We can actually learn a lot about some of Satan's strategies in spiritual warfare by studying the military strategies of some of the warriors of old. In his book Head Game, author Tim Downs writes:

Psy-ops stands for Psychological Operations, a form of warfare as old as the art of war itself. An early example of this can be found in the battle strategies of Alexander the Great. On one occasion when ...

Jack Handey, known for his odd sense of humor frequently expressed in an old Saturday Night Live segment titled "Deep Thoughts," wrote an equally odd book entitled Fuzzy Memories. In it Handey relates the story of a bully who demanded his lunch money every day when he was a child. Because Handey was smaller than the bully, he simply gave the bully his money.

"Then I decided to fight back," Handey ...

Highlights from a 2008 Harris Poll nation-wide survey of 2,126 U.S. adults:

• Americans who believe in God: 80 percent (unchanged since the last survey in 2005)
  
  
• Americans who believe Jesus is the Son of God: 71 percent
  
  
• Americans who believe in the resurrection of Jesus: 70 percent
  
  
• Americans who believe in the Virgin Birth: 61 percent
  
  
• Americans who believe in the survival of the soul after death: 68 percent
  
  

In a sermon entitled "Courage," pastor and author Mark Buchanan shares a funny story that reminds us how our courage—or lack thereof—can cast God in a positive or negative light to others:

A few years ago at a Willow Creek Summit, Jack Groppel, who works with leaders to hone optimum performance, showed two video clips. The first video was of a group of NFL linebackers. When they showed ...

A website called muslimjourneytohope.com has video testimonies of many who have converted from Islam to Christianity. One video clip is of an Iranian-born man who had been a militant Muslim, trained by Hezbollah. While on a trip to Malaysia, he was arrested and jailed—which only fueled his passion for his religion. He taught Islam to the other prisoners. Every ten days he read the Koran cover ...

...

After a few minutes, Childs walks to the water hole to identify tracks in the mud and record notes. Just before he bends down to look closer, he scans the perimeter, and there among the shadows of the junipers, 30 feet away, he sees a pair of eyes. He expects the lion to run away, but it walks into the sunlight toward him. Childs pulls his knife and stares into the eyes of the lion. He knows what ...

According to a 2008 Harris Initiative survey, there has been a steady decline in the basic religious beliefs of Americans over the last four years (2005–2008):

Belief in God:
2005: 90 percent
2008: 80 percent

Belief in heaven:
2005: 82 percent
2008: 73 percent

Belief in the Devil:
2005: 68 percent
2008: 59 percent

Belief in hell:
2005: 69 percent
2008: 62 percent

If we knew the most likely place a thief might strike would we react differently? The front door and first-floor window are the most common places burglars enter homes. With that in mind, consider the percentage of people who have done the following:

• Left windows open: 49 percent
• Left front door unlocked: 37 percent
• Left back door unlocked: 33 percent
• Hid key outside: 26 percent
• Left inside garage open: 22 percent

Rob Bell, teaching pastor at Mars Hills Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, used this object lesson after explaining the way Satan targets each of us with custom-made lies designed to make us miserable and impotent.

Scripture: Romans 16:20

Principle: By identifying Satan's lies, we can defeat them.

Purpose: To help Christians actively fight the Devil's deception

Objects: Markers, shoes

Procedure: At the ...

The power of temptation is not in its appeal to our baser instincts; if that were the case, it would be natural to be repulsed by it. The power of temptation is in its appeal to our idealism.