HAS SATAN
INJURED
YOUR FAMILY?

"Something terrible has happened! I need your help, Dr. Lovett!"

That call told me their boy had been jailed for possession of marijuana and attacking a young girl. Their consternation was evident, their grief pitiful.

"We don't understand this. We've led him to Jesus and sent him to Sunday school all these years. He's been president of the Youth Group. How could this happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did you teach him how Satan works and what to do about it?"

"Well...he certainly knows about the devil."

"I didn't ask that. Did you teach him how to DEAL with the devil?"

"No, not in so many words."

"Then I'm afraid what has happened could easily be your fault."

"How can you say that?"

"Had you prepared him to deal with the devil as God has instructed, this might never have happened."

"We're ashamed to say this, but we don't know ourselves!"

THIS IGNORANCE IS DANGEROUS

I am writing for mothers and dads who long to see their children mature in Christ. It is not enough to secure their decisions for Jesus and then cram their heads with Sunday school material. And don't count on youth activities to shield them either. They need more than the devotional side of the Christian life. They have an enemy who lives to destroy them. If they are not equipped to deal with him, the chances are they will fall prey to his wiles before they have gone very far with Jesus.

Many Christians are helpless at this point. They have little knowledge of their enemy. Even less have they any faith in his presence and power. Beyond that it has never occurred to them they are to do anything about him. Such ignorance is dangerous. Christians schooled only in Bible study and devotions are like the young girl who is devoted to her parents, but ignorant of boys. Love for her parents doesn't protect her from the scheming lad who knows how to take advantage of female ignorance in a parked car. Sex ignorance is dangerous in a parked car. Satan ignorance is dangerous in this hostile world.

GOD'S COMMAND IS CLEAR

To obey God's command, one must first learn of Satan's methods, which closely parallel those of the Holy Spirit. Satan's spirit constantly bears witness with our spirit. One must move as deliberately AGAINST SATAN as he does toward God. You can see I am speaking of SATANWARD ACTION, which is not the same as Bible study or prayer. Those are GODWARD acts which mean nothing to Satan.

A Christian should never view Jesus' indwelling presence as insulation against attack (1 John 4:4). There is no such thing as automatic victory in the Christian life. Jesus' presence is a resource only, a means, if I may say so, by which we fight Satan. If you have any notion that the Christian life is no fight, Satan has reached you with a deception. The call to Christ is a call to battle. Even the Holy Spirit is a part of our arsenal, part of the weaponry with which we fight. And fight we must. And it is something we have to do FOR OURSELVES!

PARENTS SHOULD FEEL RESPONSIBLE

It is cruel to raise Christian children with no defense or training in dealing with their adversary. Indeed you give them the devotional side of the Christ-life, God bless you for that. But parents must also teach them the military side and how to fight. They are left helpless before Satan's wiles, and you bear  responsibility  for  failing  to  equip  them with the know-how for defending themselves. No one can do something he doesn't know HOW to do!

GET THE KNOW-HOW

Are you like the agonized parents above? They didn't know how to resist Satan themselves, let alone teach their boy. In my book "Dealing with the Devil" I found it necessary to use the 4-step plan against Satan even before writing it. He dreads the thought of this skill reaching your hands.

Do you see evidence of Satan's work in your youngsters? Is there a hint of rebellion? A slackening of their spiritual appetites? A heightened interest in the things of this world? Shouldn't you secure a copy of DEALING WITH THE DEVIL and equip them with the anti-satan skill?  I'm sure you don't mean for them to face him in battle with no instruction at all. You love them too much to make them deliberate victims. Perhaps you'll want to do as did this father from Texas who found help for his daughter:

THINGS ARE DIFFERENT NOW

The terrorist assault on New York City has changed the landscape. Satan's servants have poured out fear and hopelessness on our young people. They are bewildered. It seems clear America is  involved in a showdown between extremist Islam and Christianity which could explode into a worldwide conflagration. And now they're told it could go on for years. What kind of a future do our young people see?

In such an environment it is easy for Satan to get them to throw off whatever restraints their parents have tried to instill in them. "You'd better have your fun now"  he whispers, "who knows what you'll be doing in a couple of years? You could even be dead!"    If they listen to him, there's no telling what kind of trouble they could be headed for!

The  reason I wrote DEALING  WITH THE DEVIL was because God used the KNOW-HOW to deliver me personally. He also used it to deliver my older daughter from a serious attack. Once she learned how to use the weapons against Satan, the change in her was astonishing. She completely shifted from living for herself, to serving Jesus with all her heart. Thus you can understand my yearning to get this know-how in the hands of every Christian mother and father.

Why should your children suffer Satan ignorance and fall before this monster without mercy. I can't believe you would willingly permit satanic disaster to strike your loved ones when it is within your power to prevent it. May the precious Holy Spirit bear witness that HE has made available  what you need to keep Satan from...

This article is Copyright 2002 by Dr. C. S. Lovett and is found on www.cslovettbooks.com