******
What's been on my mind lately? This--
We can do whatever God says--or else He wouldn't ask.
Yet what if we no longer hear Him speak? If we're more likely to follow fear rather than God?
Perhaps we've allowed satan's lies to become louder within our heads. Lies like these:
"You can't do this. You're not able."
"Your best friends will unfriend you."
"You've made too many mistakes. You're unqualified."
"There's no need to listen to that teacher."
"Emotionally you can't handle that."
"God won't protect you."
"Stay angry. This time it's ok."
"Everyone will laugh. They'll walk. Gossip."
"You don't need to read that blog post/book."
"You can't change anything."
"You're not gonna survive this."
The troubling part: simultaneously Jesus is saying, "You can do all things through Me because I'm strengthening you." (Philippians 4:13). Lies can be loud, though! Even gagging the truth.
Oh, that we'd silence lies with Jesus' name. His truth. And our obedience.
Maybe you noticed that 2020 and 2021 were years of massive, weighty lies and deep deception.
Deception: the act of causing someone to accept as true what is false or invalid: the fact or condition of being deceived.
Satan's lies or God's voice? Which are we obeying?
In 2022 may we cling to truth, not lies. To what God says about us in His written word. To the Holy Spirit's spoken words to our hearts.
And may we remember this: perhaps nothing swings open the Deception Door wider than fear. So fight it, consistently, with a weapon like this--
"For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." --- 2 Timothy 1:7
It's time.
These days? Those standing strongest against evil need incredible wisdom and the ability to hear clearly from God. Both will help us from making mistakes, creating chinks in our armor, which Satan can then come along and exploit in dangerous ways.
"When you're deceived you don't know you're deceived." ---copied.
"When satan lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." ---John 8:44
And as I shared at Facebook:
I read something this morning from a Christian who wrote the total opposite of this verse, below. NEVER let anybody (or any 'covid year') rip away your hope, ok? Never!
******
Wow. I so appreciate those of you who gave me your book recommendations for my Kindle gift card! Truly, your snatching time from your day meant much to me.
And since I believe in sharing all things pleasant, here are the books you listed for me:
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
The Ladybug Farm books
Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series
Silence of the North
Mother Carey's Chickens
Winter Solstice
This Beautiful Truth
The Hiding Place
Dear And Glorious Physician
The Nightingale
Karen Kingsbury's books
Sapiens
The Dawn of Everything
Four Winds
Ken Follett's historical novels
Same Kind of Different As Me
Something fun? Open Library has many of these, so hey, I can read them for free. ツ
And something wild? Just yesterday I realized I'm in the mood to read non-fiction books, memoirs, etc. so what did I spy this morning, but Kate Howe's latest Youtube book video: Favorite Non-Fiction of 2021.
Don't you love it when that happens? At least half of Kate's recommendations intrigued me. Wow.
Satan wants to destroy us from the inside, out. So he lies. And lies. And lies.
***
"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15
4 comments:
💙
I so many, Christians and not, are believing those lies. Those all look like great recommendations. I haven't taken time to read a book in a long time. Too much to do.
Blessings,
Betsy
We are surrounded by lies. It's our responsibility to seek God and his truth, and plug the truth into our minds, hearts and lives. It is not easy. I'm nearly 68 and became a follower of Jesus at a very young age. I've been surrounded by other believers and have been blessed in countless ways by God. Yet I must make it a priority to read the Bible and talk with the Lord, often. For me, it's the only way to stay on track. I guess God did warn us that we would be fighting a war. How wonderful that He also told us he would stay with us and carry us. He promised to be strong whenever we're weak. "...He never has failed me yet."
Thanks for the list of book suggestions. It looks good to me!!
Hi Debra! I was checking out your blog this morning and wanted to say "hi" and reconnect. I trust that you're doing well. It's good to see that you're still blogging after all these years. My pilgrimscribblings.com blog is still active but I'm not posting near as often as I was. Most of my "stuff" is on Facebook now.
Stay well, stay safe and stay strong!
David Fisher
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100072276384920
Post a Comment