THE DEVIL HAS NO MOTHER
By Nicky Cruz
Hodder & Stoughton. 244 pages. £11.99
ISBN 978 1 444 703 320
Most Christians are familiar with the description of the armour of God that is found in Ephesians.
Careful reading reveals that our need for such spiritual armour is because of the ever-present activity of the devil. Perhaps Nicky Cruz has had more obvious and open encounters with the devil than most of us will ever experience, due to his upbringing in Puerto Rica by parents who were practising spiritists, but in this book he is challenging all Christians to wake up to the reality of the devil and his power. He wants to show that Satan is not someone to take lightly or be toyed with.
Many of the chapters deal with specific personal stories that illustrate how dangerous it is to play with things that we do not fully understand. This applies to all of us, but especially our young people, who may not have thought seriously about the content of films, books and video games that they use. We all need to appreciate the subtlety of the devil’s inroads into modern life and where he can trip us up.
Part three of the book shifts the emphasis from the snare of evil to the greater power of our God, showing that he is more than able to set us free from Satan’s clutches and going on to suggest spiritual tools that all Christians need to use. These practical chapters are all firmly grounded in Scripture, so that we should never risk relying on our own strength.
This is a hard-hitting volume that is useful as a stark reminder of our spiritual enemy. Perhaps one weakness is that it can leave you thinking that you should have more experience of God’s miraculous power and that you are a lesser Christian if you have not. The devil’s attacks are very subtle.
Mary Stolarski,
Southport; literature worker with Grace Baptist Mission
