Good morning! How many of you have heard the phrase, “see something, say something” or “hiding in plain sight”? Those two words draw our attention to things we may see, but may not realize that they are significant factors or incidents that occur around us – we either do not recognize them or simply ignore the fact that they are there. For instance, when I exit my vehicle I generally scan my surroundings, but I usually do that before I park. Last Saturday, after exiting my car, I was walking toward a medical building and noticed two signs that read “see something, say something.” I thought to myself, wow I haven’t seen that sign or heard that saying in awhile. Yet, it reminded me of what to do if I saw something.

Today, we will continue our reading in 1 Peter chapter 5, where Peter will cover a similar topic.  Enjoy today’s reading and your day.

BIBLE VERSE – 1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT

“⁸ Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. ⁹ Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.”

REFLECTION
Stay alert or be alert is what 1 Peter is instructing us to do as Christians. However, he is not simply telling us to do it, he is also telling us why.

Peter explains that the enemy, adversary, the devil is always looking for someone to devour. Every day someone is experiencing the attacks and may not realize they are being attacked because the enemy likes to hide in plain sight. You may be having a fantastic day and out of nowhere, the enemy is working a plot against you through someone else who doesn’t even know (or maybe they do) they are being used as a conduit to reap havoc on behalf of the enemy. This tends to happen anywhere, for example the church parking lot, the mall, a hot summer day, at home, at work through an email/text, a social  media post, after a long day at work or when a kid is unruly. 

In other versions of verse 8, the word used is be self-controlled and alert. It is important to know that while the enemy is up to no good, we can and must remain focused on the Lord, controlled by His spirit and alert to the things we see going on around us knowing the Lord will see us through it all.

Sisters and brothers, we must be mindful to resist the enemy’s schemes to draw us into drama or anything else that is contrary to the word of God.  I encourage you, as these verses do to – stand firm in your faith. No matter what is ahead, stand firm in your faith today so that you can continue to stand against the attacks of the adversary. Remain in prayer against anything that is contradictory to the word of God. Remain in prayer for your family, marriage, and children. Pray for your neighbor, community, schools, church, workplace, co-workers (especially the ones you know Satan is using), etc.

Two things I want to leave with you:

• Pray for yourself every day.

• Pray for someone you have a hard time being around or a leader/person in charge that you are having difficulties with (e.g., their behavior, politics, etc.).

Who are you praying for today? Myself and __________

PRAYER
Father God, in the name of Jesus we thank you Lord for opening up our eyes to see the attacks of the enemy.  Lord, we thank you for coming to save us when we were still in darkness, living a life for our own pleasure and at times against you. Lord, forgive us of our sins and the times we allowed the enemy to control us. Lord, we ask you today to help us to be self-controlled and on alert for the enemies schemes against us. Lord, help us to stand firm in our faith, calling on the power of your name to remain self-controlled in our responses. Lord, help us to speak up and act as you direct and lead us. Lord, help us to hold our tongues and surrender our words to you before we respond to the attacks of the enemy or people/situations that the enemy is using.  Lord, help us to see the plots and avoid them, or if it is your will – strengthen us to walk through the attacks in your mighty power, make us stronger as we come out on the other end. Lord, we want to be pleasing to you. Equip us and strengthen our sisters and brothers in the faith who are in the mission fields and who are also under persecution because of their faith. In Jesus name we pray, amen.

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SAVE THE DATE

Next Virtual Women’s Retreat – Saturday, November 13, 2021 from 9am-12pm. Our theme for the event is: Choose Joy. We have our next volunteer meeting for this event on Saturday, August 14, 2021 @ 9:00 a.m. Please email us if you are interested in volunteering for this virtual retreat.

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