Devotional Snapshot 66 - Truth

"Ever since that day in the garden when the serpent tempted Eve, he has relentlessly attacked the truth with lies, using the same strategies over and over to sow doubt and disbelief in the human mind." The Truth War by John MacArthur

Be well-balanced ---temperate, sober-minded; be vigilant and cautious at all times, for the enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring (in fierce hunger), seeking someone to seize upon and devour. 1Peter 5:8



Satan devours you by using self thoughts to bring fear, anger, discouragement. Satan lies to you and you believe him. He walks around like a roaring lion seeking who he can devour. We need to do like Jesus: use the Word of Truth to defeat the word of the liar. Here are some lies I have believed.

1. God cannot love me like He loves Beth Moore, Billy Graham, Joyce Meyers, Max Lucado, Charles Swindoll, Or (you fill in the blank with some Christian of fame) because I am not as godly as they, I am not as good.(Example: I am very fearful of people's disapproval because I think that's the best love I'll get. I constantly struggle with feeling unlovable when I fail.) THAT'S A LIE. THE TRUTH: Nothing, nothing, nothing separates us from the love of God...Romans 8:39

2. I can not share the message of Christ with others until I get it perfectly right myself, or until I lose weight, or until I grow younger, or until I no longer struggle with sin.(Example: I have a young beautiful neighbor that I feel inadequate to love for Jesus because I fear she will not see anything in me to draw her) THAT'S A LIE. THE TRUTH: "For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus....we possess this precious treasure in frail, human vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be of God and not from ourselves." 2Corinthians 4:5,7 The Amplified

3. After confessing,I still feel guilty therefore I am guilty. (Example: even now I bring up past mistakes in my parenting and cry). THAT'S A LIE. THE TRUTH: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse from all unrighteousness." 1John1:9

4. God has failed me. (Example: when I gave up my free time to homeschool, to do the best I could to raise my children in the Lord, and then watched them struggle and give in to the same sins as thousands of other teens, I thought God had failed me, failed to keep His part of the bargain.) THAT'S A LIE. THE TRUTH: Isaiah 43:2-5 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you...When you walk through the fire,you shall not be burned...For I am the Lord your God...I have loved you... Fear not, for I am with you..."

5. You cannot trust God to take care of you. You must do it yourself. THAT'S A LIE. (Example: I tended to go to books and man's advice on how to raise my children.) THE TRUTH: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5,6

6. God is not really intimately involved in every moment of our day. THAT'S A LIE. (Example: the pearl earring, the brown scarf, the phone call, the money. These mean nothing to you, but the very small details involved in these stories demonstrated the particular involvement of God in my life. You, yourselves have thousands of moments God displayed His watch care over you.). THE TRUTH: Matthew 10:29-31 TLB "Not one sparrow (What do they cost? Two for a penny?) can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't worry! You are more valuable to Him than many sparrows."

7. I have been saved by grace, but now I must keep my position by doing good works. THAT'S A LIE.(Example: I compared myself to a pastor's wife in a previous church ministry whose church was growing while ours was not. If only I prayed more, served more, witnessed more.) THE TRUTH: Galations 3:3 "Are you so foolish and so senseless and so silly? Having begun your new life spiritually with the Holy Spirit, are you now reaching perfection by dependence on the flesh?" The Amplified Bible Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Today will you let only true thoughts take hold of your mind?