Satan is a liar. It's common knowledge. He's the father of lies. He is incapable of speaking the truth. God, on the other hand is the author of truth. His words bring life because truth brings life. Why then do Christians live a defeated life? Because they are dead in lies. Christ promised freedom from the lies. But we choose death, because it is easier than fighting our flesh to believe the truth.
Lately, I have been believing lies. And I am done. I figure I am not the only one, so I want to share the truth with you. My prayer is that you do not just skim this list. My prayer is that you search your heart. Align the thoughts in your head with the truth of this list. Does it add up? It's time for freedom, dear one. Believe the truth and let it set you free because "if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed" (John 8:36). Stop walking around in defeat. A defeated Christian is the saddest thing. Who wants to know the God of a defeated Christian? It is time to walk in joy. Joy is not circumstantial. Joy comes from knowing the truth is for you. Joy comes from encountering Jesus. May you encounter Jesus tonight, believe His truth, and may he forever be the "lifter of your head" (Psalm 3:3).
The truth is that God is for you. (Romans 8:31)
There is some horrible idea floating around that God puts people through trials just to see how much they can handle. We feel like when we go through anything, it's a test from the Lord to show our strength. The truth is God couldn't care less about how strong you are. His interest is in how strong you will let Him be through you. I am sick of the phrase 'trying harder'. Stop trying so hard. You will never "arrive". For the love of mercy, will you just kneel at the cross? Don't try to climb a level higher in the spiritual world. Climbing never got you as far as kneeling did. Kneeling is what saved you, not climbing.
Guilt is not a good reaction to sin. (Romans 5:1)
Guilt is a tool used by Satan to tell a Christian that they are not good enough. News flash, we are not good enough. That's why we needed a Savior in the first place. Guilt says "Jesus, what you did on the cross was not good enough. So I am going to take you off of the cross and put myself on there because me beating myself up gets the job done better than your perfect sacrifice." Repentance is a change of heart. Repentance has very little to do with us, and very much to do with God. Guilt does not indicate a change of heart. It indicates pride. It says that my sin is not eligible to be saved, so I am too bad for Christ to save. Guilt is very 'me' focused. Guilt needs to be repented of. The Lord will change your heart. He is in the business of saving, after all.
God does not laugh when our sin hurts us. (Matthew 7:11)
Jesus portrays God as a good father in the seventh chapter of Matthew. I never had a father, so when I got to know God, this idea perplexed me. How was I supposed to know how good of a father He is if I had never experienced a father at all? I may not have had a father, but I have an incredible mama. My mama loves me so insanely much. I have never once questioned her love for me. I have done some horrible things to my mom. I spent 3 years of my life lying, manipulating, and stealing from her. I have laughed in her face when she tried to discipline me. I have called her all sorts of names and blatantly disobeyed her. Never once did my mother laugh at me. In fact, finally at the pinnacle of my sinful life, she held me and cried. I lost my virginity in a not-so-pleasant way. I was not sober or stable minded, and I was hardly coherent. One night, my mom happened to walk in as I was removing the purity ring that had sat securely on my wedding finger since the age of thirteen. Instantly, she knew. My mother did not discipline me. She did not say, "I told you this would happen if you kept this up." She did not yell or wave her arms or curse me. She did not try to disown me. Instead, she called me into her room and had my lie in her lap. For the first time in a year, I let her hold me. And we cried together. In that moment, I did not need words. No words could comfort me. She was just there. And she cried with me. That paints a picture of Jesus to me. We mess up in the most horrible ways. Yes, there may be consequences. But He cries when we cry. The Bible says he is near to the broken hearted. Not just those who got their hearts broken without sin. He is near to the broken hearted. Period. The Lord wants to draw near to you. He wants to call you into His presence. He wants to hold you. He wants to cry with you. We can draw near to Him in confidence. Hebrews 4:16 says, "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Mercy means kindness. Grace means forgiveness. Let God hold you. Sin hurts him because sin hurts us.
The truth of who Jesus is changes things. We can stop being defeated. The victory is in Jesus. We can declare the truth when the lies come and find us. Truth always wins. Even when your heart doesn't feel it, declare the truth. I promise it will set you free. But if you don't take my word for it, trust the Lord. Because He says so too.
PS. Thank you for all of your support. In the last 3 days alone, I have gotten so many participants for the 21 for 21 fundraiser. If 24 more people donate $21 by the end of this month, I meet my next deadline. And if 167 more people donate $21, then I can officially launch in July. Keep me in your prayers please. Lord knows I need them.
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