Connection Magazine, The Premier Good News Publication www.connectionmagazine.org

Evidence of the Devil
by Bill Martin

"I believe in God but not the devil." That's what someone told me the other day. No offense to that person, but I find it just incredibly odd.

1 John 5:19 says "We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the power and control of the evil one."

1 Peter 5:8 "Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour."

Take just one look around and you'll see plenty of Satan's handiwork. I remember the moment the newsroom atmosphere changed. You could cut it with a knife.

The 62-year-old Biswanath Halder, strapped on a bullet proof vest, grabbed two handguns, and walked the halls of Case Western Reserve University's Peter B. Lewis Building, firing hundreds of rounds, say police.

After the 7-hour standoff, on an otherwise quiet Friday night, one person was dead. The lone victim was Norman Wallace, a 30-year-old graduate student with hope and promise.

Cleveland Police Chief Edward Lohn described a trail of blood throughout the unusual Lewis building, He says it was a cat-and-mouse game. Nearly one hundred people were trapped inside the building for hours, hiding in offices, classrooms and closets.

Chief Lohn says, as the SWAT team entered the building they were constantly under fire. They finally cornered Halder in a room and he was shot.

The price of sin is our living in fallen world. The news is getting more violent. People ask me so many time, how can you read stories, like the Case shootings, night after night.

It's not easy, but I know the curse is redeemed.

We are free from slavery to sin. Romans 6:17-18 "Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you have obeyed with all your heart the new teaching God has given you. Now you are free from sin, your old master, and you have become slaves to your new master, righteousness."

We are no longer under the curse. Galatians 3:13 "But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing."

Death has been defeated. 1 Corinthians 15:54 "When this happens Ð when our perishable earthly bodies have been transformed into heavenly bodies that will never die Ð then at last the Scriptures will come true: "Death is swallowed up in victory."

Fear has been replaced with favor. 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."

And Satan is defeated. Colossians 2:15 "In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross of Christ."

There has already been a funeral for Norman Wallace. There is yet to be a trial for Biswanath Halder. It is not over!

So my advice comes from Ephesians 6:12 "For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

"I believe in God but not the devil." I believe the person who said that better think twice.

Bill Martin is a multiple winner of Emmy and Associated Press Awards for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism. He was also inducted into the Ohio Television/Radio Hall of Fame in 1999.

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