Devotionals by Raul Ries
THURSDAY July 30, 2026
Resist the Devil
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
James 4:7-10
James spoke to Christians who were struggling with worldliness, carnality, and self-seeking. It resulted in serious conflicts in the body of Christ. Believers were fighting, arguing, and causing division. How could they overcome these divisive situations? The first thing James instructed them to do was to submit to God––to place themselves under His authority and obey the Word of God.
Then James taught Christians the importance of resisting the devil. The word resist means “to withstand.” Christians often fail to resist the devil because they give in to their flesh so easily. Then they feel condemned. Believers need “to stand” until the end of the battle and not just quit. Listen, if you have to, run like Joseph and run fast! (Genesis 39:1-16).
The Bible gives us this sobering thought: Satan will flee from us for a season (Luke 4:13), which means he will return to tempt us. The more we learn to resist him, the stronger we will become. Resist the devil through the power of the Holy Spirit: …be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-11).
We can resist the devil by drawing near to God. When we humbly admit our sins to the Lord and let Him know we are guilty, we draw near to God. Satan leaves us and God moves in. God draws near to us and will begin to build us up and comfort us.
“Resisting the devil” does not mean “rebuking” him by shouting at him. It refers to a godly lifestyle of submission to God, a break with the friendship of the world and a spirit of personal humility.
~Frank Retief~
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About Raul Ries
Raul Ries is the Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel Golden Springs and President of Somebody Loves You Ministries. After his miraculous conversion in 1971, Raul began to read and study the Bible extensively even though he had a limited education. In 1974 he began a home Bible study with seven other committed individuals. Soon, he started to preach and counsel youth during the noon hour at his former high school, Baldwin Park High. Calvary Chapel West Covina grew out of Raul's home fellowship, as well as his Kung-Fu studio, and was soon meeting weekly at an old converted Safeway store. In 1993, the congregation moved to Diamond Bar and occupied a 101,000 square-foot corporate building on 28 acres. Calvary Chapel Golden Springs (as it is now called) draws between 10,000 - 12,000 in attendance weekly.
Author of several books, including Fury to Freedom (the story of his early life and dramatic conversion), Raul Ries has also produced three films: Fury to Freedom (feature film dramatization of the book); A Quiet Hope (a riveting and stirring documentary detailing seven soldier's accounts of the Vietnam War and its aftermath); and A Venture in Faith (a documentary of the history of the Calvary Chapel movement).
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(909) 396-1884