Tag: Liar

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The human experiment.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

This truth was given to me in secret, as though whispered in my ear. It came to me in a disturbing vision at night, when people are in a deep sleep. Fear gripped me, and my bones trembled. A spirit swept past my face, and my hair stood on end. The spirit stopped, but I couldn’t see its shape. There was a form before my eyes. In the silence I heard a voice say, ‘Can a mortal be innocent before God? Can anyone be pure before the Creator?’ ‭‭Job‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Job, the oldest book written in the Bible is full of mystery and presents moral, theological dilemmas that are still wrestled with, even in modern times. Job was written 400 years before the Torah, the first five books of the Law. Job predates the law, and mentions nothing about the eventual covenant with God, the laws of God nor the sacrificial system that God directs Israel to live by.

It is interesting that the first verses in Job chapter one set the stage for us to know that Job was a good guy, a righteous guy. He even offered sacrifices to God for his children, “just in case they sinned against God.” He feared God, loved God and lived a good life! Then, seemingly out nowhere there is a meeting, a checkin with the angels. What follows is a conversation with God and the fallen angel, called the adversary.

God asks Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth.“ Satan replies, yeah, he’s only good because God has blessed him and protected him. Satan challenges God by saying, “take away his stuff and he’ll curse you.” God takes Satan up on the challenge and allows Satan to take Job’s “belongings” away from him. Belongings include his family! The scene repeats, but this time Satan challenges God by asking for permission to make Job’s physical life miserable – horrible diseases, but not allowing to take his life. Job knows nothing about the test, nor God’s faith in him to endure suffering without blaming God.

Job’s friends heard about Job’s suffering and made their way to him. At first the friends do the right thing by Job, they just sit with him and say nothing! “Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and nights. No one said a word to Job, for they saw that his suffering was too great for words.“ But soon, they just could not take. Not understanding WHY this is happening to Job, they offer their advice.

Eliphaz, possibly the eldest in the group, appears as the representative of the wisdom of the Edomites. Trying to be helpful, he shares about a vision he had. And from this vision, he concludes that there is a good and godly reason for Job’s suffering. Job has obviously sinned! Here’s the creepy part. Eliphaz gives his advice, his wisdom from a “whispering spirit,” that gave him chills in the night asking an accusatory question! Just a well placed question created a logical conclusion for this wise man. The question, “Can a mortal be innocent before God?” I don’t know about you, but this whole “truth” given in “secret” coming in a vision in the night sounds just like SATAN! Whispers, secrets and accusations? Come on. Eliphaz isn’t getting his answers from God, nor whatever experience he has had by walking with God on this fallen planet. His advice has been supplanted in his heart by the sneaky spirit of the dark!

All three of Job’s friends want to help Job, want to console him, and comfort him, but they all go down the same thought- path. Obviously Job has sinned and must repent. Obviously God is judging him and swift justice comes to those who do wrong. In their minds there is no other reason for a human being to suffer! Job’s friends seem unaware that as humans we live on a fallen planet, Satan’s domain.

Let’s answer the spirit-whispered accusation presented to Eliphaz. Can we be innocent before God? No, we’ve sinned, we are not innocent. But does that mean that we face the immediate judgement, the wrath and justice of God by being stripped of all possessions and daily physically tortured for our sin? No, we do not. Who is the one who brought the calamity and destruction into Job’s life? Satan! The good suffer, the bad succeed. The good succeed, the bad suffer. We cannot determine judgement nor eternity based on our comparison of possessions, position or power! Satan challenged God’s wisdom by trying to prove that humans are only capable of loving God back because of blessing! The experiment, give humans free will, a choice, give them autonomy and self determination – they will not choose God, they will always choose evil. The ancient challenge was that humans would not be able to love God in a world filled with evil and the ability to chase after their own lusts and desires leading to their demise and eventual destruction.

The human experience on the dark planet would seem to be a doomed experiment. Job was not perfect. Yet, without knowing anything about the test he was participating in, he passed. He did not blame God nor curse God for his suffering! God believes in us. God risks that love, mercy, grace and forgiveness will save our lives. God’s plan of redemption from our sin through the sacrifice of His own Son proves that we can and will be capable of loving Him in spite of an adversary and accuser. That we are able to love Him in spite of our brokenness and disordered desires. Our faith, like Job’s, like Abraham’s, is counted as righteousness! We are saved by grace, not of our works. We love because we know God’s goodness. We fear God out of honor and respect, not just because He can obliterate us back to the dust from which we came.

Prayer

Dad,
We were created out of dust, and to dust our bodies will return. But you infused Your Spirit within us. It is that spirit that will choose to love you. That spirit that will live forever. Thank you for loving us first. Thank you for this amazing life in this beautiful world. It is filled with wonder and wickedness, yet I know your plans for me and they are good. I choose you because you first chose me.

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The End of the Personified City

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“He gave a mighty shout: “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen! She has become a home for demons. She is a hideout for every foul spirit, a hideout for every foul vulture and every foul and dreadful animal. For all the nations have fallen because of the wine of her passionate immorality. The kings of the world have committed adultery with her. Because of her desires for extravagant luxury, the merchants of the world have grown rich.” ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭18‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Babylon, the great city of antiquity. Bible Study Tools writes, “As Nimrod began his reign, he and his followers had one overriding goal for their new territory; they wanted to ensure the security of their community by building a prestigious landmark to make a name for themselves. “Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4). And includes an interesting note, “The ancient historian Josephus states of Nimrod, ‘He also said he would be revenged on God if he should have a mind to drown the world again; for that he would build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 1, Chapter 4).”

It all seems so oddly paradoxical, that the Vegas of ancient days became more than just a city, Nimrod built an alternative to God’s way – thus an option to a different salvation for humanity. What other option? The option of doing things my way, saving myself. The underpinnings of that thought, that subtle lie is this: I CHOOSE sin over salvation. Translation: God, I can save myself, if you don’t mind!

Babel, then later Babylon became the personification of the great lie, along with the great liar – Satan. Satan is the governor of Babylon. The city, the way of life, the culture and self determined religion, doesn’t just survive – it thrives in pockets all over the globe. You can see it in every “ism” that is known. Not just communism, fascism, socialism and even capitalism. ISM, might as well stand for “I Save Myself!” America struggles with five dangerous “isms”: humanism, pragmatism, materialism, secularism and relativism. All of the “ism’s” are distinctive doctrines, systems, or theories, simply beliefs on how to do life.

Babylon spawned years of tower-building philosophies of how to “out-god” God! But John, the revelator, is shown the destruction of the evil city and the systems, a “home for demons.” And it won’t happen until the end. The spirit, the arrogance, the perpetual lie will continue until the final days. As believers, we have been warned throughout all history NOT to go there, visit there and absolutely not live there and believe in the city motto: “to thine own self be true.” Remember in Shakespeare’s play, Polonius, himself was a pompous, hypocritical, and empty man. Jesus, alternatively said this, “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it. But whoever loses their life for me will find it.” Mat 16:25. The antidote to sin isn’t self, it’s Jesus’ sacrifice and we will not find it in Babylon.

Prayer

Dad,
I’ve seen Babylon alive and well, living within my own soul. I do not intend to make it my permanent home. I will choose the New Jerusalem instead, the city of God. I will choose heaven as my final destination and to do so means daily dying to self and having you, and only you SAVE me. Thank you for your grace, mercy and enduring, endless, patience towards me. Amen.

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Division is demonic!

Reading Time: 3 minutes

“Then a demon-possessed man, who was blind and couldn’t speak, was brought to Jesus. He healed the man so that he could both speak and see. The crowd was amazed and asked, “Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?” But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭12‬:‭22‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What did the Pharisees know about Beelzebub?

Not enough! This demonic confrontation was unusual because there’s a clash of demonology and theology among the Pharisees. Who knew more about both, Jesus or the religious leaders? The Pharisees may have just tossed out a simple rebuke and rebuff by casually, almost jokingly saying, “yeah, this guy obviously works for Satan!” They were all rilled up because the people were asking if Jesus could be the Messiah. Jesus didn’t think it was funny.

Jesus used the misinformation and verbal distraction to correct and teach truth on the subject. Just think about this, the Pharisees dropped the “official” title of the chief liar and slander – Beelzebub! It was used 8 times in the New Testament and it comes from an ancient combination of two words, Baal and Zebub, literally lord of the flies! In this story is the technical name of Satan, the chief of evil spirits. Well, that settles the argument about where flies come from, right? 😁

Jesus lays out some common sense truth. How or why would Satan cast out Satan? The sad observation that the demon inside this man was doing an excellent job of torturing him and keeping him bound and enslaved by being blind and mute. Why would Satan kick himself out? Jesus makes such a strong case, not only about how evil works, but why it is so effective still today. Jesus says, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart. And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive.”

Ah, it’s not just satan’s kingdom that wouldn’t survive, it’s our towns and families that won’t either. Truth boom 💥 – division is a demonic weapon. Division is just more lies from the lord of flies. Jesus zeroes in on the real issue. It’s not just mis-identifying the work of God as demonic. It’s flat out telling the Pharisees – you’re on the wrong team brothers! They said they worked for God, but Jesus being God, says “nope, they are not working for me.”

When folks start calling freedom and deliverance satanic, it makes me wonder who’s team they’re on. As believers we MUST be unified under the banner of Christ! We need to stop gossiping and heresy-hunting about every preacher, leader we just don’t agree with. We need to stop the denominational divisions and nitpicking of preferences and polity within THE CHURCH. We are all one whether some admit it or not. Like the warning to the religious leaders then, we need to quit falling prey to the ploys of Beelzebub. Get on team Jesus and behave like a united family!

Prayer

Dad,
I need to be reminded that you are coming back for the bride of Christ, the one without spot or wrinkle. I feel like we’ve got a lot of spots and wrinkle and I’m looking for the day we, as Your Church, not just look good, but behave good! Help us Oh God! We need you to judge us, purify us, prepare us for your return. Maybe that’s really what’s going on right now. As so many are exciting the Church and many are walking away from their faith, maybe this is exactly what you want to happen. I still pray, in hope, that you will pour your Spirit capturing the hearts and minds of those who have fallen for the lies and save them.

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The slanderous snake returns.

Reading Time: 2 minutes

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Matthew jumps over a few years in Jesus’ life, taking us from three to thirty and quickly introduces John the Baptist who in turn introduces Jesus. We leave the ancestry and Christmas story to a thunderous annunciation – “And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.””

Matthew then quickly thrusts us into a battle in the desert. The place where Jesus fasted and prayed – this was no longer eden and the landscape of the earth and the human condition were no longer paradise. John Mark Comer reminds us that this battle did not take place with physical weapons, like swords, knives or clubs. It took place with words – just words. Of course, that’s all it took to bring the first couple down in the beginning, they were just words; one of them a question in fact. With Eve the liar asked, “Did God say?” Here in the anti-Eden, the slithering slanderer planted a more subtle challenge… “if you are the Son of God.” Thinking Jesus might need proof at this point in his life? “Turn stones to bread,” the smooth talker said. Take control Jesus. It’s yours to command, if you’d like. If you are as they say, “really God.” Interesting that later on Jesus would replicate a few fish and some barley loafs into food for thousands who were hungry. The stones show up again when Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem riding on a donkey. Luke writes Jesus’ words, “If humans won’t praise, even the stones themselves will cry out!”

Two more temptations would come and Jesus wisely used God’s word, his own sword of the Spirit to fend off the little blood-sucking flea. The last temptation would come just before a betrayal and an ambush in another garden. Would Jesus drink the cup of suffering? The desert, the garden, the war and the win was all for us! Hebrews says it poetically perfect, “So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬. The second Adam made everything right between us and God.

Prayer

Dad,
Jesus was tempted and passed. His only defense and weaponry was Your Word – the most powerful force in all creation. I am daily tempted, tested and faced with subtle questions as well as accusations and lies. I MUST hide your Word in my heart, not only so I do NOT sin, but also so I can win the battles within my own heart and mind. What lies do I want to believe to get my own way instead of submitting to your way? What God-Words can I store and retrieve to help fight these lies? Thank you for leading, guiding and protecting me as I learn to depend on your Word.

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Identify the soul-pyro.

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” ‭‭1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Every Biblical author knew there was a real and present danger, an evil circulating among the people on this planet. Evil has a name – Satan. He is a liar, a thief and a murdered of all that is good. And, to make matters worse, that evil one commands a bunch of fallen angels, referred to as demons. The evil one cannot be everywhere at all times, and it is not all powerful or all knowing. It’s personal pronoun is LIAR. It’s biggest trick of all is too make people believe that it doesn’t exist at all.

What we would call some mental illnesses, addictions, or even mass murderers and serial killers may in fact be physical, emotional, tormented possession! The mad naked man, living in the hillside tombs, would have been diagnosed with schizophrenia and been given tons of medications, counseling and possibly even shock therapy. He wasn’t crazy or ill, he was possessed by thousands of demons all bent on destroying him. The little boy mentioned after Jesus and a few friends came down from the mountain. The whole town was frightened and held captive from a little boy who kept throwing himself into the fire and writhing about. He wasn’t mental, he was possessed! Jesus FREED both these folks from a very real enemy.

The battle, the enemy is very real. I have to constantly remind myself what the Apostle Paul told the churches in Ephesus, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Every single time there is a schism, a spat, a division, or a war – there is something much more than mean, selfish people behind it. There’s an enemy of our soul at work in the world and if we let it or allow it – even in our churches.

The instigator of all evils is a soul-pyro starting fires of hate, gossip and lies everywhere. John admonishes us to fight evil with faith. Recognize the source and win through confrontational prayer towards who’s causing the problems. I may not believe there’s a demon behind every rock, but I do believe there’s one behind every riot! Sometimes it takes a direct confrontation to expel evil from demonic possession, but more often we can kick out evil through faith when we choose to love, forgive, dispense mercy and grace. Jesus gave his followers the authority to do both, drive out demons and overcome with love.

Prayer

Dad,
There is so much evil! There are so many places that evil seems rampant and out of control. There are so many times I struggle and can only see evil in people behaving badly. I often forget there is an enemy behind it all. Help me to see good. Help me to see opportunities to bring light to darkness, applying mercy and goodness to anger and hate. Help me in my faith to remember that you have overcome the world! Help me fight these fires with grace to extinguish the flames.

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The poop-slinger and it’s posse.

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Ephesians‬ ‭6:10-12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Calling out the liar. The Apostle Paul, prolific writer of much of the New Testament, calls a spade a spade. But first, his admonition is to remind us where our focus and our (followers of Jesus) strength should come from – the Lord!

I love it! To be EMPOWERED in Jesus, endunamoó: to empower. That “dunamis” he speaks of is an overwhelmingly, supernatural power that comes from the creator himself! That power that raised Christ from the dead and dwells in those who believe. That is where our perfect and complete dominion comes from. It’s good for us to get that in our heads and hearts.

Paul then defines for us a real and capable enemy. It is because of this enemy that we should armor up. Every piece, an object lesson from what soldiers, warriors wore in the first century, just to give a visual.

Paul re-introduces the enemy by name… the LIAR, more specifically, the SLANDERER. It’s translated as diabolos, the devil, but that word has no real meaning then nor today. This creature cast out of heaven and thrown to earth is the “lie-thrower.” This fallen angel has taken up the chief position of being the one to bring charges, to constantly hurl complaints, accusations and slanderous lies to the battle in our minds. It feels like Diabolos describes most every modern politician and ridiculous bill on the ballot today – our mailboxes, spam texts and media messages are filled with lies because we have a midterm election coming up this November 8, 2022.

Just name any and every bad-actor on the world stage today and their backer is the diabolos. Paul says that pretty clearly. Don’t look at these evil puppets, playing their roles, look up the strings and see who’s holding the sticks! We are NOT fighting against humans, but evil rulers and authorities of the UNSEEN world, mighty powers and evil spirits in heavenly places. And for them, for that kind of battle, we need a lot more than weak words and cheap, repetitive memes on social media. We need more than protests and angry exchanges of sound bytes. We need powerful prayers of the Holy Spirit, going after the unseen “methodeia” crafty, deceitful methods of the slanderer.

Let’s see our real enemy, let’s wage war against the real cause and financial backer of these cultural disturbances, these attempts to separate and fracture our resolve. The poop-slinger and it’s posse!

Prayer

Dad,
Why is it so hard for us to see BEYOND this world, beyond ourselves into the spiritual world that is constant and eternal all around us. We are so selfishly bound to our five senses that we ignore what takes place in the heavenly. And we do so to our own demise! We need to be people of the Spirit, to not only see, but to fight and love through prayer in that realm. Help us not to be so earth-bound and heavenly ignorant! Amen.

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The slander-slinger

Reading Time: 2 minutes 
“When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.” Luke‬ ‭4:13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

He’ll be back! That what he does. Luke tells us straight out that Jesus was tempted and who was doing the tempting. And Luke calls the tempter by one of his character descriptions.

The word tempted is interesting enough. The word means to test or to try, but it comes from a word that means, poke, pierce or pick at to literally see what’s on the other side. It’s a test to examine and prove.

The other interesting word is the word Luke uses to give Satan a character title, diabolos – the slanderer, the false accuser, the one who brings a constant barrage of charges to bring someone down – diabállō – properly, “to throw across (back and forth), “either with rocks or words with slander, gossip, the word implies malice even if the thing said is true. He’s a slander-slinger and never stops harassing the work of God, humans created in God’s image and here in Luke 4, even God himself.

Here the slinger uses the word “if” in every volley. Ever the sly, he beckons to question and cause doubt or he spins a selfish, preferred future that is hinged on a simple act of worship to himself.

Ah, deals with the Devil, same pitch, same results. But oh how sad that he snares and snags so many by poking and prodding until he finds a weakness. Then he sets the hook and owns your soul. Creepy huh?

He didn’t own Jesus that day, however, Luke leaves us with a cliff hanger so to speak. Luke says, “until next time…” Oh no, he’ll be back! Where, when and how did the slinger tempt Jesus again?

PRAYER:

Dad,
This stuff gives me the creeps! Not only the insidious methods, but the fact that they work on us. Part of me is rattled at how effective the temptations can be, the other part is embarrassed and angry that I fall for them. The temptations are so consistent and even though I see the patterns of how and what is happening, there is still the desire to grab the bait, knowing there’s a shiny hook waiting. It’s not even that the slinger is so good at it, it’s that I am so weak in thinking “this time” would be different. It sure makes me ache for that day of perfection when neither the lie nor the ill-desire will have an effect on me.