Oct 11

1 Peter 5:8-9
8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

Which of the following statements do you think are true or false: 1. Drinking water can kill you. 2. Taking a shower can be fatal. 3. A bee sting isn't that dangerous. 4. Flying in an airplane is the safest way to travel. 5. Playing with guns is dangerous. 6. Smoking causes lung cancer. 7. Sunshine is dangerous. 8. Sugar is bad for you. 9. Spending too much time on the Internet or playing video games can hurt you. 10. Dishrags have more germs than anything else in the house. Compare your answers to the ones below: 1. True. Swallowing water down your windpipe can kill you if you are unable to clear the throat and breathe freely. 2. True. Many people slip and fall in the shower; some even die from their injuries. 3. False. People allergic to bee stings can die from a sting in seconds. 4. True. More people travel safely for more miles on a plane than any other way. 5. True (Duh!) 6. True (Ditto duh!) 7. True. Too much sun can cause skin cancer or sun poisoning. 8. True and False. In moderation, sugar is OK. But in great quantities, it can lead to cavities. If you're diabetic, sugar is a no-no. 9. True. Excessive use of a keyboard or joystick can cause carpal tunnel syndrome, which causes damage to the nerves in your wrist. 10. True (yuck!) Some of the things in the list above are good things, but they can still be harmful to you if you're not careful and self-controlled. So self-control can protect you from excesses and extremes. This is starting to sound like your parents, isn't it? OK, OK. Just remember this: The devil wants to eat you up. And he'll use anything-even good things, if he can-to hurt you. So be alert. Be self-controlled. Don't be devoured.

REFLECT: Have you allowed any "good things" or "harmless things" to enter your life that would be dangerous if you're not careful? Should you ask your parents, friends, or pastor to help you learn to control any of those areas?

PRAY: "God, you know that I sometimes go to the extreme in the area of... Make me alert today so that I won't be devoured."

"Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are."

Chances are, you're not the only one suffering for whatever it is you're suffering for.
Chances are, there are much worse circumstances in which someone would have to suffer those same things.

The thing is, there are about 7 billion people in the world who are suffering.
How can you NOT give thanks to God for the blessed life you have now?
I know sometimes I feel the need to get things I don't need and I get jealous of people who have/are what I want to have/be.
But I quickly remind myself that somewhere in the world, someone is suffering because they don't have the food, shelter, clothing, etc for basic survival and that being selfish isn't the most Christian thing I could do.

In short: STAY THANKFUL. AND LOVE GOD. OK.

9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.
this devotion reminded me of what the grade 9 girls talked about in small groups last last week. our teacher, jina is a lawyer and she was going through this case of someone (the victim) who is handicapped and has mental issues. that person has been victimized so much and had many terrible things that have had happened to her in the past. in our small groups, we talked about being thankful for what you have and ask God to see the brokeness in someone else. He would be more then willing to because there has to be more people in the world that has to see in the eyes of these people. give thanks to the Lord and allow him to break your own heart for what breaks His to open up your eyes to the REAL world.

Oh maaaaan, HUGE science unit test tomorrow -_-

8 "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour."
The scariest thing I find about Satan, is that he is so obsessed with watching us sin, and he will take any slim chance to destroy a part of our relationship with God. We have to be really cautious of what we are doing, and how we are acting. Especially since we are Christians, we have to influence those who don't have faith or a weak relationship with God. Most importantly, we have to be able to resist any type of temptation of sin there might be. So I guess that also leads back to the subject of self-control....
Bye!

Almost everything is harmful to you if you arent careful with it. Everything has the ability to backfire at you even if it seems harmless.
What this devotion is trying to tell us is to be cautious of what goes on around you and what would happen if you do this or that.
8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
Especially in our faith... we should be aware of what goes on at all times. If you drop your guard for even a little while, like it says in the verse, the enemy will attack.
STAY ALERT IN YOUR FAITH and dont let anything bring you down.

8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour

What i got out of this verse is that Satan will always be trying to attack us in any way. We may not even expect it but we are under attack everyday. The distractions we have, the decisions we make, everything. This verse is warning us that we should be always be alert because we dont know how the deveil will atack us next. But the thing is, we are lucky beecause we have God on our side so when we do get tempted, we always have God to tempt us back to his side =

i feel like i didn't get inspired for the right things this chapter was intended to inspire...sorry guys. not really feeling well about this one.

9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.

Mmm loving this verse. Any of our struggles, however big or small, a fellow Christian HAS BEEN THROUGH IT.
We are not alone at all, in any of the daily struggles that we face in life.
REMEMBER that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same...etc.
Remember...because it's so easy to forget about our fundamental teachings when we're thinking unreasonably.

As a community, as a team, as a church, not any one of us needs to suffer alone.
We all have each other for absolutely anything that is on our minds. Whether we share is up to us.
But remember, we're all here for each other.

Do not fall into temptation. There are times when we make bad choices since we weren't paying close attention to everything. We all must stay alert! Statan likes to bring us away from god when he gets to our weak point.
Basically, don't loose your guard. Because when you least expect it, it'll atack you..
I think i made It sound a little more confusing than it actually is...
Stay close to the lord at all times, he protects us.

Sorry I didn't post this earlier....
~Audrey~