deviltry by Susan L.

  We're having a little Halloween party at the centre with games like bobbing for apples, pumpkin carving, and mask making. It takes me back a few years. I waffled back and forth about wearing a costume but simply can't do it. It goes against my faith.
  I even went so far as to make a funky wig out of scrap bits a yarn last night. The idea was to be a woolly mammoth, poking fun at my middle aged girth. It's not happening even though I used to love making costumes for the kids and occasionally for myself when invited to a Halloween party.
  That was then, this is now.
  We Christians don't talk about the forces of darkness. It's a topic that can get you some rather strange and often unbelieving looks so I am going to go out on a limb today. If we believe in angels and heaven, why is it so hard to admit that the devil has his minions as well? There are angels who watch over us, it's in the scriptures. The imps of satan are there too. (I won't capitalize his name. That is a show of respect and I have none for him.) Jesus delivered many from their grips and set them free.
  Unclean spirits, demons, sin all mean the same thing: the devil's very real minions are at work in our lives.
  In an age of science and technology we quickly ignore the scriptures relating to these issues as ancient superstitions, not applicable to this day and age. That, too, is the devil's work. It makes it easy for him to wreak havoc behind the scenes.
  I'll tell you a little story. When looking for a place to live, my uncle suggested a move to Hamilton to share a home with him. It made sense. He was getting older and it was a financially sound idea. However, the busy city was the last place I wanted to be. A country girl at heart, I knew the city wasn't a healthy place for me. I asked the Lord to give me a sign: a butterfly, when I'd arrived at the place He'd chosen for me to live.
  My son and I went to visit my uncle one sunny afternoon shortly after having that conversation with him and the Lord. When we arrived, his house was literally covered with hundreds of white, what I thought were butterflies. My heart dropped, panic filled my heart and tears came to my eyes. It would mean leaving my friends, my job, everything. It would mean being surrounded by noisy traffic and dirt and pollution. It would mean being away from nature where it is easy to connect with my Maker on quiet walks.
  I am thankful my son is a bug nut.
  "Mom, they're moths!"
  The devils "miracles" are but a shadow of what the Lord can do.
  I did get a butterfly when I arrived at the house I am in now. A single, rare, yellow on black swallowtail rested in the middle of the driveway gently fanning its wings.
  That was a huge lesson learned. Don't ask for a sign from God, it's a gateway for the devil to play havoc with my life. He and his imps are watching and waiting for the opportunity to do their worst because they can.
  If we let them.
  "Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him." Mat 4:11