"The Converted Soul"

"For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off: that make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought." (Isaiah 29:20 & 21) Contrary to what some may think, God is still on the Throne, and He still is in control; however, the devil still gets to toy with His children. In these opening verses, there are some brief illustrations of some of the things which the devil uses to try and destroy a soul. When Jesus told Peter, "Satan hath desired to have you", what He was saying, is that Satan wanted to claim back Peter's soul. This name 'Satan' means adversary, or opposer; which was applied by Jesus to Peter in Matthew 17:23, "But He turned, and said to Peter, Get thee behind Me, Satan; thou art an offense unto Me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." This Jesus said to Peter because he was opposing the Divine plan of man's redemption by Christ's sufferings and death, and thus joining with Satan. Another name that is given to Satan, is the devil, which means slanderer, or false accuser. No matter what his name might be, the devil has only one desire, and that is to separate us from God. We must understand something about why the devil tries so hard to separate us from God: he is jealous of us because of God's redeeming Grace that we are given; and because we have been given a free will to choose to receive God's Grace, he plays upon that free will by making us to believe a lie. When Jesus said that He had prayed for Peter, that his faith would not fail, He was meaning that Peter would not believe a lie that the devil would place within him; mainly, that his denial of Jesus would be an offence to the Lord, and one which he would not be forgiven of. This is one of Satan's must useful tools to cause converted souls to turn away from God: to accuse those that have sinned against God, and to cause them to believe that they are not worthy of God's redeeming Grace. It is also important that we know what the difference between Mercy and Grace is; for God's Mercy is given freely, but His Grace must be received. In other words; Peter could easily believe that Jesus would forgive him for what he had done, but to believe that Jesus would still use him, and make him to be 'A stone', that he needed to receive as Truth. Which was why Jesus restored, and reinforced this Truth to Peter, by telling him, "Feed My Sheep"; because, as He told him, "And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren". Peter had experience!!! "Humble yourselves therefore under The Mighty Hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:6-8)