The Truth Or A Lie

Scripture Reading: John 14:1-14

Focus Verse: John 14:6  Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth and the life. On one can come to the Father except through me."

What is truth?  Jesus said that He is truth.  So the next obvious question is, "What is a lie?"  Jesus gives us the answer to that question in John 8:44  "Satan was a murder from the beginning and has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him.  When he lies, it is consistent with his character, for he is a liar and the father of lies."  So who do you take sides with?  Jesus: the truth or Satan: the lies.  Sometimes, if we are not careful, we can speak a lie so easily out of fear.  We are afraid we will lose something if we don't lie.  We may lose money, friends, or our job if we don't lie, but in the long run it will cost us even more by not telling the truth.  "It is better to lose a little with honesty than a lot with lies."

"If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth."  1 John 1:6  The first lie in the Bible was told to Eve by Satan.  He told her she could be like God.  Many times we are tempted to make ourselves better than we really are.  But we are to exalt Christ and not ourselves.

So be honest with yourself.  Speak truth to others.  Determine today that you will speak the truth. Christ can help you.

Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

Children of Lies or Light

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:17-32

Focus Verse:  "The Lord detests lying lips but he delights in those who tell the truth."  Proverbs 12:22

I once met a man who said that lying was bad only if you get caught.  This is wrong.  Lies do not come from God, but from the selfish nature of man or from Satan.  If we are followers of Christ, we should not fall into being tempted to tell something that isn't true.  We should not seek to mislead someone.  We should not seek to deceive.  If you don't say the lie, but say things that would make someone believe something that wasn't true, that is deceit.  It is so easy to lie.

Do you think these things are a lie?

1. When you tell someone the wrong price for an item?

2. When you send an SMS or email from someone's phone pretending to be them.

3. When you lie, but you think you are helping the situation with the lie? 

4. When you hear a lie, know it's a lie, but don't say anything so that others will believe it?

It is human and natural to lie since Satan lied in the garden of Eden.  It is of Satan.  We are to follow the Father of Light.  With Jesus as our Savior, he can give us the courage to tell the truth.  He can help us to be honest.  If you have lied to your neighbor or brother, you should confess before God.  You should then ask your neighbor for forgiveness. 

You will choose today to be the children of lies or the children of LIGHT!

~Page Johnson of Interlocking Ministries

The Bible is full of scripture about lying:

Leviticus 19:11 You shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.
Psalms 119:163 I hate and abhor lying: but your law do I love.
Proverbs 12:22 Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
Proverbs 13:5 A righteous man hates lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and comes to shame.
Proverbs 14:5 A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.
Proverbs 17:7 Excellent speech becomes not a fool: much less do lying lips a prince.
Hosea 11:12 Ephraim compasses me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet rules with God, and is faithful with the saints.
Zephaniah 3:13 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and stayed not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Acts 5:3 But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers.
Colossians 3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds;
1 Timothy 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

Is Satan For Real?

Scripture Reading:  Genesis 3

Focus Verse:  John 10: 7-10  "7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me[a] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

You better believe Satan is for real.  It doesn't matter if you are Kenyan, American, European, or Russian, Satan has one goal and that is to kill and destroy you.  Satan hates you.  You have a target on your back.  How will he attack you?  Let's see what he did in Genesis.

I love the book of Genesis, because it gives us the account of how the world began.  It also gives us the account of when mankind first sinned.  Let's look at some key points on how Satan attacked Eve so that we will not fall for his lies.  First, he questioned God's WORD.  He wanted Eve to think she misunderstood what God said.  Satan will still twist the truth today.  He wants us to question God's commands.  Second, he questioned God's LOVE.  Satan wanted Eve to think God was holding back something good for her.  When God tells us not to do something it is for our own good, because He loves us and doesn't want to see us get hurt.  Third, Satan DENIED God's Word.  First he questioned then he denied God's Word.  He first said, "did God really say that?" to saying, "that's a lie."  If Eve had not listened to Satan's questioning she never would have then believed the lie.  4. Then Satan gave her his own lie.  Satan said that if she would eat of the tree, she would become like God, and she would not die.

The Bible says Satan is the father of lies. All sin begins in our minds. Satan will attempt to get you to second-guess what God has said in His Word. The best way to stand against Satan's attacks is to fill your mind with God's Word of truth.  2 Corinthians 10: 4-5 says,  "4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (physical) but mighty in God (spiritual) for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

If you are truly saved, Satan knows he can't touch your salvation.  But if he can get you to fall into sin he can keep you from being an effective servant for God.  He wants to destroy your testimony and reputation.  Let us renew our minds everyday in God's Word so we can stand against our enemy that wants to destroy us.  Who are your going to please today? God or Satan?

Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries