Devotion 

Satan Doesn’t Rest

Frances Taylor 

Do you know anyone who has suffered from addiction? So many times, a person conquers the addiction to alcohol or drugs only to relapse and finds it even harder to conquer it the second or third time. I have known people who after their baptism felt haunted by past sins. This passage is a warning to us that we should always be on the watch for Satan's handiwork. Just because we have overcome temptation once, or turned away from a particular sin, doesn't mean that we are immune from temptation the next time we encounter the same situations. We tend to think that we can recognize evil when we see it, but that sometimes only is true if we see it in others, not ourselves. Jesus was always warning the scribes and Pharisees because they were self-righteous and hypocritical. He called them blind guides. He warned them and us to remove the planks in our own eyes before we tried to remove the splinter in another's. We can fall into the same traps and judge others while ignoring our own faults. It can also happen that we get away with something and decide if it works once it can work again, only this time we aim for a bigger prize. The embezzler who starts off small, the thief who got away with it the first time, no matter what the sin, it can even become a habit. No matter who we are, no matter whether or not we attend church, or pray every day, Satan is waiting to trap us. We need to be vigilant and rely on God to keep us safe.

Prayer 

Lord, you warn us against the power of evil. We live in a world that seems to deny it's presence which makes it even more difficult to avoid. May we recognize the warning and turn to you for help. Amen.