THE REAL BATTLE

Our country is at war. You already know that. It is not new news. Everyone is talking about it. The battles have been taking place in the deserts and cities of Iraq for about 2 weeks. Perhaps you know someone who is fighting in the war.

Do you know that there is a battle that is taking place every day? It is a battle that you are fighting in, too. It is not a battle fought with guns and tanks and fighting planes. The Bible says this battle is a "spiritual" battle. Ephesians 6:12 reads, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against . . . spiritual wickedness in high places." The war we are all fighting in (wrestling in) is not against other people or other countries (flesh and blood), it is against sinful (wicked) spiritual beings (Satan and his demons). The real battle is against Satan and all that is evil.

Satan is the enemy of God. He is also your enemy. Satan is very real. We often picture him as being dressed in red and having horns and a long pitchfork. But that's not who Satan is. Satan is a spiritual being. The Bible describes Satan as the Devil, an Adversary (enemy), a Liar, a Deceiver, a Destroyer, a Thief, a Murderer, and a Roaring Lion.

Satan hates you. It is Satan's plan to harm you and trick you. He wants to trick you into doing things that are wrong. He wants to trick you into believing things that are not true. Satan wants to keep you from knowing Jesus.

Satan likes you to do things that are will harm you. He wants you to listen to bad music. He wants you to watch spooky movies. He wants you to watch things on TV that are not good to watch. He wants you to drink alcohol and do drugs. He wants you to get involved in magic and fortune telling. Satan is very evil.

When you accept Jesus as your Savior, Jesus comes to live in your heart by His Spirit (the Holy Spirit). Jesus loves you. He's right there with you at all times in every place. He will never leave you. The Bible tells us in I John 4:4, "Greater is He that is in you (Jesus), than he that is in the world (Satan)." Jesus, the perfect Son of God, is much greater than Satan and much more powerful.

The Bible tells Christians what to do to win this battle over the enemy Satan. James 4:7 says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil (Satan), and he will flee from you." God wants you to say "YES" to God and obey Him. God wants you to say "NO" to Satan and not obey him. When you do that, Satan flees. He runs away from you and leaves you alone. You win the battle through Jesus. "But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 15:57).

If you have never asked Jesus to be your Savior, then you cannot win the real battle against Satan. You need to accept Jesus as your Savior. To do this, you must agree with God that you are a sinner (that you have done things that are not right in His sight). You must believe that Jesus paid for your sins with His own blood when He died on the cross and came alive again for you. Then invite Jesus to come into your heart.

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If you have any questions about this Mousetales story or if you want to talk further about receiving Jesus as your Savior, please e-mail Miss Missy at cef-cm@bwkip.com

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Mousetales is a ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship of Columbia-Montour Counties, PA.