"I'm a Christian," we told our table, "so I can't root for any team called the Devils."
We recall one high school where we used to live, where the girls' basketball coach actually changed her team's nickname. Instead of "Devils," they became the Angels. Why would someone do that? Because the Bible warns against the devil....
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. - I Peter 5:8
The devil offers people all sorts of interesting temptations, pretending to be your friend. But the Bible shows Satan wants to "devour" you -- eating your life away through things such as over-gambling at poker.
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. - John 8:44
Jesus said these words -- and Jesus battled against the devil's temptations several times (Matthew 4:1-11). Yet the Lord prevailed, and so can we.
Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering. - I Peter 5:9
Resisting the devil isn't easy. That's why God offers help, through the Holy Spirit.
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. - I John 4:4
With all due respect to graduates of Duke, Arizona State and other schools, the "devil" is not one to support. God plans to remove Satan eventually.
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven.... He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. - Revelation 20:2
God created all the "chips" of the universe, and He eventually will hold them all again. Including you, if you allow it.
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