Chrysostom
Beloved of All
You have need of much wakefulness and many prayers for these youth who have given themselves to witchcraft and the worship of the devil. The devil blows upon them with a violent blast, seeking to arm them against the truth. Yet we must not despair. Though they fall once, twice, many times in this deadly training, stand again and wrestle for their souls.
Do not give up until you have bound on the glorious crown of triumph over the devil. They are rejoicing in the devil, not in the Lord; turn their ears to hear the apostle, and bring them to that noble school of exercise where the supply of the Spirit is the oil. The Lord delivered Paul from the lion’s mouth, and He will deliver them from every evil work if they take hold of Christ. His Body bore the cross, spitting, buffetings, and nails, yet did no sin; call them to bear that cross and find deliverance from the true lion, the devil.
Jesus opened the eyes of the blind, proving He has no devil but divine power; pray that their eyes be opened by the same power. And do not merely come to church to satisfy a scruple and then leave; bring home these things with diligence and speed, that the tablet of your mind may not be blotted out. Let your prayers be as Philip’s, guided by the Spirit, that these youth may hear the gospel, understand, and go on their way rejoicing in the Lord. Remind them that the fire was prepared for the devil and his angels, but the kingdom has been prepared for those who follow Christ from the foundation of the world.
Do not give up until you have bound on the glorious crown of triumph over the devil. They are rejoicing in the devil, not in the Lord; turn their ears to hear the apostle, and bring them to that noble school of exercise where the supply of the Spirit is the oil. The Lord delivered Paul from the lion’s mouth, and He will deliver them from every evil work if they take hold of Christ. His Body bore the cross, spitting, buffetings, and nails, yet did no sin; call them to bear that cross and find deliverance from the true lion, the devil.
Jesus opened the eyes of the blind, proving He has no devil but divine power; pray that their eyes be opened by the same power. And do not merely come to church to satisfy a scruple and then leave; bring home these things with diligence and speed, that the tablet of your mind may not be blotted out. Let your prayers be as Philip’s, guided by the Spirit, that these youth may hear the gospel, understand, and go on their way rejoicing in the Lord. Remind them that the fire was prepared for the devil and his angels, but the kingdom has been prepared for those who follow Christ from the foundation of the world.
