Good morning and a blessed Thursday morning to you.

Have you ever seen Satan portrayed as wearing a red suit? Sometimes you could even see a portrayal of a person and there's a little Satan on one shoulder and an angel on the other, and the angel is talking with the person and Satan is talking with the person. So interesting, isn't it, how Satan can often times be portrayed as wearing a red suit and holding a pitchfork? What is that? Why is that?

The apostle Peter, in 1 Peter 5:8, writes "Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith." That word "disciplined" there, it means to be of sober mind. And Satan here is referred to as a lion. That's a very, very powerful image when you consider the fact that quite a few Christians were thrown to the lions - that lion portraying strength. We see in Scripture that Satan can be portrayed or is called the evil one, the tempter, the accuser, a murderer. But why is it, why is it that so often he's portrayed as having a red suit?

In the Middle Ages, the church was certainly concerned about Satan, and they thought the best way to deal with Satan was to make fun of Satan. They thought, "Well, attack his pride, attack his pride by making fun of him." So what they did is they created a caricature: Satan having a red suit and holding a pitchfork. That was all done to make fun of Satan. Problem is, is that subsequent generations, then they started to believe that that's who Satan is - just this person in this red suit holding the pitchfork. What we see in Scripture is that Satan is no silly figure. While Satan certainly tempts, what Satan chiefly does is accuse. He accuses us, wanting us to believe that somehow our sins are not forgiven. And so he accuses us and keeps coming back to us with that accusation. We're called to resist Satan. And how does one resist Satan? One resists Satan by the Word. As we immerse ourselves in that Word, what is it that we hear? We hear of God's incredible forgiveness. One to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are forgiven through the Cross of Christ. Jesus's tomb is empty; that sacrifice has been accepted. We know of God's grace and God's love for us through the Word. We resist him by using the Word, immersing ourselves in it.

So, Satan wearing a red suit?  No. Satan having a roar? Yes, resist him absolutely through the Word. Let's pray: "Gracious Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for this time in your Word. Your Word is indeed truth. We thank you, Father, that you come to assure us of your grace, of your love, and your forgiveness. And in that we anchor, by your grace, our lives in your Word. We turn to in your Word, we claim, in Jesus's strong and holy name, amen."

God bless you, encourage someone.

Pastor Eibel