THE WILES OF THE DEVIL
H. G. Bishop Moussa
" Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil " (Ephesians 6:11)
When we speak about the wiles or temptations of the devil, we speak concerning three aspects or channels through which we are tempted:
The flesh and its lusts (internal temptation)
The world (external temptation)
The devil
At times we may look at these three forces and imagine that being holy is an impossibility! However, we must remember that the flesh and its lusts are limited, and the world is limited, and Satan himself is limited also. On the other hand, our beloved Lord is unlimited. So if we join ourselves to the Lord:
Christ + me, the result will be victory!
In our lives, we face many internal and external temptations, but if we are abiding in the Lord and committed to the Lord, then we will be triumphant, and through God's grace, conquer all the wiles of the devil!
The Flesh and its Lusts:
The first enemy we must deal with is the lusts which war within our body. And yet, our church has provided us with a solution to this inner problem:
Regeneration through Baptism
Confirmation through anointing by the Myron oil
Salvation through receiving the Holy Communion
In baptism, we were immersed in water three times, symbolizing the holy Trinity. As a result of this baptism, I became 'regenerated' in that my old nature died, and a new nature was born; after having been physically born from my father and mother, in baptism I was reborn through the church and into the church.
Having been baptized, I was then 'confirmed' with the holy oil of Myron 36 times. The Myron is the Holy Spirit, and so by receiving the sacrament of 'confirmation', I had become the possession of the Holy Spirit. 36 is symbolic in that it is the multiplication of three by 12. Three signifies the trinity and 12 signifies the disciples of the Lord.
Glory be to our God forever Amen.....
Just another beneficial article.. I got it from an online newsletter...
from youthbishopric.com
its nice if u get a chance to read it...
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"while Jesus was in the wilderness, the Devil appeared to Him....."