“There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent.” Lao Tzu.

               The devil is a liar and isn’t very creative. However, he is extremely intelligent, proficient, highly analytical, and has had several millennia to study us and figure out how to corrupt us individually and as an entire human race… one of the most effective methods is through music. When Satan was the worship leader in heaven, he was connected to God, almost like we’re connected to God now through the Holy Spirit. That’s Who he got his creative power from while he was in heaven. When he got kicked out of heaven, he needed to be connected to people in order to tap into their creative power in order to write hypnotic and seductive music, the kind of music that causes people to rebel against God and seek after the things of this world: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

“For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” 1 Peter 2:16 (NKJV)

               Syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. Syncopation is very powerful at hypnotizing and manipulating people, whether it be for good or bad. Hearing a song over and over again in repetition is also very powerful. The devil knows this and uses it to his advantage. Countless artists and rappers in the music industry have been recruited by the devil, and this information is straight from most artists mouth. Countless people in Hollywood have admitted that they “sold their soul” for money, power and fame. After he recruits them, he has them use songs as a spell to control the masses. I don’t know about you but I used to listen to trap rap A LOT. I never cared for the words (especially when they were using vulgar words to describe women) but always LOVED the beat. That beat was what drew me in. Now, I can’t stand listening to it. It hurts my spiritual ears and even though I still love the beat, I won’t listen to it anymore. When I was weak-minded and didn’t have a stable foundation in Christ, I feel like trap rap and movies that were demonic had a profound impact on me. Since getting a stable foundation in Christ, the devil’s ability to impact me with music and movies is not nearly as powerful as it used to be.

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” Isaiah 14:12

               The ONLY way we even have any way to fight the devil is through God and what Christ did for us on the cross. The devil and his demons are much too cunning and strong to fight in our own strength and power. We need that Holy Spirit power to break down strongholds in our mind, smash through addictions,  and even help defeat principalities where we live that have been set up there to take down our neighborhoods and the cities we live in. Demons love cities because they have more people they can affect in a smaller radius. Cain, the very first murderer, was actually the very first person to build a city, which makes sense why demons still prefer cities to living in the country. I hate it when people say the devil is stupid and that demons are dumb, because guess what, they most certainly are not. God has told me repeatedly not to insult anyone, and demons aren’t any different. No demon can get through to us without God’s say so but just because we are covered by the blood doesn’t mean we need to insult our enemies or do things that open doors to them being able to wreak havoc on our lives. In fact, it means the opposite.

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NKJV)

               How are we able to withstand the wiles of the devil? Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand against the wiles of the devil.” The devil is very crafty and has been from the very beginning when he convinced Adam and Eve to sin, otherwise we wouldn’t have been born into sin. “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Psalm 51:5. What does being born into sin mean for us? It means that we are born spiritually dead, unlike Adam and Eve were in the beginning when God first created them. We must reconnect to God so that we can be reborn in the spirit and be renewed daily through Him in order to have the “delusion” of this world lifted from our eyes by God to see things the way they really are. “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” 2 Thessalonians 2:11. Being renewed also means getting a stable foundation in Christ so that we can a “spirit of power, and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7) This helps us to be immune from mental attacks from the world and spiritual attacks from the enemy. It also helps us to draw closer to God more than anything and for Him to pour out Himself on us so that we can pour Him out onto other people. When I say “pour out” I mean His love. If we are full of Him, we automatically pour out His love onto other people.

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” 1 Peter 5:6-9

               We must remain vigilant and aware of attacks from the enemy and how he can get into our heads. He will use our weaknesses to wear us down and will succeed if we are not constantly being renewed by God daily. That partly means reading His word but mostly means spending time alone with Him and going to the secret place to get renewed by Him. The deeper you go with the devil, the harder the enemy will fight to keep you that way. I have had to have God break off generational curses and twisted mindsets off of me that most of my Christian friends never knew about or struggled with, not to mention, the enemy had me convinced for so long that I wasn’t free that it didn’t matter if I was or not because as long as I thought I was still in bondage, I was. The mind is a very powerful thing and that is where we must gain control by letting the Holy Spirit show us how to take control and gain HIS MIND over the mind of this world.

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:1, 2 (NLT)

“So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God chose you to be holy. For the scriptures say, ‘You must be holy because I am holy.’” 1 Peter 1:13-16