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Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your

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Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Study Headquarters

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Speaker 1: dot com. You're listening to daily devotions with Pastor John.

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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangey, and today's devotion is inspired by Second Thessalonians,

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Speaker 1: Chapter three, verse three, which says, but the Lord is faithful.

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Speaker 1: He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.

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Speaker 1: Every person, to one degree or another, struggles with fears

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Speaker 1: of being abandoned. We worry about family and friends leaving us.

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Speaker 1: We tend to be concerned about being left on our own.

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Speaker 1: For some people this is a minor fear, but for

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Speaker 1: others this can be a major concern, particularly if they've

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Speaker 1: experienced abandonment at some point earlier in their lives. Thankfully,

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Speaker 1: our Lord doesn't abandon his children. He is the perfection

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Speaker 1: of faithfulness, and he doesn't leave us defend for ourselves

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Speaker 1: without his help. He strengthens us, plants our feet on

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Speaker 1: firm ground, and he guards us against the schemes of Satan.

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Speaker 1: Even though Satan is a powerful adversary, we know from

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Speaker 1: scripture that he is a defeated foe. When Christ was crucified,

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Speaker 1: he paid for our sin when he rose from the grave.

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Speaker 1: He defeated the power of Satan. Satan's days are numbered,

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Speaker 1: his doom is certain. As he awaits his pending judgment.

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Speaker 1: He seeks to devour God's family. But the Lord guards

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Speaker 1: us against the schemes of the evil One. Because Satan

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Speaker 1: is a defeated foe, and we have received freedom from

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Speaker 1: Sin's bondage through faith in Christ, we don't need to

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Speaker 1: give in to sin, temptation, or the schemes of the

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Speaker 1: devil any longer. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for

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Speaker 1: your word, and we thank you for the privilege that

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Speaker 1: it is to be able to read this portion of

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Speaker 1: scripture from the Book of Second Thessalonians. And Lord, we're

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Speaker 1: grateful for what you reveal to us here. You remind

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Speaker 1: us that you are faithful. You won't abandon us, You

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Speaker 1: don't leave us. We aren't left to do things on

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Speaker 1: our own or in our own strength and wisdom. You're

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Speaker 1: present with us. You're guiding our steps, you're guarding our lives.

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Speaker 1: And we're grateful Lord that you tell us in your

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Speaker 1: word that you will establish us and you will guard

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Speaker 1: us against the evil One. Lord, it's very obvious that

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Speaker 1: Satan is scheming against your people. Your word makes it

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Speaker 1: clear that he's trying to devour us. He's trying to

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Speaker 1: ruin our lives. He's trying to damage the testimony that

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Speaker 1: we have as your followers. But again, you promise to

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Speaker 1: guard us, you promise to set our feet on firm soil,

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Speaker 1: and you're looking after us in ways that we don't

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Speaker 1: always even perceive. The Lord, we're so grateful that you

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Speaker 1: love us the way that you do, and we're grateful

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Speaker 1: for the care and compassion you show us every day

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Speaker 1: of our lives. Again, Lord, we thank you for this

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Speaker 1: reminder from your word today, and we commit this day

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Speaker 1: to your care. We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen,