Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale Daily DevotionalSample

Satan's Sentence Earlier this month (see March 4th), we saw how God had pronounced a particular judgment against Satan in the Garden of Eden. For his role in encouraging Adam and Eve to bring the curse of sin upon them, the Lord promised punishment. One day, there would be Someone who would rise up and "crush his head." This promised punishment took place on the cross. Wait a second, Jesus did all the suffering and dying that day, didn't He? Physically, yes. Spiritually, however, something was happening on the cross that dealt the devil a deathblow that he would never recover from. Satan's power and authority was stripped away from him. How's that? When man sinned, he essentially sold himself into spiritual slavery. With a gap between man and God, Satan was able to exercise authority over us. And he took full advantage of his opportunity by dragging us further and further into sin. Without a connection to his creator, mankind was forced into an existence of helplessness, bound and under the devil's domination. The cross changed all of that. It destroyed Satan's power over mankind because it provided a way for us to be reconciled and reunited with God. Jesus' death regained what we had forfeited in the Garden, and in the process, Satan and all his followers were defeated and disarmed. Eventually, Satan's sentence will be fully served as he's cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:10). But the beginning of his downward spiral started at the spot where the rightful ruler of this world redeemed His creation in the ultimate act of sacrifice. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it [the cross]. (Colossians 2:15 NKJV) Jesus' death regained what we had forfeited in the Garden, and in the process, Satan and all his followers were defeated and disarmed. Think about it... What does this passage reveal to me about God? What does this passage reveal to me about myself? Based on this, what changes do I need to make? What is my prayer for today?