Thank You, Lord God, for marking all my spiritual debts paid through Christ’s redeeming blood. Amen.
(Devotions from "With Jesus Every Day" copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: Psalms 101, 103, 108 John 15
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