Buccaneer of the Universe.

The last rays of the setting sun turned the sea to gold as British pirate Francis Drake slid into the harbour at Callao, near Lima, Peru. The fleet of Spanish treasure ships paid no heed to the arrival of the Golden Hind, for she was flying a Spanish flag like all the rest.

As soon as darkness sent the Spanish sailors below deck, Drake and his armed men boarded the closest ship, San Cristobal, taking its captain by surprise. In the scuffle that followed, someone ran above deck to sound the alarm.

               “Pirates! Indians! Help!” In the darkness the Spanish weren’t sure whom they were fighting. It took some time for the Spanish army to get to the harbour. By that time Drake had slipped out into the Pacific Ocean with his treasure ship in tow.

During the next few days Francis Drake raided two more Spanish ships in the same manner. He pretended to be a Spanish vessel, then, once alongside, he demanded their surrender. When he returned to England, he had a treasure that included 20 tons of silver, more than 454kgs of gold, and many pearls and diamonds. The value today of the Gold and silver alone (2023 figures) would be over $40 million. For this theft he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1851 and rewarded with £50,000, which would be equivalent to about $2million today.

The devil is like a pirate – he is the buccaneer of the universe. He tries to make us think he is on our side. Then suddenly he lets loose with his guns, and we are defeated. In this way he robs many young people through drugs, alcohol, bad movies, pornography, fashion, sport, and music. When satan the pirates boards your life he’s not after gold. He wants something far more valuable. He wants your mind, your heart, and your good character. He wants to robe you of your love for Jesus. He will take away all hope of eternal life.

Today that old buccaneer of the universe is going to try and board your ship. He will come posing as your friend. Then suddenly, when he thinks your guard is down, he’ll try to steal your treasure. Are you going to let him get away with it?

Paul tells us in Romans 5:1 that because we are  Justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, peace with God implies war with the devil. Every human heart is a battlefield whereupon the flesh and the spirit are locked in mortal combat. The issues of this conflict are of the greatest importance. There are confusing and contradictory voices that speak to our soul for good and evil. Isaiah 30:21 talks about the voice of conscience that whispers to us, while Proverbs 14:12 talks about the voice of the serpent, the roaring lion that would lure us onto the way of death.

Have you ever wondered why the person of the world seems to show less inner conflict, apart from the conviction of what is obviously right and wrong, while the born again Chrisian seems to battle more with this inner conflict. The answer is simple. The non-Christian only has one nature. The one they are born with. There is little to oppose it. However, the twice born person who has taken Jesus into his life by the converting power of the Holy Spirit, has two natures. The presence of Christ in the life has set up another standard and therefore its not Ok to do or say a lot of things that the one nature person would accept as OK.

The born-again person has the first and second nature, the second having come by a spiritual birth and is the presence of the Holy Spirit. The presence of a struggle is an indication of the presence of the second nature. Paul says in Galatians 5:17 “The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other…” (NLT)

Be encouraged my reader, if you are not having a struggle, then you are probably not having a Christian experience. But there is victory! The second nature will always be present until we are transformed in the “twinkling of an eye” at the second coming. But while the second nature will always be resident, it does not need to be president. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through the Lord Jesus Christ. (See Romans 7:24-25.)