The serpent asked the woman, 'Can it really be that God has said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden?' (Genesis 3:1a). This isn't a new trick devised for our generation he began his deceptive ways in the Garden of Eden. This is where Satan triumphs-he offers wrong thinking to all of us. Most of our problems are rooted in thinking patterns that produce the problems we experience. As long as we are alive, our minds remain Satan's battlefield. We can put on the whole armor of God, halt the evil one's advances, and stand fast on the Word of God, but we won't put a complete end to the war.

We are engaged in a warfare-a warfare that rages and never stops. His attack is ongoing and relentless-the devil is persistent! Our enemy bombards our minds with every weapon at his disposal every day of our lives. Not that we blatantly make that choice, but we sometimes surrender-even temporarily-to Satan's invitation. Which one of us would say yes to such an outrageous invitation? Don't we seek the kind of life that keeps us free from such pain and distractions? Yet many of us choose such a life. You are invited to enjoy a life filled with misery, worry, and confusion. Inside, the invitation starts with these words: After we open it, we stare at a beautiful, oversized envelope, with our name written on it in exquisite calligraphy. Suppose we receive a package from an overnight carrier.

to keep Satan from getting the advantage over us for we are not ignorant of his wiles and intentions.

Battlefield of the mind 2006