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I thank God for sparing me the pain of tooth problems all these years, because I have observed my Mom go through some really bad tooth problems, and saw the pain she went through. I also saw how inflamed the jaw became when they finally extracted the tooth, and I prayed I never have to go through that. These, together with some of the horror stories I hear about dental surgeries make me generally avoid dentists, and I have not visited a dentist my entire adult life; not even accompany someone there! But now, I keep considering it, and might visit soon; because I was chewing roasted corn and groundnuts snack sometime back, and accidentally chewed on some small stones that had mixed with the snack, and broke part of my lower left molar tooth, and also dented the corresponding upper molar tooth as well.  

Just like the way I got into dental problems by chewing stones when I thought I was chewing snacks, so do we get into unexpected problems when we are deceived into doing something we did not expect or intend to do. Often, such deceit is subtle, veiled and deceptively attractive. If  Brandon Bernard knew he would be paying with his life for going out with that gang in 1999, he would probably have stayed home. He was not even part of the carjacking; but as an eighteen year old, I surmise the thrill and “sense of belonging” were overriding factors in his decision. And the sad part was, the Bagleys had less than “hundred dollars” in their account when the boys tried withdrawing using their ATM cards; and they later used the money to buy just food!      

That is how the enemy works; we don’t realize his presence until too late.

READ  Matthew 13:24-30

He put another parable before them, saying,

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field,   but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.  So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.   And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him,

‘Master, did you not sow  good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’

He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’

So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’   

But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.   Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

(Matthew 13:24-30 ESV)

Since the garden of Eden, the enemy has always been around whenever,  and wherever you find children of God; and would plant his seed alongside God’s seed (Genesis 3:4-5,  Job 1:6, Matthew 16:22-23, John 13:27 )

Jesus illustrated this phenomenon vividly with the text we just read, entitled “The Parable of the Weeds”. The New King James Bible calls it “The Parable of the wheat and tares” and the New Living translation bible calls it “The Parable of the wheat and weeds.”

In this parable, Jesus likens the kingdom of God to a man who sows good seed. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat he had sown and went away. It was when the plants came up that the men knew what had happened. Sometimes, it is only when the seeds planted germinate, and sometimes bear fruits, that we realize the enemy has been at work. This can take years sometimes.

When the servants wanted to remove the weeds, the master prevented them, saying:

 “No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.” (vv. 29)

Why did the master prevent them? Biologists tell us that wheat  belongs to the species called  “cereal grasses”.  So wheat is essentially a grass, but has become useful to man because of the edible grains it produces.  There are other grasses that don’t produce anything and are simply a nuisance. When such grasses are mixed with your wheat, it is very difficult for you to distinguish between them.  That is how the enemy operates. He is a very crafty. He has the fakes of everything God has created(Exodus 7:8-12)! And If you know Bible; I wish to tell you that the enemy even goes a step further; he quotes the Bible. He quoted Psalm 91:11-12 to Jesus in Matthew 4:6!

Paul aptly described the nature of the enemy in his second letter to the Corinthians when he wrote:

But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14)

The enemy is everywhere, often disguised and mixing with every activity we are engaged in; whether in church, at work, in school, or at home; traveling, working, resting, praying and even fasting! A disguised enemy is a very dangerous enemy; the reason we need to be on guard!

But in all these, we will have victory if only we stay in the Father’s will.

We need to be on guard; and also stay close to the Father who gives us victory.

MEMORY VERSE

“An enemy has done this.”
(Matthew 13:28)

QUESTIONS

• Have you underrated the intelligence and capabilities of the enemy to cause damage?
• Do you know that he goes to God’s presence, and was not intimidated to be with Jesus and His disciples, and create problems?

PRAYER TIP

Merciful Father, please help us 
to understand that we face a 
powerful enemy; but we have 
an all-powerful Father.

URGENT CALL

By nature, we are all sinful, and alienated from God. We ultimately face the wrath of God!

But God in His mercy and love gives us a chance to reverse this trend, join His family, be part of His household, and become His children.

The first step to becoming a member of God’s household is for us to be saved. 

Salvation comes through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Personal Savior.

It is a very personal decision. No one can make that decision for you.

If you make that decision today, there will be great singing and rejoicing in heaven; because one new member has joined the family and household of God!

Do you want to make that decision today?

Please visit “The Believer’s Prayer” for
guidance if you want to 
make that decision.

We will be happy to hear from you through the contact information on that page.

God richly bless you.

SPECIAL GRATITUDE

Thank you for visiting the Testimony Devotional Website. 

We would not have gotten here without your prayers, goodwill and overall support. We are grateful, and humbled.

We thank God for counting us worthy to share in His Great Commission; and we thank you for sticking with us through this journey.

God richly bless you.

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