Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

I'm not exactly sure where Eve -- you know, the Eve from the book of Genesis -- came from.
I'm pretty sure she didn't hale from Council Bluffs, Iowa.

If Eve had come from that town, the world's history might read differently.

Let me explain: We all know the passage from James that says, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Sadly, not too many people, including the original Eve, do much devil resisting.

In contrast to Eve, we have the story of the 26-year-old lady from Council Bluffs. She was taking a bath on Wednesday evening when she noticed her cat had come into the bathroom. Coming near water was something her cat never did.

The lady got dressed and went out to investigate. When she went into the living room, she saw a man, a strange man, standing over her four-year-old son who was sleeping in the recliner.

The lady yelled. Then she threatened to call 911.

For her outrage and threats the burglar hit her in the head. Now if this was a movie, the lady would have cringed in the corner, or would have passed out, or would have run for help. But this was not a movie, and this young lady knew how to resist evil.

She grabbed her son's plastic baseball bat and started clobbering the burglar with it. She clobbered him fast, and she clobbered him furious. She clobbered him with such intensity he decided it was in his best interest to get out of the house.

Now if Eve had clobbered that snake and Satan when he first began to make his suggestions to sin, I think we'd be in a better place today. Of course, as I said, Eve wasn't from Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Still, we who have been redeemed and who have seen the Savior's bravery are blessed to have God's encouragement to take a serious stand against the world's evil and against Satan's sinful urgings.

God is sort of encouraging us to be like that lady from Council Bluffs, Iowa. How? Like her, our resistance to evil shouldn't be part time, pathetic, or sporadic. When we say "no!" to the devil, we need to say if fiercely, firmly, and finally.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, forgive the times when our resistance to the devil and his encouragements are pathetic. Send the Holy Spirit to empower us to take a stand for the Savior who gave His life so we might be forgiven and saved. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Jeremiah 39, 52, 40    Hebrews 10:19-39

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