Scriptures that expose the devil's lies, part 4

This is the fifth and final post in a series about the deceptive techniques of the devil.  The devil routinely lies, deceiving people in order to lead them away from the Lord.  In my first post of this series, I identified 12 common lies which the deceiver tells over and over.  We are working through these lies, and placing the truth of scripture against them to expose them.  I've included links to the other posts at the end of this one.

The scriptures below are all from the NIV unless otherwise noted. 


Devil's lie #10.

It doesn't matter if you just sin a little bit.  You can always stop when you want to.

Truth:  Sin always hurts you, always robs you of something that would have been better.  Sin takes you farther than you planned to go, and costs you far more than you ever planned to pay. 

Scripture:

• Proverbs 6:27-28 ~  Can a man scoop fire into his lap without his clothes being burned?  Can a man walk on hot coals without his feet being scorched?
• Proverbs 7:6-23 ~ At the window of my house I looked down through the lattice.  I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who had no sense. 
  He was going down the street near her corner,
      walking along in the direction of her house at twilight, as the day was fading,
      as the dark of night set in. 
  Then out came a woman to meet him,
      dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent. 
  (She is unruly and defiant,
      her feet never stay at home; 
  now in the street, now in the squares,
      at every corner she lurks.) 
  She took hold of him and kissed him
      and with a brazen face she said: 
  “Today I fulfilled my vows,
      and I have food from my fellowship offering at home. 
  So I came out to meet you;
      I looked for you and have found you! 
  I have covered my bed
      with colored linens from Egypt. 
  I have perfumed my bed
      with myrrh, aloes and cinnamon. 
  Come, let’s drink deeply of love till morning;
      let’s enjoy ourselves with love! 
  My husband is not at home;
      he has gone on a long journey. 
  He took his purse filled with money
      and will not be home till full moon.” 
  With persuasive words she led him astray;
      she seduced him with her smooth talk. 
  All at once he followed her
      like an ox going to the slaughter,
  like a deer stepping into a noose 
  till an arrow pierces his liver,
  like a bird darting into a snare,
      little knowing it will cost him his life.
• Proverbs 7:24-27 ~ Now then, my sons, listen to me;
      pay attention to what I say.  Do not let your heart turn to her ways
      or stray into her paths.  Many are the victims she has brought down;
      her slain are a mighty throng.  Her house is a highway to the grave,
      leading down to the chambers of death.
• Proverbs 9:13-18 ~ Folly is an unruly woman;
      she is simple and knows nothing.  She sits at the door of her house,
      on a seat at the highest point of the city, calling out to those who pass by,
      who go straight on their way, “Let all who are simple come to my house!”
  To those who have no sense she says, “Stolen water is sweet;
      food eaten in secret is delicious!”  But little do they know that the dead are there,
      that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.
• Ephesians 5:3-6 ~  But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.  Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.  For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.

Devil's lie #11.

You have to take care of yourself and put yourself first, because nobody else cares about you.

Truth: God cares about you.  He works on your behalf, and He takes care of you, protects you.  When you trust God and die to selfishness, you will find that you are the most free you have ever been because you don't have to worry about yourself. 

Scripture:

• Psalm 91:9-11 ~ If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
      and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you,
      no disaster will come near your tent.  For he will command his angels concerning you
      to guard you in all your ways.
• Psalm 91:14-15 ~ “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
      I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.  He will call on me, and I will answer him;
      I will be with him in trouble,
      I will deliver him and honor him.
• Psalm 31:14-16 ~ But I trust in you, Lord;
      I say, “You are my God.”  My times are in your hands;
      deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
      from those who pursue me.  Let your face shine on your servant;
      save me in your unfailing love.
• Luke 9:23-25 ~ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.  What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?
• Matthew 19:28-30 ~ Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first."
• Philippians 2:3-9 ~ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:  Who, being in very nature God,
      did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;  rather, he made himself nothing
      by taking the very nature of a servant,
      being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man,
      he humbled himself
      by becoming obedient to death—
          even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
      and gave him the name that is above every name.

Devil's lie #12.

This is way more fulfilling than anything God has to offer.

Truth: Although Satan works hard to convince you that he has something worthwhile to offer, it is all a sham.  Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from God.  Everything that has real value comes from God.  Everything that that lasts comes from God.  True fulfillment is only found in Christ.

Scripture:

• Psalm 16:11 ~ You make known to me the path of life;
      you will fill me with joy in your presence,
      with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
• Psalm 63:3-5 ~ Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.  I will praise you as long as I live and in your name I will lift up my hands.  I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
• Psalm 73:23-26 ~ Yet I am always with you;
      you hold me by my right hand.  You guide me with your counsel,
      and afterward you will take me into glory.  Whom have I in heaven but you?
      And earth has nothing I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail,
      but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
• John 10:10 ~ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
• John 17:13 ~ I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.
• 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 ~  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
• Ephesians 1:18-23 ~ I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.  And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
• Philippians 1:21-26 ~  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!  I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.  Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.
• Philippians 3:7-14 ~  But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.  I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
• Hebrews 12:1-2 ~ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
• James 1:17 ~  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Obviously the devil uses more lies than these.  Also, I am only touching on some scriptures to counter these particular lies.  Depending on your specific situation, God may have many other things to say to you in other places in the Bible.

If you struggle with discerning truth, struggle to trust in the goodness of God, I encourage you to spend much time praying and reading Philippians, Psalms and Proverbs.  These are often easier to understand than some other parts of scripture.  Mark is the easiest gospel to understand, but John offers the most comfort (I think).  Isaiah is a very rich book, full of good thoughts and good promises, but it can be difficult to understand.   Pray whenever you read scripture.  If you haven't tried it before, you may be surprised at how powerfully God answers when He meets you in His word.

Other posts in this series:

The devil's schemes and the God of truth
Scriptures that expose the devil's lies.
Scriptures that expose the devil's lies, part 2.
Scriptures that expose the devil's lies, part 3.

Scriptures that expose the devil's lies, part 3

This is the fourth in a series of posts about the deceptive techniques of the devil.  He routinely lies, deceiving people in order to lead them away from the Lord.  In my first post of this series, I identified 12 common lies which the deceiver tells over and over.  We are working through these lies, and placing the truth of scripture against them to expose them.  I've included links to the other posts at the end of this one.

The scriptures below are all from the NIV unless otherwise noted. 


Devil's lie #7.

You are worthless.

Truth:  You are so valuable to God that Jesus was crucified to buy you back from the devil who temporarily owned you. 

Scripture:

• Matthew 13:45-46 ~  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
• Luke 12:7 ~ Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
• 1 Peter 1:18-19 ~ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
• Revelation 5:9 ~ And they sang a new song, saying:
  “You are worthy to take the scroll
      and to open its seals,
  because You were slain,
      and with Your blood You purchased for God
      persons from every tribe and language and people and nation."

Devil's lie #8.

You are hopeless.

Truth: All things are possible for God.   Nothing is ever hopeless.  God has infinite power to restore and renew.  God has infinite grace to to pour out on you in forgiveness in response to repentance.  There is hope. 

Scripture:

• Psalm 42:5 ~ Why, my soul, are you downcast?
      Why so disturbed within me?
  Put your hope in God,
      for I will yet praise him,
      my Savior and my God.
• Psalm 103:1-5 ~ Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.  Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
• Isaiah 57:18-19 ~ "I have seen their ways, but I will heal them;  I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, creating praise on their lips.  Peace, peace, to those far and near,” says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”
• Matthew 19:26 ~ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
• Romans 5:8 ~ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
• Romans 15:13 ~ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Devil's lie #9.

It's too late.

Truth: Although there will be a point when it will be too late, it is not too late as long as you have life and breath.  Ask Jesus to heal everything that is amiss in you today, while you can.  If you can consider it, it is not too late .

Scripture:

• Psalm 25:7 ~ Do not remember the sins of my youth
      and my rebellious ways;
  according to your love remember me,
      for you, Lord, are good.
• Isaiah 55:6-7 ~ Seek the Lord while he may be found;
      call on him while he is near.  Let the wicked forsake their ways
      and the unrighteous their thoughts.
  Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
      and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
• 1 John 1:9 ~ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  
• Luke 23:39-43 ~ One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”  But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”  Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."  Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”   
• John 6:37 ~ All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.

Other posts in this series:

The devil's schemes and the God of truth
Scriptures that expose the devil's lies.
Scriptures that expose the devil's lies, part 2.

Scriptures that expose the devil's lies, part 2

This is the third in a series of posts about the deceptive techniques of the devil.  He routinely lies, deceiving people in order to lead them away from the Lord.  In my first post of this series, I identified 12 common lies which he tells over and over.  Last time, we debunked three of these lies.  Today, we will debunk three more.

The scriptures below are all from the NIV unless otherwise noted. 



Devil's lie #4.

God doesn't care.

Truth:  God cares very much about his children.  He invites us to cast our cares on Him because He cares for us.  He is attentive to our prayers and zealous for our salvation.  He cares so much, He fights for us, on our side. 

Scripture:

• 1 Peter 5:7 ~ Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
• Psalm 55:22 ~ Cast your cares on the Lord
      and he will sustain you;
  he will never let
      the righteous be shaken.
• Psalm 34:15 ~  The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
      and his ears are attentive to their cry;
• Isaiah 26:11 ~ Lord, your hand is lifted high,
      but they do not see it.
  Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame;
      let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them.
• Exodus 14:14 ~ The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.
• Psalm 20:7 ~ Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
      but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
• Psalm 33:16-22 ~ 
  No king is saved by the size of his army;
      no warrior escapes by his great strength.  A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
      despite all its great strength it cannot save. 
  But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
      on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, 
  to deliver them from death
      and keep them alive in famine. 
  We wait in hope for the Lord;
      he is our help and our shield. 
  In him our hearts rejoice,
      for we trust in his holy name. 
  May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
      even as we put our hope in you.

Devil's lie #5.

God won't (or can't) help you.

Truth: God is for us, so who can stand against us?  He comes to the aid of His people.  Nothing is impossible for God.  God is sovereign, omnipotent, almighty, attentive and kind.  He has delivered His people from sin, and ultimately He will deliver us from eternal death.  God can and will help His people. 

Scripture:

• Exodus 14:14 ~ The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.  (~worth repeating!)
• Psalm 3:8 ~ From the Lord comes deliverance.
      May your blessing be on your people.
• Psalm 18:2 ~ The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
• Psalm 32:7 ~ You are my hiding place;
      you will protect me from trouble
      and surround me with songs of deliverance.
• Psalm 34:7 ~ The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
      and he delivers them.
• Romans 8:31 ~ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
• Romans 8:32 ~ He who did not spare his own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?
• Matthew 19:26 ~ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
• Luke 1:37 ~ For nothing will be impossible with God.   (ESV)

Devil's lie #6.

There is nothing to look forward to.

Truth:  There is everything to look forward to.  Home in heaven.  Restoration of everything that is good.  The end of everything that is bad.  A new heaven and a new earth.  A perfect relationship with God.  Perfect relationships with all others who, like you, will also have been perfected in eternity.   Eternal life in paradise.

Scripture:

• Zephaniah 3:20 ~ At that time I will gather you;
      at that time I will bring you home.
  I will give you honor and praise
      among all the peoples of the earth
  when I restore your fortunes
      before your very eyes,”
  says the Lord.
• Psalm 16:11 ~ You make known to me the path of life;
      you will fill me with joy in your presence,
      with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
• John 14:1-3 ~ Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
• Romans 8:18-21 ~ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.  For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
• 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 ~ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
• 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 ~ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
• Philippians 3:20-21 ~ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
• Colossians 3:4 ~ When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
• 2 Timothy 4:8 ~ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
• 1 John 3:2 ~ Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
• Jude 24-25 ~ To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
• Revelation 21:1-4 ~ Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
• Revelation 22:1-5 ~ Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  No longer will there be any curse.  The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  There will be no more night.  They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.  And they will reign for ever and ever.

Scriptures that expose the devil's lies

This is a follow-on from my last post, which discussed the deceptive techniques of the devil.  He routinely lies, deceiving people in order to lead them away from the Lord.  In my last post, I identified 12 common lies he tells over and over.  Below, I've begun debunking these lies, placing them against the truth that counters them, and scriptures to illustrate what is true.

These are dense, so I'm going to break them down and address three lies per post, over four posts.

The scriptures below are all from the NIV unless otherwise noted. 



Devil's lie #1.

God doesn't love you.

Truth:  God loves the world.  God loves all people.  
And God loves you, specifically, infinitely, unconditionally. 

Scripture:

• Lamentations 3:22 ~ Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
      for his compassions never fail.
• John 3:16 ~ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
• 1 Timothy 2:3-4 ~  This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
• 1 John 4:10 ~ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
• Luke 12:6-7 ~ Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.  Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 
• Romans 5:8 ~ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

Devil's lie #2.

God isn't good.

Truth:  God is good.  He is the very essence of goodness, the definition.  
Everything good comes from God and from nowhere else.  God is good. 

Scripture:

• Psalm 31:19 (ESV) ~ Oh, how abundant is your goodness,
      which you have stored up for those who fear you
  and worked for those who take refuge in you,
      in the sight of the children of mankind!
• Psalm 86:5 ~ You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
      abounding in love to all who call to you.
• Psalm 16:2 ~ I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
      apart from you I have no good thing.”
• Deuteronomy 10:12-13 ~ And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
• James 1:17 ~ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.   

Devil's lie #3.

There is no God.

Truth:  There is a God.  He made the Universe.  He reveals Himself through creation, scripture and Jesus Christ.

Scripture:

• Isaiah 44:6 ~ This is what the Lord says—
      Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty:
  I am the first and I am the last;
      apart from me there is no God.
• Isaiah 44:24 ~ This is what the Lord says—
      your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:  I am the Lord,
      the Maker of all things,
      who stretches out the heavens,
      who spreads out the earth by myself,
• Isaiah 45:18 ~ For this is what the Lord says—
  he who created the heavens,
      he is God;
  he who fashioned and made the earth,
      he founded it;
  he did not create it to be empty,
      but formed it to be inhabited—
  he says:
  “I am the Lord,
      and there is no other."
• Psalm 19:1 ~ The heavens declare the glory of God;
      the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
• Romans 1:20 ~ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
• John 14:9 ~ Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.  How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?"
• 2 Timothy 1:9-10 ~ He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.   
• John 20:31 ~ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
• Genesis 1:1 ~ In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

For the next post in this series, click here.

The devil's schemes and the God of truth

Somebody recently brought up the question, "What has Satan been hurling at you lately?"

We've been studying Revelation, specifically (over the past two weeks) Revelation 12-13.

I would like to point out that in Revelation 12, it is not Satan who is doing the hurling. It is Satan who is being hurled, hurled down.  This makes him very angry, furious, in fact.  It spurs him on to pursue and attack, because he knows his time is short.

He's a cornered wild animal.  He can't escape his doom, but he's going to chew up everything he can possibly get his teeth into on his way down.  So, although he is not the "hurler," he is a force to beware.

In October, I wrote a couple of posts on spiritual warfare which turned out to be surprisingly fortifying to me.  I'm so squeamish about these things, I guess the Lord had to allow me to write about the subject in my own way, in a way that didn't frighten me, in order for me to learn something about it.  You can go back and read them, if you wish:

Spiritual warfare

Spiritual warfare, part 2

While working through this subject, I noticed that the spiritual armor of Ephesians 6 begins with the Belt of Truth and ends with the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.  At the time, this seemed significant.  After consideration, it seems even more significant.  Our protection from the evil one is the Truth, and we find the Truth in the Word of God.

When we go out to do spiritual battle, we need to be careful about what we attribute to the devil.  We are tempted to attribute to the devil everything we don't like.  Cancer, car accidents, war, marital conflict, debt, hunger, fear, death, loss; we blame it all on Satan.  "Satan is really after me," we say.  "Satan is getting me down."  However, these things are natural results of living in a fallen world.  Many of the "bad" things that happen are either natural results of living in a fallen world, or natural consequences for our own, individual, sinful choices.  Now, obviously it was Satan who ushered sin into the world in the first place.  He jammed the gears so things don't work the way God created them to work.  Hence Murphy's Law.  Weeds.  Uphill battles.  Satan is not necessarily assailing us with trials; he just bent the system so it does these things on its own.

We should expect trials and trouble.  God warns us about this repeatedly. Trials and troubles should not surprise us.

Our spiritual warfare is not necessarily to be carried out in response to trials and troubles.  Our spiritual warfare is to be carried out in response to the devil's schemes.

I'm going to tell you what I think the devil's schemes are, what we need to watch out for, what we need to learn to triumph over:

The devil has one objective or goal, and two tactics that are really one and the same.

Satan's goal is to diminish the glory of God.  He thinks he can do this by hurting God's people, stealing the Shepherd's sheep.  Satan is out to cloud our minds and understanding so that we will not see God's glory or respond to it.

He uses two tactics to do this.  (1)  He uses deception, delusion.  He is the great deceiver.  He is a liar and the father of lies.  (2)  He uses accusation.  He loves to accuse the redeemed of their sins, which are already washed away by the perfect sacrifice of Jesus' shed blood.  Of course he wants to render Jesus' payment for our sins as useless and wasted; it was his ultimate undoing, so he wants to try to undo it back.  But he can't really, because it truly happened, once for all, and the saints stand forgiven.  The only way Satan can accuse us is by going back to his first tactic, and lying to us about what Christ has accomplished and whether God's grace could apply to us.

That stubbed toe you got in the grocery store, the scary result on the CT scan, the car breakdown... those weren't necessarily the devil's work.  God uses pain and suffering to drive us back into His own arms sometimes.  Your illness, your divorce, the termination of your job... these can be used by God to remind us to look to Jesus for our hope.  On the other hand, things we assume are blessings:  the child who is a prodigy at sports or music, the demanding but lucrative job, constantly beeping computers and smartphones, a calender chock full of dates and events... these can be provided and used by Satan to draw our eyes off our heavenly Father, to distract us and fill our time so that we neither pray nor read our Bibles nor fellowship with the community of faith.

I'm going to give you a list of some of the devil's most commonly used lies.  It's good to know what his lies are, because the best way to fight him is to name his lies and say, "That is not the truth!"  And then, of course, we need to review what the truth is, ideally by finding it written in the Word of God.

Lies of the devil:

1.  God doesn't love you.
Truth:  God loves the world.  God loves all people.  And God loves you, specifically, infinitely, unconditionally.

2.  God isn't good.
Truth:  God is good.  He is the very essence of goodness, the definition.  Everything good comes from God and from nowhere else.  God is good.

3.  There is no God.
Truth:  There is a God.  He made the Universe.  He reveals Himself through creation, scripture and Jesus Christ.

4.  God doesn't care.
Truth:  God cares very much about his children.  He invites us to cast our cares on Him because He cares for us.  He is attentive to our prayers and zealous for our salvation.  He cares so much, He fights for us, on our side.

5.  God won't (or can't) help you.
Truth: God is for us, so who can stand against us?  He comes to the aid of His people.  Nothing is impossible for God.  God is sovereign, omnipotent, almighty, attentive and kind.  He has delivered His people from sin, and ultimately He will deliver us from eternal death.  God can and will help His people.

6.  There is nothing to look forward to.
Truth:  There is everything to look forward to.  Home in heaven.  Restoration of everything that is good.  The end of everything that is bad.  A new heaven and a new earth.  A perfect relationship with God.  Perfect relationships with all others who, like you, will also have been perfected in eternity.   Eternal life in paradise.

7.  You are worthless.
Truth:  You are so valuable to God that Jesus was crucified to buy you back from the devil who temporarily owned you.

8.  You are hopeless.
Truth:  All things are possible for God.   Nothing is ever hopeless.  God has infinite power to restore and renew.  God has infinite grace to to pour out on you in forgiveness in response to repentance.  There is hope.

9.  It's too late.
Truth:  Although there will be a point when it will be too late, it is not too late as long as you have life and breath.  Ask Jesus to heal everything that is amiss in you today, while you can.  If you can consider it, it is not too late.

10.  It doesn't matter if you just sin a little bit.  You can always stop when you want to.
Truth:  Sin always hurts you, always robs you of something that would have been better.  Sin takes you farther than you planned to go, and costs you far more than you ever planned to pay.

11.  You have to take care of yourself and put yourself first, because nobody else cares about you.
Truth:  God cares about you.  He works on your behalf, and He takes care of you, protects you.  When you trust God and die to selfishness, you will find that you are the most free you have ever been because you don't have to worry about yourself.

12.  This is way more fulfilling than anything God has to offer.
Truth:  Although Satan works hard to convince you that he has something worthwhile to offer, it is all a sham.  Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from God.  Everything that has real value comes from God.  Everything that that lasts comes from God.  True fulfillment is only found in Christ.

These are some common lies that the devil tells people every day.  If you sense his voice trying to get one of these messages into your head, immediately identify it as a lie and say, "That is not the truth!"  This is the beginning of spiritual warfare.

When you identify the devil's lies and counter them with the truth, you are wearing God's Belt of Truth, His spiritual armor.  When you counter with scripture, you are wielding the Sword of the Spirit and driving the enemy back.  Next time, I will put together a post with scripture references you can use to counter the devil's lies that I listed above, to back up the truths I've outlined.  If you are aware of other lies that you've found the devil using against you, please list them in the comments section, and I'll work on including scriptural truths to counter them in the next post, too.

 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57 (NIV)

Follow on posts from this series:
Scriptures that expose the devil's lies.
Scriptures that expose the devil's lies, part 2.
Scriptures that expose the devil's lies, part 3.

Spiritual warfare, part 2

Here we are on the eve of Halloween, talking about spiritual warfare.

I'd call that appropriate.  I didn't plan it this way, either.  It is noteworthy when things work out beautifully just because they do, and not because you worked hard to finagle a result.  Spontaneous good results reassure me that God is attentive.

We've talked about the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness and Feet Fitted with the Gospel of Peace.  We've seen how the Lord girds us up with the Truth, covers us with the righteousness of Christ, and prepares us to run victoriously with a message of good news.

Today we will look at the Helmet of Salvation, the Shield of Faith and the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.

Satan is always trying to disarm us, to make us discouraged, timid and ineffective for the Kingdom of God.

1 Peter 5:8 (NLT)
Stay alert!   Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.  He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

A very real threat exists, but we do not need to be afraid, because God is our hope, our shield and defender.  He protects us, and He equips us.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (ESV)
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

Do you see that?  God equips us to tap into His divine power and join Him in destroying strongholds! 

Do you have a battle in your life today?  Is there a place where the enemy is poking at you, taunting you, tripping you up and wearing you down?  There's nothing the enemy can throw at you that's too strategic for God to defend against.

Isaiah 54:17 (NLT)
But in that coming day
    no weapon turned against you will succeed.
You will silence every voice
    raised up to accuse you.
These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord;
    their vindication will come from me.
    I, the Lord, have spoken! 

God is infinitely greater than any power that tries to rage against Him.  This great and mighty God cares for us, His people, His children.  He clothes us in His own righteousness and shelters us with His wings.

He gives us a Helmet of Salvation to cover our heads.  The head is of utmost significance.  People wear bicycle helmets and football helmets and even batters' helmets in baseball, because we know that above all things, the head must be protected. 

How does God protect our heads?  With salvation.  Salvation.  He steers us away from the road to hell, rescuing us with His mighty arm, and puts us on a path to everlasting life.  This is salvation.

Colossians 1:13-14 puts it this way --
For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. (NLT)

We are rescued, saved from the kingdom of darkness, and transferred into the Kingdom of Jesus.  This is our great salvation.  We have been purchased by the blood of Christ.  We are His.  Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ: not danger, trouble, persecution, hunger, or poverty; not death, life, angels, demons, not the future, the present, the past, or the power of hell (see Romans 8:35-39).  We have salvation from Jesus Christ.  Look at what Jesus says about it:

John 10:27-30 (NLT)
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else.  No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand.  The Father and I are one.

This is the spiritual helmet that protects our spiritual head.  If you're feeling under attack, say it.  Say it outloud!  "I have been saved by the blood of Jesus.  I belong to Jesus.  Jesus, I am Yours, and You are more powerful than anyone!"

Then, He gives us a Shield of Faith.  Faith is the gift of God (see Ephesians 2:8).  We don't whomp up a load of faith out of our own strength.  God somehow grants us faith, and this is a great mystery, but the bottom line is this: since God granted the faith, it is faith from God, divine faith.  It is strong, and it is powerful.  This is actually the message of the book of Job.  God gave Job faith, and then God allowed Job's faith to be tested, because God knew that the faith He had bestowed would not fail. God wanted to prove and display the strength of the faith He bestows on His children.

That same faith is our shield.  It extinguishes the fiery darts that the evil one throws at us.  It doesn't stop our enemy from attacking, but it stands in the gap between us and our enemy.  Demonic arrows hit the shield of faith, bounce back, and fall on the ground without harming us.  Faith is believing that God is real; God loves us; God has wonderful rewards for all who believe.  Faith is being convinced that the promises of God are true and glorious, while the lies of the devil lead to death.  Faith is an invincible shield against attacks of evil.

Psalm 3:3 (NLT)
But you, O Lord, are a shield around me;
    you are my glory, the one who holds my head high. 

God gives us a great arsenal of good, protective equipment.  He thoroughly equips all whom He calls.  He gives us faith, which results in salvation, which includes being clothed and covered with the righteousness of Christ.  He is real, and He reveals truth about His reality to us, which also builds our faith and holds us together.  He fills our hearts with joy about the good news of the gospel, and with wonderful hope as we look forward to the future He promises us.

God also gives us one offensive weapon:  The Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.  The more we read our Bibles, the more we internalize the great truths about Jesus.  The more we memorize, the more we remember in a crisis. Then we can stand against the enemy's schemes.  It is the Word of God that makes us solid on the Truth, and thus we have come full circle.

I could not possibly discuss all the wonders of the Word of God here, now.  All I can say is, read your Bible.  Read Mark.  Read Philippians.  Read Colossians and Genesis.  Read Luke and Acts.  Read the Psalms and the Proverbs.  Read parts of the Bible, and then read all of the Bible.  Read and pray that God will give you a deep love for His Word, and an ability to understand and apply it.

Psalm 119:103-104 (ESV)
How sweet are your words to my taste,
    sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Through your precepts I get understanding;
    therefore I hate every false way.