Know thyself & know thine enemy.

Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War, "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle."

We are engaged daily in warfare. I am not talking about a the two-front war in Iraq and Afghanistan. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood . . . we are engaged in spiritual warfare. We must know how to wage war successfully.

Sometimes I read the Bible to study the tricks the devil has used to fight against the children of God in the past. To Samson, he offered Delilah, a woman. To Judas he offered thirty pieces of silver, some money. To Job, he brought undeserved calamity to all areas of his life. Just reading these three stories, I see that the devil will try to get believers to take our minds off God by either giving something or taking away something.

I find the temptations of Jesus particularly enlightening. The devil tempted Jesus 3 times, appealing to his physical hunger, attempting to make him use his divine power wrongly, and lastly trying to get Jesus to achieve his mission without the cross.
(For further reading, click http://www.apocalipsis.org/jesustemptation.htm
Look at how Jesus responds.

Jesus knew himself and Jesus knew the devil. Jesus knew that the devil could not stand against God's Word like we know that lies cannot stand up to the truth neither can darkness withstand the light. Jesus asserted the truths of God's Word as recorded in the Scriptures. What a weapon!! What a weapon!!

Before going into battle, generals routinely look for the enemies' weaknesses before developing their strategy. As believers, we already know that the devil cannot stand against the truths contained within God's Word. As a result, we must study God's Word and live according to its truths so that we may be victorious in battle.

Remember, study God's words that you easily identify his "bag of tricks" and you are equipped to exploit the devil's weaknesses. I guarantee the devil has studied you and he knows your weaknesses and vulnerabilities. So study God's Word daily and ask God to search you regularly to make sure you are putting on the whole armour of God and you are ready to fight and WIN!!

Be strong my brothers and sisters in Christ. We are already victorious!!