Warning: Satan is Real

In John chapter 10, Jesus is teaching about His sheep hearing and following His voice, and draws the distinction between His work and that of the enemy, saying:
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

Isn't it good to know that we have a "good shepherd" who accompanies us in our journey through this world?  David referred to the Lord as his shepherd, a concept he knew well - he related that because we follow the shepherd, He will satisfy us and will cause us to lie down in green pastures and be led by the still waters - that is a picture of the peace that God so wants to give us.  We have an enemy who wants to disrupt that peace and stability, and there will be struggles, but we can, as Scripture instructs, "put on" Christ and be clothed in His armor.

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In the book of Acts, we see instance after instance on how the Church advanced in Jesus and took ground from the enemy - spiritual warfare was evident, and Peter shared his analysis in Acts 10, referring to...
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. 

39 And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree.
40 Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly,
41 not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.
42 And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.

If you caught the recent Harvest Crusade from Anaheim, California, which was streamed live on the Faith Radio Facebook page, you may have seen clips from an interview with rock legend Alice Cooper. According to the website for Harvest Ministries, which is led by Greg Laurie, "Laurie received a warm applause from the crowd after announcing that the footage from the night would be featured in his upcoming film FAME, produced by the Erwin Brothers. Throughout the night, large screens displayed clips from the film, including interviews with rock icon Alice Cooper and former MLB player Darryl Strawberry."

Wait! What?  Alice Cooper - the purveyor of music that explores darkness, with a supernatural twist, that Alice Cooper. Yes, that one. Movieguide released an article recently about a conversation that Laurie had with the musical legend:

“Had an amazing time today with my friend, Alice Cooper in Arizona,” Laurie posted on Facebook. “Alice talks about the emptiness of the life of the pursuit of fame and how he found everything he is looking for in his relationship with Christ. There is a lot of lore told about Alice, some true, some fiction. But I can tell you, having spent time today and other times I have been with him, this guy knows the Lord!”

Movieguide said that Cooper "...quoted John 14:6 and said that he, his wife, and his children live their lives trusting that Jesus is the only way to salvation." He said, “Because ‘I’m the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one comes to the Father but by Me,’ those are the truest words ever spoken,” and added, “How can you deny that? So, as far as I’m concerned, my life is based on that now. It’s not based on my rock and roll, it allows me to be a rock and roller, but, ‘follow Me.'”

Regarding his practice of Christianity and his musical performances, CNSNews.com reported in 2015 that Cooper, "now warns that not only does Satan rule this world but many of the songs he wrote over the years were 'always warning about Satan' and 'God and the Devil, and Cooper advised 'don’t pick the Devil because it’s a bad idea.'” Using quotes from Cooper's appearance on a Christian TV show called, The Harvest Show (which is not related to Greg Laurie's ministry), the article relates that he commented on...

“The very fact that He [God] cared enough about me to save my life about 20 times, you know, and help me survive a million different things to put me where I am now. And then the challenge I have now, being a Christian in the rock business. You know, He kind of put me in the philistines, the camp of the philistines, which is okay.”

Commenting on the pressure of trying to be a faithful Christian in world of rock-and-roll music, Cooper said it is not easy because God puts “your soul at ease” but the day-to-day life “makes it harder, it makes your life harder.”

Back to Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries: it reported on its robust schedule for the next year or so and shared about these opportunities:

The first is a new “cinematic crusade” which tackles the topic of Fame. Featuring guest interviews with Alice Cooper and Darryl Strawberry, this is a film that explores the temptation of fame and points to the hope we have in Jesus Christ. Look for Fame in early 2022!

In addition, look out for a feature-length film, telling the story of the Jesus Movement of the 1960s and ‘70s. Jesus Revolution, a story based on Pastor Greg’s book of the same title, is planned for 2022.

And don’t forget: Now in theaters: The Jesus Music. Produced by the Erwin Brothers, this is a compelling film on the way music has impacted the church and the kingdom of God.

Finally, we are planning two in-person, evangelistic events. First, we are coming to Boise, Idaho with the Boise Harvest! More details to come as we get closer.

Secondly, we are excited to announce Jesus Revolution, a brand-new event with Pastor Greg Laurie, taking place at the incredible, 70,000-seat SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California on Sunday, July 3, 2022.

The Bible tells us that Jesus did good and healed those oppressed by the devil.  The devil - Satan - is real, and the Scriptures tell us to not only resist him, but also inform us about the resources that God has given to us to do just that; those include:

• The Word of God, that Jesus used when tempted in the wilderness,
• The Holy Spirit, who we're told is greater than he who is in the world
• The name of Jesus, which is above every name,
• The armor of God, with which we can be clothed in order to be strong against the enemy.

I think it's important to analyze situations and determine if we are under spiritual attack - the enemy wants to distract and deceive us; he will whisper in our ear and attempt to infect our minds with wrong thinking, with lies (since after all, he is the father of lies).  We can counter his schemes by using the truth, and meditating on and even speaking the Scriptures can be incredibly powerful in contributing to spiritual victory. 

Jesus defeated the power of sin and death - the enemy would want to lure us to commit sin and the Lord gives us the power to stand against temptation; in fact, the Bible tells us that God has provided a way of escape in the midst of our temptation.