Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. (Luke 22:31) Here are three conclusions people draw from these words of Jesus: Satan needs permission to attack us God gives Satan permission to attack us God and Satan are colleagues in the business of attacking you, hallelujah! To think that God and the devil are in cahoots is ridiculous. Believe this and you’ll believe that God is behind your illness or was complicit in the death of your child. Lose your job and you might say “God gives and takes away.” Phooey! With a God like that, who needs a devil? So what is Jesus really saying? Does the devil need permission? This has nothing to do with permission. Satan is a thief. If the thief had permission he wouldn’t be a thief. Jesus is talking about Satan’s agenda. “Satan desires you in the way that sin desired Cain” (see Gen 4:7). In other words, “Wise up. There’s a war going on. On one side is your heavenly Father who loves you; on the other is Satan who hates you.” Now this is a very uneven war. Satan doesn’t stand a chance. In fact, he’s already been [...]