1 Peter 5:8 Sober
Food for Thought
An all-creatures.org Guide to Kingdom Living. True Christian living requires us to live according to Kingdom standards which bring Heaven to earth

By Marni Montanez

1 Peter 5:8 New International Version

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

There are times in our life, as Christians, we just want to give up.  Our enemy is relentless and in order to defeat him in the battles, we must be relentless...in our prayer life and in our pursuit of God through bible reading and meditation.   Our prayers are powerful if we say them with sincerity of heart.  They can move mountains and bring down strongholds.  Our prayers are an attack on the kingdom of darkness. In our flesh we get exhausted.  Demons need no rest like we as humans do and they have no mercy.  

The enemy has an inroad if we allow negative and toxic thoughts to invade our minds. So we must be alert and sober minded.  

The definition of “alert” is to be watchful and ready to deal with whatever happens.  It is to be mentally lively: clear­ headed and responsive;  and ready for danger.

To be sober is not to be intoxicated:  also means to be serious and thoughtful in demeanor or quality.  It is about keeping our thoughts clear to focus on Jesus.

Our mind is the battlefield and it is the place the enemy consistently attacks.  when he clouds our minds with fear, depression, doubt etc. he has gained a platform to work from. Little by little he will take away our ability to think clearly and weaken our resistance.   All of us go through difficult times and some longer than others.  In our moments of greatest struggle we need to reach out to others to pray for us.  We need each other.  Lone rangers are easy targets for the enemy.

A lion roars for the purpose of telling other lions that he is present and to show his prowess.   Our enemy does the same.  The enemy roars to try and frighten us.  It sounds like cancer or financial distress. It sounds like bad news, pain and sorrow because he tries to scare us into thinking that we are doomed.  The enemy roams around looking to victimize someone so we must dwell in God or fall prey to Satan's lies. There is an aimlessness to his prowling around. He is not strategically sound as many think. He uses the same ammunition he always has…...lies; which if we believe him, it will take us down. The lion can circle it’s prey, but if there is something more powerful protecting that prey, then that lion must back down and give up.  

We have our heavenly Father to protect us.  We need not be afraid if we are in the will of God.     

Challenge:  We must be sober and alert.  Ever watchful.  The enemy is waiting for us to let down our guard.  It is under the umbrella of God and filled with His Spirit and word that we will have the strength and wisdom to stand against the enemy.

God bless

Marni

Go on to: 1 Peter 5:9 - Stand Firm
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The purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not Christian.