Lies. We believe them and they take us over, they trigger our reactions, they make us change for the worse. Lies. Those things you thought you would never believe, those little whispers you thought
you never listened to. Lies.
Lies are built upon false evidence, lack of understanding, lack of wisdom, lack of reason, lack of love. Lies are one of Satan's best weapons against us and our faith. What a person believes, no matter who they are, no matter what religion they are, or where they grew up, determines their lives. Discover what a man believes, and you will get an understanding as to what you can expect or not expect of him. Search inside and realize what it is you believe, and you will be able trace how it determines your actions.
There is no man that does not believe in something. In order to be agnostic, you must first believe that God doesn't exist. What you believe determines not only how you react but who you will become. Every story, every character, can be an example of this, whether fictional or historic. What a man believes, or 'thinks' to be true or not true, determines how he will act.
Today as I was pondering disbelief, I realize that certain things I have entertained in my mind, certain doubts, are actually 'lies' that I have believed. And I have believed not only these doubts, but the major lie that says 'there is no way out of the doubts'. I have come to the understanding that if I am doubting anything, it means I do not believe it, therefore I am either basing that belief on either a truth or lie.
If a person does not believe that the Bible is true, he will not account to the reality of sin. He will sense that something is 'bad', but he will not have reason to condemn it. In such a cases a landslide takes place... this is how Countries crumble, this is how Empires are formed. Evil becomes nothing more than a point of view, or an opinion of the individual. Humanism begins to break through the ground and spread forth all over. If a person does not believe in the reality of the devil, and lies he will fall prey to every lie, and base his theology on every false hood speakable. Do not let doubt have a grip in your life, not in any area.
Let your view on the Bible, crumble from truth to fiction, and you loose grip on reality. Let lies root and they will try and take you over. People believe all sorts of lies. They believe that nothing is worth while in life if they are not successful, if they are not married, if they do not have a girl friend...they believe that it is alright to kill children, that it is not sin to have sex outside of marriage...they believe that they are really another gender than they were born as, and that homosexuality is acceptable and good. People believe lies such as 'they aren't pretty', 'they aren't loved', 'they will never change'. Almost any problem you may have, or any change you want to make, comes down to ridding yourself of lies, and breaking your ties to them.
I sometimes wonder how this is possible, because I give lies too much power, because at times I believe the 'lie' that 'lies are more powerful than my will'. I must instead believe that Jesus has more power than any lie that I may believe. That He can free me, and fill my mind with the truth. I must not put my faith in my own power either, I must put my faith in the Lord. The fact is, If I am in Christ, no one can snatch me out of His hand. Satan would like to pull down the shades, and make me think I am alone, lost, and helpless, but it is not true.
I like to think of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader movie, where Lucy believes the lie that she is not pretty, or special, and bases her actions on that lie, even to the point of stealing a spell to make her look like her older sister Susan. I think this is a powerful example, because she wakes up as in a dream and looks in the mirror and she is her sister Susan. She opens the mirror like a door, and exits to an outside party. There she meets up with her two brothers. She asks where "Lucy" is. And the brothers both do not know who she is talking of, and say there is only three of them....Lucy doesn't exist.
Lucy wakes up out of this dream and looks in the mirror to see herself standing there, Aslan, the Great Lion comes beside her and speaks to her, and asks her why she has doubted that she is beautiful the way she was created. Lucy realizes she has been believing a lie.
Other examples can be found in almost every single piece of literature you can pick up. I like to use movie examples, but recently I've been studying the "classics" of literature, and finding they are perhaps some of the greatest examples of the power of belief, and lies. Especially, when you take a look at the lives of the Authors themselves, it is really insightful.
Pride and Prejudice, Frankenstein's Monster, Red and Black, I'd say any of the well known books you can pick up, no matter the time period, author, or genre...they all are not only the story of a character who believes something that motivates him in some way, but the Author who writes out of the sack of his own, painting words and ideas with his theology and with what he himself believes. We are most quite aware of 'wordview', every artist is a prophet of his or hers worldview. And you, may or may not be a prophet of your worldview if you are isolated, but you are a product in many ways, of what you believe.
I am a bit amazed at some of the lies I have believed, I realize that I have been affected by them, even though I didn't consciously receive them. It was more like, the lies had seeped in without me realizing it. I must say that most of lies I have ever believed, are not ones that anyone else told me, but ones I told myself. Can you relate? No one perhaps has looked in your face and told you "You are Ugly", but you believe it none the less. Perhaps no one has ever said to you "I do not love you", but you cannot help thinking you are not loved. What scares me the most is the fact that the enemies lies can get away with, and doubt can get away with leading a person, even when they're void of statements, reason, facts, or proof!
Lies are the basis for Fear and Doubt. Fear is "false evidence appearing real", which means 'fear' is really a 'lie' that one believes and wraps ones emotions around. Doubt is quite similar, only doubt is a lie that one wraps their intellect around, rather than their emotions. I challenge you to break free from the lies that you have believed. You have to want to do it though. You must be brave. Do not believe the lie that says "you are not brave", and "you will never be"...For once step over the red line of fear, doubt, or pride and prove that the lie is mere lie after all. Earlier on I blogged something about "Offenses".
"Offenses" are usually the breeding ground for lies. If you are offended by someone, whether you are hurt by them, back bitten by them, or yelled at etc.. these circumstances, incidents, are perfect atmospheres for the planting of lies. If someone hurts you, for example you may believe the lie that says "everyone will hurt you", if someone treats you wickedly you may believe the lie that "everyone will treat you wickedly". What lies have you been believing? Have you been believing that perhaps your sin is unforgivable? Have you been believing that God isn't real? Have you been believing that you are all right in our relationship with God, but you are really pushing Him away?
In my opinion Pessimism can be the produce of a mix of fear, pride, and doubt. Severe Pessimism is usually the fruit of a lie that has been believed by the individual. Sadly, a lot of us believe lies and base our actions and lives around them. Many do not realize they are even doing so. Most do not realize that when they believe something, whether they believe something is true or not, their belief, is leading their lives. May I say...that we all need to surrender our beliefs to God. We need to surrender our beliefs, not only the ones of Him, and of Others, but also of ourselves. We need to hand over our fears, hand over our doubts, and in doing so, kill the lies.
A lie is not powerful if we do not open our hearts to believe in it. Lies attach our intellect, and they attack our emotions. We must be careful to guard our minds and emotions. May we put on the whole armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-20 The Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, The Sandals of the Gospel, the Shield of Faith, the Helmet of Salvation, the Sword of the Spirit... so that we may fend off the darts of the evil one. Believe that you are God's. Believe that You are in Christ, and He is in you, and that you are in His care. Do not store up marks against God. One of the surest ways to entertain lies is to make a list of all the bad things people do against you, or make a list of all the times God has not answered you in the way you think He should have, and hold this list against your faith, the love of God, or the love of others.
If you foucs on all the bad, you will overlook how much of the good has passed by your head. That is why God says to focus on what is Good, what is pure, what is praise worthy, to seek out these things, and to dwell on them! He wants you to be filled with what is good, so that instead of dwelling on offenses, (the breeding ground for lies) that you would dwell on 'the good' (the breeding ground for faith). If you dwell on the good, your head and heart will be lighter, and you will be stronger in harder times. You have been given ample opportunity to dwell on what is good, and all the good that God has done for you.
What will you choose? will you think on the good? or sit in the puddle of gloom and fester lies? Do no such thing! The Lord says, "I am God, and there is no other. Forget not the hand that saved you, nor the love that is stronger than death". If you choose to let fear, doubt, lies consume you, you are letting them take the throne where God should be sitting in your heart, because God has saved you from having to stay in the dark anymore, and He has proved His love for You.
Do not let anything consume you but Him.
Are you letting lies rule you? What or who, is your Master? Fear? Doubt? Pessimism? Stop listening to the lies of the enemy, and wake up from your slumber. Stop letting offenses handcuff you, instead let love in where you have been hurt, or backstabbed. God is love. He wants you. this is not a lie! This is true!
Devil's Been Talkin - Need To Breathe
Bag of bones and blood red cheeks
Guilty from the words I speak
Say the truth will set you free
But it won't for me
Cause I'm uneasy in my skin
Hangin on by a thread
Life it hasn't left me yet
But I won't forget...
'The Devil's been talkin')
The ship is setting off to sea
But it's sailing without me
I can't help but feel I'm on
An island born to sink
...The devil's been talkin)
We can't change who we are
We are all alone...
'The devil's been talkin'
I'm running out
Of this hole alone
These fingers bled
Down to the bone
And I can't move
This hell is cold
The chorus sings
This is home...
'The devil's been talkin'
Bag of bones and blood red cheeks
Guilty from the words I speak
Say the truth will set you free
But it won't for me;
'The Devil's been talkin'
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