Revisiting Spiritual Warfare: Don’t Roll Out the Welcome Mat
Welcome to The Daily Redemption for Thursday, March 25, 2026 — Today we learn that spiritual warfare isn’t about batting the devil off your welcome mat—it’s about not having one in the first place.
Opening Worshipful Lyrics from Zeb of Virginia Beach Church
from his song “When The Troubles Come”
when the troubles come X2
He’ll be there when the troubles come
well the Devil ain’t no big man
that’s how it seems to me
not in the same league as my
saviour from Galilee
but if the big red guy comes a-callin’
he just ain’t gonna get my soul
because there’s one who never lost a battle
and because of him I know
He’ll Be There No Need To Fear
No need to shed a single tear
He’ll be there he always is
There’s nothing that I have ever known
more than I know this
tough times never last only faithful people do
that’s why I am stickin to my Jesus
like we’re connected with super glue
i call his name and I am saved
he has never once refused
thats why this ol’ guitar man
ain’t singin the lonesome blues
Featured Scripture and Commentary
James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
There are two lies that are most prevalent in America today and around the world. 1. You attest that you read the TOS on whatever website you are on. 2. Your WELCOME MAT!
Two things to consider… is any random stranger truly welcome in your home? Then why do you invite them in with a big horizontal sign that says “welcome! come one come all! lend us your stinky, your unshowered, your mean, vicious, rabies infested and frothing at the mouth! Your huddled messes yearning to breathe the microplastics! Welcome to do whatever, stay for however long (the thing that wouldn’t leave old school SNL skit)” – “The New Colossus” rewritten
That innocent(?) little welcome mat with its cheerful yet 100% insincere message for the world could be all that 1 or many demons would need to legally claim that they had been invited into your world and your soul. And so we say about your spiritual warfare with the devil and his minions – just don’t invite them in in the first place! Now I had a neighbor’s aggressive pitbull (neighbor’s fault, not the pitbull’s) try to come through my window once. Well sometimes “Devil Dog – The Hound Of Hell (Actual 1960s movie title) really wants to get to you and sometimes your neighbor will do all they can to help him including yelling at you in your own home to “mind your own business”. (Actual 2025 occurance). So, today as we revisit spiritual warfare my message to you is don’t open the portal. Don’t offer a legal contract with or without a dotted line. No welcome mat! Throw them out. No open doors! Make sure you at least have screens on your spiritual 1st floor windows. If you are fighting 1 or many demons scan your world and your memory for cracks where they might have been invited in and seal them shut. This could be your lust, your sin, your lust for sin, any thought or deed which establish a contract with the darkness. REVOKE them and shut them down and remember to submit yourself to God and His holy name. Amen.
Ephesians 4:26–27 In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
2 Corinthians 2:11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
You don’t need to perform exorcisms in your living room. Do you? You just need to stop inviting him in. Unforgiveness left to fester? That’s a foothold. Bitterness you call “righteous”? That’s a welcome mat. Consuming media that rewires your desires away from God? That’s handing him the remote. The devil isn’t breaking down your door—he’s waiting for you to open it. Scripture doesn’t tell us to panic. It tells us to be aware. To guard our hearts. To submit to God first—because resistance flows from surrender, not strength. You don’t fight him off by shouting louder. You stave him out by removing the lying welcome mat, closing the doors he uses: your lust, your sin, your lust for sin, your anger unreleased, compromise normalized, truth exchanged for trends. Stay alert. Stay submitted. And discard your welcome mat and never, ever hand him the key. If the neighbors asked why you did that (assuming you still talk with your neighbors) then great, the just opened a door for you and laid out a welcome to educate them on scripture. Go!
Lord, show me where I’ve left doors open. The bitterness I’ve nursed. The compromise I’ve called “tolerance.” The media I’ve consumed that dulls my hunger for You. Forgive me. Shut every door I’ve carelessly left ajar. And anchor me so deeply in You that there’s no room left for him to enter and if I insist on having a welcome matter let me pour golden paint on it to symbolize your streets of heaven.. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
DR, NoFoothold, Ephesians4, DontInviteHimIn, DailyRedemption, GuardYourHeart, SpiritualAwareness
#DailyRedemption #NoFoothold #Ephesians4 #DontInviteHimIn #GuardYourHeart #SpiritualAwareness #BibleDevotional #ResistBySurrender
What does it mean to “not give the devil a foothold”? In this Daily Redemption devotional, discover that spiritual warfare isn’t about dramatic battles—it’s about daily choices to close the doors we’ve carelessly left open. Rooted in Ephesians 4:27 and James 4:7, this reflection offers practical wisdom for guarding your heart against compromise, bitterness, and cultural conformity—without fear-mongering or hype. Visit theholygospel.net for more devotionals, original worship music by Zeb of Virginia Beach, and daily truth that anchors the soul. If this reminded you that resistance starts with surrender, please like, subscribe, and share with someone who needs to hear: “Don’t roll out the welcome mat.” Have a blessed day in the Lord.
