Lies, Lies, Lies

Today, on Pastor Appreciation Sunday, I was inspired by a woman who stood in front of the congregation and shared from her heart what our pastors meant to her. As she spoke, she said the normally she wouldn’t speak in front of a crowd because that was a fear of hers. But lying in bed the night before, she felt the Lord’s leading to share today. She said she had to tell the devil to “shut up” because he was trying to scare her and keep her from speaking.

I listened to that and thought, “How many times do we believe the lies spoken to us from the enemy?” And worse yet, how often do we act out of those lies?  I remember making so many tragic decisions out of fear and lies planted in my heart and mind from the devil. It never produced anything but death and destruction.

In Luke 4: 5-7 we find Jesus sequestered during a 40 day fast. The devil shows up to tempt him. In these scriptures, he says…

"Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them," the devil said, "Because they are mine to give to anyone I please. I will give it all to you if you will worship me."

What a lie. The devil tries to pull one over on Jesus. He must have thought that because Jesus was hungry from fasting that He would have been irrational in his decision making. The devil must have thought that because he so easily convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit that he could sway Jesus with the art of persuasion.

The devil said he would give Jesus the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them.  And also boldly says that they are his to give….now that is  a lie in and of itself. 

Some people believe that this scripture means the devil was willing to control the hearts and minds of people to follow Jesus….and that Jesus would be awed by a larger following and bigger ministry. Some think that the devil was so drunk with power that he literally thought he controlled and had authority in the world that would give him the deed to kingdoms.

Regardless of what you might interpret this scripture to mean, the fact remains the same, everything in world is God’s and in turn is Jesus’s …. So what could the devil give Him that He didn’t already own? 

The same principle is true for us. If we have given our hearts to the Lord and agreed to follow Him as our Saviour, we are declared heirs to the kingdom.  So, what is it that the devil can give to us that we haven’t already be given by God? Don’t buy into the lie. The devil has nothing to offer….but death, destruction and a derailed life.

Jesus’s response was simple…”The scriptures say…..” Isn’t fabulous that Jesus didn’t use his power to knock the devil on his butt. He didn’t respond in a violent way, but rather, gleaned His words from The Word.

When we think the grass might be greener with the devil than with God, we should stop trying to glean from our own minds – which can be easily swayed and can be blind. We should run to the truth, the Word and look for the answers.

The greatest thing Jesus did was speak the Word. He didn’t run to call his friends, post his trials on Facebook or go buy the latest self-help book.  He turned to the never –changing, always relevant and forever powerful Word of God.

That should be the take away from this passage. The lies offered by the devil are convincing and he knows when to whisper in our ears….when we are most vulnerable. But, if we can train our hearts and minds to stand on the truth, the promises of God, we will walk in light and we won’t be defeated or overtaken by lies.