I think I would argue that just enough of what the devil tries to entice us to believe IS truth. Just not the whole. A single word added or subtracted can make all the difference – remember how Eve responded. And you have to remember that the devil has honed his ability to lie over the millennia … and also his experience with how we’ve reacted to his suggestions. BUT, also remember that the last word that would define him is ‘creative’. He isn’t! He always returns to an approach that worked in the past. Which gives us the ability to recognize a similar thought or suggestion from our past. It should scream at us – LIE! We don’t always listen though.
Do we also buy lies when we remember who we WERE? Do we not trust that we have become a new creation [2 Corinthians 5:17-21]? Or maybe we just don’t think this new creation is strong enough to stand against the wiles of the devil? Look again at this scripture
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].” [v 17]
- ‘anyone’ does include you.
- The power when you’ve made Jesus your Lord is, IS mightier than the devil
[1 John 4:4] - OLD is passed away, your old – the mistakes, the sins, etc. is gone – you’ve
confessed them and they only control them as YOU give them power over
you. - NEW ‘have’ come – not coming, past tense. Yes, you have to put on the new
man [Ephesians 4:17-24] - You don’t have to do this alone, you have a partner, because the Lord has said
that He would never leave or forsake you! [Hebrews 13:5]
Consider those 5 points. When we stand ONLY on them – do you understand who you are? There are other points, other learnings that increase our understandings and confidence on Whose we are and Who we’re becoming.
We begin a grand adventure when we make Jesus our Lord and become saved. Salvation must come first but then …… such a world is open to us. We not only are new but we are loved and wanted and have a place. Each of us has a gift from the Lord so that we can become involved in our Father’s business. We can make a difference in our world.
Feeling guilty, shame, unworthy – all that comes with the lies. God NEVER corrects us in this way. He wants us to grow, to become, to live the abundant life He has always planned for us. When we act on the lies from the devil we really abet the devil’s desire to steal, kill, and destroy us [John 10:10, Luke 22:31, 1 Peter 5:8 tell us this]. What do we do? Certainly stop accepting and listening to the lies. We do act and not just stop listening. We use the same weapons Jesus did – the Word: IT IS WRITTEN.
When you compare this with accepting the lie from the devil – why? It has nothing to do with your unworthiness – and everything to do with Who you believe. Believe the Lord or you believe the lies – either/or.
