Not Today, Satan!

Are you resisting the devil?

That is a good question that every Christian should ask himself or herself but, even if you are, what does that even mean? What does it mean to resist?

James 4:7 tells us to “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” In 14 little words, we are told to somethings that many Christians are finding it hard to do. Some may even think it is impossible.

Time to Submit!

We are broken people who like to do things our own way. Many of us are even a bit obstinate when it comes to doing what we are told to do. We fail to submit to the authority of our parents, our bosses, our governments, and other leaders, and we are going to submit to what God asks us to do? That seems unlikely.

Yet, God still tells us to do that. He doesn’t ask us to do things that we are incapable of doing, so we should be able to submit to God. So, we must ask ourselves what submission looks like.

Jesus told us what it means to submit in eight words. Prior to going to the cross, Jesus spent some time in the Garden of Gethsemane praying with the Father. He asked the Father to remove the pathway He was on but ultimately gave the very definition of what submission looks like: “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.”

Submission could not be described more perfectly. Whatever God wants me to do, that is what I will do. That sounds really simple and, to be honest, it is. Do as God tells us to do.

You may be asking yourself, “How do I know what God wants me to do?” Good question. Well, there are 31,102 verses in the Bible that tell you what God expects of you. It starts with Genesis 1, which tells us how God designed the entire universe, including us, and how He wanted to have a close relationship with His most prized creation. That goes all the way to Revelation 22, which tells us that Jesus is returning one day to fellowship and live in harmony with His greatest creation. Submission starts with knowing that God is the Creator of all things and that He is coming to restore all things. It also begins with knowing that we are loved and adored by the Creator of all things and that He wants to have a close, personal, intimate relationship with each one of us.

In essence, submitting to God means putting Him at the top. He is Lord. He is the One who rules, and His ways should be first in our thoughts and actions.

It also means submitting when we don’t follow His rules. You see, the great thing about our loving, amazing God is that He has given us a way to be forgiven for the times that we don’t submit. In our seeking forgiveness, we submit to God. 1 John 1:9 explains that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and purify us. By seeking God in our failures, we demonstrate our submission.

Submit to Resist

Submitting is just half of what James told us to do. He also told us to “resist the devil.”

To be honest, “resist” is a very passive sounding word. The Greek word here is ἀνθίστημι, which means to be standing against, to oppose. We are not called to simply resist the devil. Instead, we are called to oppose everything he stands for. Said another way, we are not to submit to the ways of Satan. Whatever he wants us to do, we should do the exact opposite.

Not Today!

This past week our men focused on opposing the devil. We know it can be a challenge for them not submit to Satan, because they have spent many years developing bad patterns of life. Many of us can understand this. However, there has to be a point where each of us says to ourselves, “Not today, Satan!” That we are no longer going to do the things Satan asks us to do and we are going to fight that battle every single day. We may have caved before, but not today.

This past week, “Not today, Satan!” was the song our men listened to during devotion. It was a reminder to all of us that resisting is not a passive command. It is saying that Satan will not win today. You can listen to the song below:

Follow the lyrics to the song.

We encourage you to resist Satan today. We know that he can be very crafty and tricky in the way that he persuades us to do things. However, we ask you to stand and boldly say, “Not today, Satan!”

Hope Good News

Josh Brafford accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior about 10 days ago. What an amazing moment to know that all heaven is rejoicing over our brother… BusinessRate named Hope CDA as the Best Contractor in Cedar Rapids for 2025. We received this award because of “customer satisfaction, brand reputation, and service excellence.” Thank you for all who helped Hope CDA to receive this recognition… John Houlsworth joined the Hope CDA program on Thursday. John had interviewed with the guys on Monday, and we were glad to welcome him three days later. We pray that John is abundantly blessed during his journey.

Need Something Notarized

Are you in need of a document notarized? Dr. Robert Pannier can take care of that for you. Call and set up an appointment and Rob will happily notarize your document for you. We are just asking for you to make a donation to Hope CDA, but no fee will be charged for the service.

Prayers for the Week

We ask you to join in prayer for these things:

1. We pray for John as he begins his journey at Hope CDA. May he fully embrace the life transforming power of Jesus Christ.
2. We pray for Lavonne. We pray that God would bring healing upon her body and peace for her and her husband.
3. We pray for the homeless during this time of bitter cold. May they find shelter and a pathway that leads them closer to God.
4. We pray for strength against Satan’s plans. May all of us say, “Not today, Satan!”

Tuesday Night of Encouragement

On Tuesday, Pastor Mike Jones from Good News Baptist Church will lead the Night of Encouragement. Mike has spoken several times in the past but will be making his first delivery of 2026. Please join us at 5:30 p.m. for dinner and at 6:00 p.m. for Mike’s message.

The following Tuesday, February 3, Charley Snodgrass will speak. Charley will be talking about dinosaurs. He always has a very interesting message to share.

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