Be UNdevourable

Dust.
1 Peter 5:8
"8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."

No doubt about it; satan is a defeated foe!!  But that doesn't stop him from trying to deceive you every way he can; and believe me, he tries every trick in the book....and even some that aren't.

Just what tricks does he use since his visit to the "dentist?"  He is, after all, a "toothless lion," right?  Ha, ha. 

Though it's true he is completely bound, he, unfortunately, isn't gagged and from his mouth, he spews out "water--words of condemnation--" like a flood.  Since he no longer has any bite, all he can do is prowl around and roar.....and he's really good at that.

Here's something we need to understand about lions.   The young, strong lions who contribute to the pride and who hunt DO NOT ROAR.  They lie in wait SILENTLY and creep up on their prey until they're close enough, then they attack and kill their prey with claws and teeth.  Roaring would scare their quarry away.

It is onlt the decrepit, useless, toothless old lions who are no longer able either to contribute or hunt that sit around and nap all day.  The only thing they can do is roar and SOUND threatening.

That's the devil right there.  All he can do is SOUND threatening. 

In the story of David and Goliath there are a couple of clues to his tired ol' tactics.
Bear in mind that believers have NOTHING to fear from him because we have Jesus Who deals with him for us.  

Non-believers, on the other hand, do NOT have any defense against him whatsoever.  He can pluck their "number" out of the hat any time he wants. I'd say they're completely at his mercy but he doesn't have any. 

Goliath was a Philistine from Gath.  The word Philistine itself comes from the root word "pahlash," which means"to wallow or to roll, as in the dust." 

I find it interesting that the modern-day version of the Philistines live in the same exact place: Gaza.  They call themselves "Palestinians."  That's just too close to be coincidence.  

These people have literally taken over not just the the name but are following in their footsteps; and they're antagonistic to Israel just like their predecessors.  It didn't end well for the Philistines; it won't end well for the Palestinians either.

"Philistine," simply put, is the spirit of condemnation; of feeling that you are "dusty or dirty."
The subject of dust is mentioned many times in the Bible.  In the Old Testament, for instance, people put on sackcloth and dumped ashes and dust on their heads to express grief or guilt.

All those combined pictures of dust put together paint a picture of guilt, grief and condemnation.

The first mention of dust in the Bible is when God made Man out of the "dust of the earth." He became MUCH MORE than dust when God breathed His very life into him!  In so doing, man became a dignified being clothed with His honor and glory.
When he fell, that's what left him:  All the honor and glory. He was now ONLY dust and cut off from God.

You recall that God told the snake that he would crawl on his belly and eat "dust" all his life?  Here's the thing: IF WE ALLOW THE SPIRIT OF PHILISTINE TO COME AGAINST US BY LISTENING TO IT, WE WILL FEEL CONDEMNED; we will feel like "DIRT." 

THIS IS PRECISELY HOW CHRISTIANS BECOME FOOD FOR THE DEVIL TO DEVOUR.

Don't allow him to make you feel dirty or dusty. Wash the dust off yourself.  If your pastor doesn't do it for you, you do it for yourself.  Wash with the WATER OF THE WORD OF GOD--FREQUENTLY--and remind yourself that YOU ARE ALWAYS, AT ALL TIMES, THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN CHRIST.

Any preaching, teaching or literature that makes you feel condemned, DO NOT RECEIVE IT!  WASH IT OFF!!! 

Jesus removed ALL YOUR SIN, ONCE FOR ALL TIME. Your sins were imputed to Him and His righteousness imputed to you.  That's the meaning of Romans 8:1; 

"There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ Jesus..."

Whenever you hear such a message, whatever--or whoever--the source, I don't care if they are a PhD, you are hearing the booming voice of Goliath in your ears--the roaring lion.  He is trying to trick you into believing that you are dusty, dirty, that God is angry at you and that that He doesn't love you.

HE'S LYING.

I say again:  You are the righteousness of God in Christ because of the divine exchange.

Don't become a victim of DUST!  Wash your feet and you'll be UNdevourable.