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"Submit yourselves therefore
to God. Resist
the devil and he will flee from you" (James
4:7).
The greatest enemy of
marriage is Satan. He hates
marriage because of the effects that family, the product of marriage
could have
on his kingdom. He fights against the family because of the following
reasons:
First, Adam and
Eve, the first family was placed in Eden, the former estate of Satan
(Ezek.
28:13). Knowing the benefits that the occupants of Eden enjoy and what
they can
do to be sent to the garden, he set a trap for Adam and Eve.
It is sad that Eve fell to
his trap. She lured Adam
to join her in disobeying God.
Consequently, God sent them
(Adam and Eve) out of
Eden. "And the Lord God said, behold, the man is become as one of
us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take
also
of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: therefore the Lord God
sent
him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was
taken"
(Genesis 3: 22-23).
Second, after
successfully plotted the fall of man, Satan knew that he would be
dethroned through the family. God’s plan is to raise godly society
through
godly families to dethrone Satan. This prompted Satan to corrupt the
succeeding
families after the first family so as to pitch the family against God.
If one has a critical look at
the conditions of
families particularly in this generation, it seems as if Satan is
winning the
battle. But I know he cannot win because Christ says, "I will
build
my Church and the gate of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew
16:18).
I know that Satan cannot
overcome the family where
Christ is reigning because "they (Christian family) overcame him
(Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony". (Revelation
12:11)
In spite of the fact that
Satan knows that
Christians have been given the power and weapons to overcome him, he
keeps on
fighting against them and the best arena where he fights Christians is
in the
family.
Satan uses so many weapons to
fight the family.
These include: anger, infidelity, deceit, inability to forgive each
other,
inferiority complex, pride, love for independence, secrecy, activities
of third
parties etc.
In a family where any of the
above vices manifests,
Satan has been given a space to operate. It is a matter of time, he will
widen
the space and enthrone himself in the family.
If the husband and wife could
not detect him on
time, he will ultimately cause certain problems that will upset the
family. At
this stage, it takes the grace of God for the family not to scatter.
God is aware of the
activities of Satan against the
family particularly at this end time, hence, He had empowered the family
to
overcome the wiles of the devil.
Are you still a single or you
are married? Listen
to the voice of the Lord "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy
the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to
devour.
Resist him standing firm in the faith ...." (1 Peter 5: 8-9,
NIV).
Satan doesn’t want to spare
any home at this end-time.
He blinded- folded non-Christian couples so that they will not see the
light of
Gospel. This will help him to operate in the families without being
detected.
If you are to overcome Satan
in your family, you
must note and apply the following injunctions in your homes:
- Husband, love your wife
unconditionally.
- Wife,
submit to your husband unconditionally.
- Husband and wife see to it
that you actually leave all other
relationships and form indissoluble union with each other.
- You must always agree
together in your decisions.
- You must always have open and
sincere communication with each
other.
- You must
forgive each other no matter the offence you may commit
against each other.
- Let the spirit of
companionship and comradeship reigns in your
family.
- Let all
conflicts and misunderstanding be resolved as soon as they
are detected.
- Don’t
act on rumour. Take time to discuss issues together without
any reservation.
My parting word to you is: Allow
Christ to reign
in your home. |