“31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””
Ginosko ho aletheia. Know the truth.
We have a great challenge standing before us every single day: whether to hold to Jesus’ teaching or to believe the devil’s lies. There are no greater stakes than deciding where you will go to spend eternity and what you believe has everything to do with where you will go.
Society bombards us with lies every day - fake news, false claims in advertisements, nonsense educators use to indoctrinate, many Hollywood movies, actors spouting off their political opinions, and even singers chanting things in songs they heard a demon say to them that sound ‘cool’ or ‘hot,’ or whatever the next buzz word or hot topic might be.
It truly is remarkable that some people believe the most outlandish things about themselves, the world, the universe, and God instead of the truth. In America, we are completely free to discover the truth. Christians are able to gain more and more freedom the more we draw closer to God and learn more and more of what is true and what is not as Holy Spirit blesses us with discernment.
“How mind-blowingly horrendous to have lived a fulfilling, successful life while believing lies and awaking one day to discover your whole life has been a lie and wind up in Hell to suffer mind-blowingly horrendous torture all day, every day for eternity simply because you had not accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior! ”
The devil (Satan) is a good marketer and he’s certainly not dumb - as some well-intentioned* people make him out to be. There are people who say, ‘Satan isn’t a creative being,’ and ‘The devil’s never had an original thought,’ etcetera. If you choose to think that, you have believed a bold-faced lie. Let me put it plainly - if the devil has never had an original thought, neither have you. He was an archangel in Heaven before he was cast down to Earth for leading a rebellion against God. He is not stupid. Satan is a liar and the author of lies. Lying is his “native language.” There is no truth in him as he lives to oppose everything God is and wants to accomplish, but we have victory in Jesus!
The devil deceives people into thinking that, once they die, they are simply buried and that’s it - no second life, no eternity, this world is all there is and once we live, we die and the worms take over. He has inspired rebellious people of all walks of life think this way. It’s up to us to not simply reject the lies, but to, conversely, embrace the truth. It’s a major part of the sanctification process every single believer must go through. Life is all about relationships and this is no different. We are either partnering with the truth or partnering with falsity.
As in all situations, “IT TAKES TWO TO TANGO.”
Photo by werner22brigitte on Pixabay
Who do you believe? What do you believe? Why do you believe what you believe? Is what you believe the truth or is it a perversion of the truth?
Falsity is not possible without the truth just like there is no darkness with the presence of light. Falsity is the perversion of the truth and proof of an enemy of the truth. More so, we actually have to WILLING to be deceived. Let me repeat. We have to be willing to be deceived. It’s a matter of choice. God has endowed all humanity with the awesome gift of the freedom to be our own free moral agents.
With the option of autonomy, we can personally determine what we choose to believe, and live out, on a minute-to-minute basis. We are completely free to break free from our regular life anytime we so choose. There will always be consequences, but we are able to walk away any time we like, if you so choose. You are free to live outside under the stars as opposed to in a house or tee pee, etcetera. You can leave your country and start a new life in another one - if they let you in. You can choose to get a new job or go back to school, if that’s the next step in God’s plan for your life. See what I mean? You can make changes … anytime … you … choose.
“You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
We have to WANT to know the truth. We have to WANT to be free. Once we know the truth, we experience freedom and the devil hates when people escape his clutches. Depression is a demonic attack on your soul and not a chemical imbalance. That truth alone can empower you to fight the correct battle. Knowing the truth gives us direction as well as power to know what to do in every situation.
There are things in our lives that seem to be of benefit, but they actually harm us, or worse yet, cause us to be less than who God made us to be. These things do not deserve to take up space in our lives. There are also “Negative Nancies” who suck our energy (energy vampires) with the negativity they speak and the negative things they do. Get rid of the things in your life that prevent you from becoming all God has made you to be. Create healthy boundaries between yourself and the “Negative Nancies” and get rid of anything that does not help you draw closer to God. You might have some tough choices to make, but God’s blessing that will replace the harmful thing you’re replacing is far more valuable.
The biggest battle in our world today is over absolute truth. The truth is always absolute and does not conform or waver or bend. It reveals weaknesses and lies and hearts. People corrupted by pride will always choose falsity over the truth when they can benefit from it.
Who is your tango partner?
Prayer
Holy, holy, holy are You, Lord God! My Lord, I confess that I’ve believed many lies and am now ready to be rid of them all. I repent of, renounce, and reject believing lies as a lifestyle. Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me. Reveal all that is within me that is not true. Lead me into all truth. Root out every last bit of deception and anything that keeps me from the life You have called me to live and lead me in the way everlasting by Your Holy Spirit. Make me a shining beacon of truth in a world full of lies. In Jesus’ name, amen.
If you are a Christian leader, you might consider this teaching series for your disciples. I went through it and loved it.
*Obviously, there are some people who have bad intentions toward us, but we must not forget to keep our boundaries. When people hurt you more than once, it’s time to establish boundaries with that person. (Jesus talked about our two cheeks. We’re human beings, not doormats!) It’s of utmost importance to resist the temptation to completely shut out someone from our lives just in case that person gets right with the Lord and needs to apologize/make amends toward us. ;) God never shuts us out, so we must do the same for others.