[Jesus said:] "You are to open their eyes and turn them from the darkness to the light, and from the power of Satan to God . . ."
   "You know about Jesus of Nazareth, how God poured out on Him the Holy Spirit and power. He went everywhere, doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him. We are witnesses of all that He did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross. But God raised Him from death on the third day, and caused Him to appear . . . We ate and drank with Him after He rose from death . . . He is the One Whom God has appointed judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets spoke about Him, saying that everyone who believes in Him will have his sins forgiven through the power of His name." But God gives us even more grace, as the Scripture says, "God is against the proud, but He gives grace to the humble." So give yourselves to God. Stand against the devil, and the devil will run away from you. Come near to God, and God will come near to you. You are sinners. So clean sin out of your lives. You are trying to follow God and the world at the same time. Make your thinking pure. Do not give the devil a way to defeat you.
   Last of all I want to remind you that your strength must come from the Lord's mighty power within you. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies - the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world. So use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up. But to do this, you will need the strong belt of truth and the breastplate of God's approval. Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of peace with God. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit - which is the Word of God. Pray all the time.

Taken from Acts 26, 10, Jas. 4, Eph. 4, 6, Today's English Version, The Everyday
Bible and The Living Bible. For free Lifescope book, write to Box 1575,
Carlsbad, NM 88221. Please send $1.00 for postage and handling.