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This year as a church we are emphasizing the discipline of Scripture memory, by focusing on one theme a month with one key verse that I am challenging everyone to memorize. We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and that as the Psalmist says in Psalm 119:105, “your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” By hiding His word in our hearts, we have a light to help us make wise decisions as we walk down the road of life.

This month our focus is on spiritual warfare, the unseen battle that is being fought all around us by angels and demons as the devil and his demons work against us and against the purposes of God. The verse for this month is this:

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

There is so much I could say about this subject, but for the sake of time this morning I want to try to get as personal and down to earth as I can on how this affects you and affects our church. Pray that the Lord leads me as I speak this morning, and pray that your hearts would be open to receive the message He has for you. In Matthew 13, Jesus tells a parable about a farmer who went out to sow seeds in order to explain what happens whenever His words are spoken. He says that some seeds fall along the path and the birds come and snatch it up. In Matthew 13:19 he explains this by saying, “When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.” For others the cares of life choke it out, for others there is no depth. There is a very important message you need to hear today and every time the Word of God is read. And there is an enemy who will do all he can to snatch away the message before it penetrates your heart. Lord, soften our hearts to receive your message, that we might be good soil for your message.

James 4:7 - Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. In short, do what God says, and do not do what the devil says. The passage I really think God wants me to focus on this morning is related to James 4:7, and it is this:

Ephesians 4:26-27 - "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

Do not give the devil a foothold.