24/02/2023 - WHEN PUNISHMENT COMES

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Their roaring will be like a lion, They will roar like young lions; Yes, they will roar and lay hold of the prey; they will carry it away safely, and no one will deliver.   Isaiah 5.29

You can despair just by knowing what Isaiah says about the roar of the Babylonians as they attack Judah. Don’t even joke about turning away from God, because the noise of the demons is terrifying. Without being able to see them, you will feel how close they are. At the sound of their roar, not only will you get goose bumps, but you will be terrified at such an attack on your life. But know that this doesn’t matter to the saved (1 John 5.18).

There was no better example for the prophet to use, than the roar of lions, regarding the soldiers of Babylon. When people living in regions where there are lions hear the noise these animals make, they immediately run or hide, because if they stay in their presence, they will be devoured. Christians have to act in the same way. Those who have been used by evil spirits will no longer be around (1 Peter 5.8).

Their roar is like that of the lions, which warn that they have arrived to get food, and the reasonable person runs away from them. The senseless ones, on the other hand, stay to see if the temptation and the inclination of someone’s conversation is actually true. Now, those who want to see will see, but will pay the price for the damage. The devil does not mess around. If you have been a victim of this way of acting of the tempter, get right with the Father, because you are in danger!

Those who live in the presence of the Lord never mind what the enemy uses to frighten them. After all, he knows that he is in Christ, and Jesus is in him. Therefore, no weapon of hell will work against his life (Isaiah 54.17). It’s a privilege to live in the world untouched by evil. The evil one does whatever he wants with those who do not believe in Jesus. Those who have strayed from the faith are also equal to the wicked, but those who have taken refuge in Christ will never bow to evil!

The prophecy guaranteed that the Babylonians would roar like lion cubs, snatch the prey and take it. That’s so sad! No one can stop this kind of attack, except the power of God, when one belongs to His Kingdom. Whoever doesn’t have his name written in Heaven is not able to defeat the devil: Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven (Luke 10.20).

Today, the story is different. Jesus defeated Satan and empowered His servants over the enemy (Luke 10.19). So, when the convert stands up against the wicked one, who afflicts him or casts suffering into the lives of his loved ones, he declares war on the evil one and defeats him on the spot. Be wise by surrendering your life to Jesus! That way, you will decide any situation that bothers you.

Now you know the truth. What will you do? Will you delay the moment of your deliverance, without giving God the glory of having recreated you in Christ? Now, those who are born again become new creatures, the old things pass away, and everything becomes new. Why live oppressed by the enemy when you can live in authority over him and all demons? We are saved indeed!

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares