Has it ever struck you as odd that Christians often speak about doubting God and his word, but very rarely think about doubting the Devil?

I think this is even more evidence of the deception that the Devil seeks to lead us in, especially when we’re feeling weak.

After all, there has never, ever been a time when our Lord God has failed to deliver on a promise.

Yet the Devil has a proven track record of lying, deceiving, and generally leading God’s people away.

I noticed this again recently when I read the third chapter of the Bible, in Genesis 3.

The Lord God has given his people a glorious place to live, and they have experienced the blessings of living an obedient life under God’s rule.

As a sign of their acceptance of his loving rule, they were told not to eat the fruit of just one tree in the entire Garden of Eden.

Yet, Satan deceived the woman, asking her “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1).

Even with this first deception, Eve had to correct the error of the serpent, telling him that it was only one, special tree that they were to avoid.

Satan was already proven to be wrong, and yet he bowled another delivery to the woman, telling her that if they eat from that tree then they would not die.

We then read in verse six that the woman was convinced by the devil, so she ate some fruit and shared it with her husband, who went along with her sin.

The tragic results of that sin proved the utter evil and lies of the devil… and yet we are still tempted day after day to reject God’s good rule.

It should seem obvious, but remember that the devil can never be trusted.

We should faithfully doubt the devil… and faithfully obey the good and gracious word of our Lord.

JODIE McNEILL

(Credit: Aphrodite via Flickr)

As we start the new year together, we stand at the edge of a new era of opportunities for Christian growth amongst the members of our church, as well as those who live in our village, valley and region.

As numbers of Covid-19 cases rapidly rise, we are in the midst of another moment of slowdown, especially for those of us who have tested positively or who are in isolation.

It is a time for us to take advantage of this moment to mediate on God’s word and to pray to him in this season of our nation.

This week a number of people from our church have been participating in the annual ‘CMS Summer School’ conference, which has been streamed online.

If you’ve missed it, there’s still time to go to www.nswsummerschool.org.au to register to view the sessions and the other missionary online content.

It should come as no surprise that churches with a heart for overseas mission are often the churches with a passion for outreach to the people in their own suburb.

For, the same drive that leads us to pray, give and go, is the same drive that motivates us to tell those who live nearby about the life-changing message of the good news of Jesus.

This year we’re looking forward to an extra mission boost in the months leading up to Easter, and I’m praying that the Holy Spirit will lead us to prayerfully proclaim the powerful gospel of Jesus to everyone from Jamberoo to the ends of the earth.

So, when it comes to mission in 2022… let’s go!

JODIE McNEILL