Devil – Hope for Complete Healing

9—God Promises to Give You a New Life

Did you ever dream of living a different life, and what that would be like? I have been reflecting on the Scripture verses about living a new life for several weeks. I have been challenged to think differently, speak differently, and react differently. By differently, I mean think as Christ thinks, speak as Christ would speak, and respond with love like Christ. So why don’t I live like Jesus Christ, who lived a life of love?

How do we get a new life?

Our new life begins by changing wrong thinking and belief patterns to reflect the love of God. We also need to put off self-centered pride, that only thinks about ourselves. The same miracle that raised Jesus from the dead also raises us from the deadness of our sin so we can live a new life. Romans 8:11 states, “If the Spirit of him [God] who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” Also, 1John 4:13 &15 states, “By this we know that we abide in him [God] and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” Verse 15: “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” The Holy Spirit of God not only gives us life but helps us to live a new life, but we first must choose to walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:16-17 explain, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”

The Apostle Paul explains in 2Corinthians 5:17 the following, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” The new life we are to live can only be lived through Jesus Christ, as explained in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” “And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” – 2Corinthians 5:15. Think for a moment about what a day in your life would look like if you lived through Christ Jesus? 1John 4:9 states, “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.”

How should Christ’s death and resurrection change us?

Remember, you can only change yourself; you can’t change anyone else. How would your life look different because of what Jesus did for you on the cross? Colossians 2:13-15 states, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” The work of the devil in our lives has been disarmed and we are free from the devil’s control through our sinful flesh. 1John 3:8 states, “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” But we need to always humbly submit to God and resist the devil (James 4:6-7).

Read and ponder each passage below and think about how you can apply the passage to your life.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. –Romans 6:4

Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. –Romans 7:4

In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, ¹²having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. –Colossians 2:11-12

Who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. –Romans 4:25

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. –Colossians 3:1

Before we knew Christ Jesus, we were dead in our sins (Eph. 2:1), but when we believe and seek His forgiveness, we are set free from the control of sin (Rom. 6:22-23). Our sinful nature should not control our new life. We will struggle with unhealthy beliefs and wanting things our way, so we need to consider ourselves dead to self-centered pride and seek to love others as God loves. As you want others to love you, so you should love others in the same way.

How do we live through Christ?

Here is how you know you are living through Jesus Christ and not through your sinful flesh. I still struggle with my sinful flesh, but as I submit to God, I have the victory. 1Peter 3:8-9 tells us, “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. ⁹Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.”

- Do you have unity of mind with those you live with and fellowship at church with?
- Are you sympathetic to those around you?
- Do you have brotherly love for those who are hard to love?
- Do you have a tender heart towards those who are struggling?
- Are you humble and do not insist on your way as the only or best way?
- Do you bless those who irritate you or make you angry? Or do you return an insult from the offense you feel? We can bless people by being patient, gentle, kind, peaceful, and so on.
- Are you servant-minded like Jesus? Philippians 2:3-8 explains:

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

⁴Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

⁵Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

⁸And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Conclusion:

As long as we are in our bodies, we will battle our sinful desires to please our self-centered, prideful flesh. We need to remind ourselves of our new life in Christ and decide to live by the Spirit in us, not our old sinful flesh. Romans 8:5-6 states, “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. ⁶For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” You can’t do this in your strength, which is why we need to put on Jesus Christ and keep Him on. Romans 13:14 tells us to “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” We also need to consider ourselves as dead to sin. Romans 6:11 tells us, “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” My online book explains how a person can live a new life and have a new destiny.

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All verses are from the English Standard Bible. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share the links with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected, and no part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom.

Check out my first book called Fighting Unseen Battles on Amazon. I would love to hear what you think.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

HOW TO STAND FIRM AGAINST AN UNSEEN ENEMY

What does it mean to stand firm against an unseen enemy? Who is my unseen enemy? Ephesians 6:10-13 states, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” You cannot withstand against evil spirits in your own strength. Many of the girls in my County Jail Bible study say they are determined not to return to drugs and alcohol. But sadly, those who did not commit their lives to God and rely on Him for strength return several months later. The devil is always seeking to tempt us to depend on ourselves or an idol instead of God.

How We Have Strength To Stand Firm

Memorize Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” God strengthens those who abide in Him as a branch abides in the vine and receives strength from the vine. John 15:5 states, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” We stay connected to the Spirit of God (the vine) through praying, praising, and pondering scripture. To abide means to stand fast, remain, dwell, or remain attached to something. Abiding with God includes memorizing Scripture passages, praying about everything with thanksgiving, and loving Him and others by serving them (Gal. 5:13-14 and Deut. 11:13).

It is worth repeating; the devil’s strategy is to separate you from God, who is your strength. The devil used this strategy when he tempted both Eve and Jesus, and he hasn’t changed. Eve did not take the tempting thought captive to disobey God, and humanity is still suffering the consequences. Jesus was victorious over the devil’s lies by taking the tempting thoughts captive and using Scripture to defeat the devil. Because Jesus defeated the devil and did not sin, now we can enjoy the benefit of life through righteousness in Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:11).

The more Biblical truth you know, the stronger spiritually you will be. For example, Satan puts a deceptive thought into your mind that you are weak, and God won’t help you. What do you do? You can believe the lie and live a defeated life. Or you can command the lie to be gone from your mind in Jesus’ name and speak the truth that you can do all things through Christ, who is your strength (Philippians 4:13). I can’t possibly list all the lies the devil will put into your mind. But if you memorize the truths in God’s Word, you will recognize the lies of the enemy.

Examples of God’s Power in The Old Testament

Exodus 14:13 states, “And Moses said to the people, ‘Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.’” Fear causes you to run away to escape a threat. No matter what you are facing now or are going to face, God is bigger and can work a miracle in your life, but you must stand firm in His strength and on His truth.

Another great Old Testament example is the story of King Jehoshaphat, who was outnumbered by his enemy. He humbles himself before God and seeks His help. God tells Jehoshaphat in 2Choronicles 20:17, “You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow, go out against them, and the LORD will be with you.” I don’t know what battles you are facing or will face, but I know God is for you, not against you. I memorized Isaiah 41:10, which states, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” I spoke this truth out when I was going through a tremendous battle at a previous job. Reminding myself of God’s truth helps me stand firm against the unseen attacks of the unseen enemy.

How to Stand Firm

1Corinthians 16:13 states, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” 1Corinthians 1:24b also tells us to stand firm in our faith. We grow stronger in our faith when we read God’s Word (Rom. 10:17). You can’t stand firm against the unseen battles of temptations and deceptions without the knowledge of the truth. The belt of truth and the rest of the armor of God help you stand firm in your faith. Ephesians 6:13 states, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” But you have to put it on every day through prayer. See the post called PUTTING ON THE ARMOR OF GOD PRAYER MODEL.

Galatians 5:1 states, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” The devil does not want us to be free from our passions, immoral and impure thoughts, greed, coveting, anger, etc. He wants to keep us in bondage to our sin, but we are to stand firm by submitting to God, not the devil’s temptations and lies. James 4:7 states, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Read my post HOW TO DESTROY THE DEVIL’S WORK IN YOUR LIFE to know how to stand up to the devil and make him run.

Conclusion

This following Scripture passage clarifies what the devil does and what we need to do not to get devoured. 1Peter 5:8-9a states, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith.” Many Christians do not resist and are defeated by the unseen enemy. If you are a victim of the devil and allowed him to put you in bondage again, Jesus wants to set you free again, look up and pray for His help and strength to get out of the pit. Psalm 40:2 states, “He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.” Memorize all the Scripture verses in this post so you can remind yourself to be watchful and to resist the wrong thoughts the devil puts in your mind and stand firm in your faith.

If you find this website helpful, you will benefit from the latest book. You can order Breaking Mental Strongholds on Amazon. Also, check out my book called Fighting Unseen Battles on Amazon. I would love to hear what you think. To learn more about my book, read: How to Fight Unseen Battles.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, salvation for non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

Image by Lorraine Cormier from Pixabay

Psalm 91:3 — RESCUED FROM EVIL SNARES

What are some ways we we can be trapped by the devil or an evil person? Know that God promises to rescue us.

Psalms 91:3 states, “For He will deliver you [save you] from the snare of the fowler [trapper] and from the deadly pestilence [destroying plague.]”

When we trust God to be our refuge in verse 2, then He promises to save us from two things: evil snares and pestilence. In verse 3 above, a fowler is someone who catches birds but can also be interpreted as a trapper who sets a snare to trap something. In the context of this Psalm, the fowler is most likely referencing the devil. The fowler could also be an evil person who entices you into a sin trap. For example, in Psalm 119:110 King David states, “The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from Your [God] precepts.” And King David prays in Psalm 141:9, “Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of the evildoers!” Also, see Ps. 140:5 and 142:3. And, Psalm 124:7 states, “We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers;.” The key to escaping evil snares that trap us in sin is to resolve to fear God and not stray from His truths and commandments.

God also rescues us from deadly pestilences. Pestilence has two meanings. The first meaning is any virulent or fatal contagious disease. And, the second meaning is dangerous doctrines to the morals and welfare of society. In this Psalm, the second meaning seems more plausible. Other interpretations use plague instead of pestilence. A plague is anything that afflicts or causes troubles or calamity, which could be a contagious or deadly epidemic disease, or we can be plagued by poverty or worry, etc.

All traps to think unhealthy beliefs and wrong thoughts set by the devil is meant to destroy us. The following verses give greater insight into Psalms 91:3. John 10:10a states, “The thief [Satan] comes to steal, kill, and destroy.” 2 Timothy 2:26 states, “…that they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”

How are we held captive to do the devil’s will? And what is the devil’s will? Is this an excuse to do wrong?

First, we are responsible to draw near to God and resist the devil’s schemes so there is no excuse for doing evil (see James 4:7-8). The types of snares will vary from person to person. The girls in the county jail are often caught in the snare of drugs and alcohol. Or they are looking for love and get caught in the trap of sexual sin. The snares are many and they are meant to destroy us or to enslave us. The trapper knows the habits of his prey and what will lure it into his trap. My son and husband had a trapping line in various streams that they would check early every morning. They knew the behavior of the raccoon and what bait to use and where to set the traps. This may sound repulsive to you, but the devil sets traps for us according to our behavior and fleshly appetites.

Pray the following prayer in 2 Corinthians 2:11, which states, “So that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs [schemes].” To not be outwitted by Satan, we need to keep our minds on God’s truths and not stray from obeying them. God will also protect us from all harm and pestilences or plagues when we turn to Him and trust Him for protection. I have experienced this first-hand, so I know this is the truth.

The good news is that Jesus sets us free from all the snares of sin when we believe in Him and invite Him into our hearts (see Luke 4:18 and John 8:36).

The Bible explains many other ways we are snared:

Judges 2:3 states, “…their gods shall be a snare to you.”

Proverbs 18:7 states, “A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.”

Proverbs 21:6 states, “The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.”

Proverbs 29:25 states, “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.”

1 Timothy 6:9 states, “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.”

Read the posts on verses 1 and 2 if you haven’t yet: Psalm 91:1–How to Dwell in Heaven Now and Psalm 91:2–TRUST FOR HEAVENLY PROTECTION

To learn more about the devil and evil read Four Realities of the Spirit World and EVIL—What is it and what is the remedy?

All verses are from the English Standard Bible. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share this link with your friends and family; hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. Please do not reproduce any part of the posts or my book without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

If you find this website helpful, you will benefit from the latest book. You can order Breaking Mental Strongholds on Amazon.

Also, check out my book called Fighting Unseen Battles on Amazon. I would love to hear what you think. To learn more about my book, read: How to Fight Unseen Battles.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.