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Who wants to work for the devil? I recently discovered I was helping him more than I realized. Today’s podcast is about a song that came out of that discovery as well as some helpful tips for winning our battles. >>> >>> “I’m so stupid!”, “What a dummy!”, “Here I go again!”, “I’m an idiot!” Any of this sound familiar? We give ourselves permission to berate ourselves with our horrible words. Somehow, we feel like that’s OK when we’re talking about ourselves, but we would never use that kind of language with our spouse or our children or our friends. Or at least we shouldn’t. So why do you think that is? Why do we give ourselves permission to beat ourselves up? Why is that OK? My wife Cindy and I have an agreement. When we hear the other one beating themselves up with words, we intervene, and we will say things like “Don’t you talk to my wife like that” or “Don’t you talk to my husband like that”. It’s just a reminder to us to give ourselves some grace, just like we would and should with others. A while back, Cindy and I sat on the back porch having coffee together and talking. We got on the topic of self-talk and how easy it is to beat ourselves up. The conversation later found its way into the studio into a song titled, “The Good Fight”. Verse one of the song says, What do I hear myself saying and why do I say it so much So many times I catch myself believing that lie How long has this been going on Dare I disagree It keeps coming back even if I try But here’s what I will believe Welcome to “the good fight”. That doesn’t sound very “good”, does it? Our enemy, the devil, likes to attack us using lies, accusations, and condemnation. These assaults can cripple us or even take us out of the fight. If we don’t recognize these tactics, we can fall into agreement with them and beat our own selves up. The devil must just sit back and laugh at us when we do. In essence we are doing HIS destructive work in our lives. Do you know what I’m talking about? I sure understand because I have been so guilty of this, but I am changing. Cindy helps me catch myself and that’s been huge! The good news, though, is we can be very effective in winning these battles is we are equipped and aware. The fight is worthwhile and good, and victory is sweet! The Bible says if we have received Jesus as our Savior that we are children of God! I wonder if we know how powerful that really is. You and I belong to Jesus. We are not trash or stupid or dumb, nor are we idiots. Life is a daily battle. It’s a battle for our mind and our hearts and our beliefs. If you have kids living in your home, the battle is even greater today than it’s ever been. So what are we teaching each other, our children, our family, our friends by the language that we use on ourselves? I think the first thing we must do is understand what God says about all this. The Bible helps us understand the history of the battle, who our enemy is and God’s overwhelming provision for us. It assures us that the war is not going to end well for Satan and his followers. Satan knows it as well. He’s not stupid by any means. So, he tries to drag us down to his level. He knows he can’t drag you and me to hell if we are children of God, but he can take us out of any fight if we give him a chance. Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:3, “God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places with Christ”. Jesus has given us His authority and the keys of the Kingdom of God. The devil knows what we are capable of; he knows what God can do in us and through us. So that’s why he’s 100% committed to making sure that we never reach that potential. Because I love Jesus, I look for ways to say the name “Jesus” in a conversation, especially with strangers. I’ll give you some examples. Most people who know me know that I love the game of golf. I usually play golf very early in the morning around 6 so I can...