~Daily Devotion 28th~

I was drinking my coffee, yes decaf, and thinking about a vacation the family had taken a few years ago.

Now I do not know about you, but Joe and I have two small dogs, Sara and Katy, that we take with us. They behave better than many children do.

A couple of years ago, we went to my mother's, in Louisiana. There are cows in the pasture around the house. One cow in particular liked to jump the fence. Well, the cow was out of the pasture and our dog, Sara, had never seen a cow. Boy, was she ready to find out what that funny looking thing was. We let her out of the car, and away she ran, chasing the cow until it jumped the fence and went back into the pasture. Now let me tell you, Sara thought she was the big dog. If there had been a prideful look, she had it. "Just look what I have done. I chased that thing right back where it belongs!"

Anyway, the next day, the cow was again out of the pasture, so we thought we would let Sara chase her again. And Sara was more than ready. This time we got the movie camera out. We wanted this on tape. You know, funniest home videos. Well, we let Sara out and away she ran, chasing that cow right back into the pasture. Well, that was supposed to be what happened. Instead, the cow stopped, turned around, and started back toward Sara. When this happened, she lost all her bravery. She immediately laid down on her back and put her legs up in the air. Total submission to the cow. Or maybe she thought if I act dead, that thing will just go away. We all had a good laugh and Sara did not care for chasing cows any longer.

Now you know that there is a devotion somewhere in this story. I got to thinking about the situation. When everything is going good, we are brave hearted. We laugh and tell the devil where to go. But when the devil attacks us, we, like Sara, turn and act defeated, just hoping that if we play dead, and do not do anything, he will just go away. In other words, we give total submission to the devil. He can take our lives and destroy us.

But that is not the case. (Ephesians 6:12) says, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Yes, satan and his demons do try to attack us daily. This is the reason we need to read our Bibles and stay in prayer daily. Remember, Jesus defeated satan in the wilderness by saying, "It is written, satan, you shall not temp the Lord your God." See, we have to use the word of God on Satan.

(Ephesians 4:27) says, "Neither give place to the devil." If we stay in fellowship with God, then the devil does not have a place in our lives to attack us. When you are filled with the word of God, there is no room for satan or his demons. But when we get out of fellowship with God, then we open ourselves up to every attack that satan can throw at us.

See, if Sara had been raised on a farm, then she would have known what to do. She would have had control over that cow. So instead of her ruling the cow, the cow had rule over her.

Some of us have been raised in the church, and we know what is right. We know how to defeat satan, but we back down. Why? We have gotten out of fellowship with God. We are not reading out Bibles daily and praying. Right now, you need to make a decision that you are going to set things straight. Right now, put satan back where he belongs, out of your life. Then fill your spirit daily with fellowship with God. Read your bible and pray. Then, when the cow comes after you, you will be able to send him back to the pasture.

Father God, thank you for your blessing. Right now, forgive me for not fellowshipping with you. Today, I make the decision to pray and read my Bible daily. In Jesus Name, I Pray. Amen and Amen