The Lies of Satan & the battle of Sin and Temptation.

   

     I am writing this blog only six days away from Christmas. I wanted to write something focused on the birth of Jesus, because it is the most amazing gift God has given to the world, His One and only begotten Son. But right now I have something pressed heavily on my heart I would like to share.

     I have a nasty head cold and I have not slept in two days. For the last couple nights I have woken up at 2 am and instead of following my own advice I give to my family, which is " Seek the Lord in those moments you cant sleep, he may be speaking to you and calling you to prayer.'' I stubbornly become a hypocrite and restlessly go through the night attempting again and again to fall asleep.  Today I am exhausted and all I can do is think about sleep. I tried taking a nap and again cant sleep. I got on my knees and prayed. After prayer I tried laying down again and all I can think about is the topic I'm going to go over in this post. I believe this is what God is placing in my heart today, what he is speaking to me and for me. My hope in this post is that someone may read this and maybe be going through the same thoughts, struggles, and through this reading find encouragement or maybe a renewing of faith. You may have found yourself feeling beaten, discouraged and maybe feel as if you have failed. Before I begin I want to say that Jesus loves you, He loves me, He loves your loved ones. Not a day goes by that you go unnoticed. No matter the circumstances he is there for you, arms stretched out to walk with you and lead you in whatever it is your going through, the good and the bad.

    When I surrendered my life to Jesus and was born again, I remember how all of my life's perspective instantly changed. I wanted to follow Jesus and desired to be obedient to his word. My eyes were open to sin and the destructiveness it brought. I knew what belonged to darkness and belonged to light. I repented of my sins and instantly had the desire not to sin against my Holy God. The Holy Spirit literally made me a new creation, I instantly new that I was not the old me anymore and that the Holy Spirit was giving me the lens that God wanted me to see through. It was like the scales that were covering my eyes fell off. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." There is the promise. No longer do we live for ourselves but we now are living for Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. As I continued my walk with the Lord I would find myself facing the same temptations as before and making the same mistakes. As a baby in the faith I found myself frustrated and critical of myself and would strive harder and harder not to sin and still fail. I found myself discouraged and relying on my own efforts instead of turning to Jesus, ashamed that in my mind I failed him. I struggled with the thought, "If I'm saved why do I keep on sinning?" I know I am not alone on this journey.

    I believe Ephesians 6:12 brings this struggle into perspective. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." The moment we give our lives to Jesus we are entered into a spiritual battle. Not only are we in a spiritual battle with the enemy but we additionally still have our sinful flesh which continually wrestles with God. James 1:14 shows us, "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." All of us face temptations and fall short. I want to focus on how as christians, including myself we can fall in the enemies trap and by doing so be deprived of the calling God has for us while we are still here on earth living in our earthly bodies.

    Every time I failed I found myself wanting to withdraw from the presence of the Lord. I would tell myself that I am not worthy to come before a Holy God. These would continually be the lies I faced;

1) I am a hypocrite and cannot share the message of Jesus when I am a sinner.

2) How can God use me. I'm a failure and I continue to sin.

3) Maybe I'm not saved, If I am a new creation then I shouldn't be the way that I am. Maybe I don't really      know Jesus.

4) I can never overcome my sin.

5) I am not a good person and I am not a faithful servant.

6) There is no coming back from what I have done.

    These are the lies that for years have crippled me as a believer in Christ. Others may have other insecurities, or struggles, and discouraging thoughts that you face different from my own. I want to bring to light here first of all God gives his promises through his word as his children. Anything aside from his word are lies of the enemy. You see when I gave my life to Christ, as you may have, I became a threat to the enemy. The enemy, Satan, and the demons are spending every waking moment to seek and destroy anything that God loves. God loves people, his church, his saints, his believers and Satan will do everything he can to attempt to destroy and take away your faith and hope in Jesus. We are a threat because we are the light onto the world. We bring the message of the truth, salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, and through our witness and testimony others will be saved. The enemy doesn't want people going to heaven he wants to deceive as many as he can to the path of going to hell. If he crushes our spirit he removes the threat and effectiveness we have in serving God's kingdom. Here is what the bible has to say about the enemy. 

John 10:10 says,"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy..." 

1 Peter 5:8 tells us, "Be alert and sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 

Finally John 8:44 reference the devil as a liar, "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."

    I share these versus with you because I want to expose how the enemy lies to us through are walk with Jesus. He will attempt to attack you through your failures. I personally went 8 years in my walk believing his lies, and by the grace of my Lord and Savior he pulled me out of the lies and restored me. I went through a very painful experience and wondered, "God how could you let this happen to me?" I became angry and slowly stopped reading the bible, praying, and started to live a life that that contradicted the bible. I was so deep in my backslide. There would be moments where I would be reminded of Jesus, his call for my life, and I had this one lie that stuck in my head, and I believed it. I believed I was so far gone there was no coming back. I thought to myself, "God can't use me like this." That was the lie Satan had deceived me to believe. The Lord graciously pulled me out of that lie.

    I got invited to a men's church retreat and wanted to go because it involved water rafting. I was drinking a lot of alcohol at the time. It was literally how I functioned. It helped me relax, be social, and sleep. I was drunk every weekend and my own children saw me passed out drunk face down on the lawn at one of the parties we went to. Like I said I felt like I was gone. My friend, the one who invited me on the retreat, had a conversation with me about bringing alcohol, said the pastor would appreciate if none be brought. I laughed about it. I bought a case of beer and a bottle of whisky and the whole weekend hid the alcohol in a mug. How were they going to know? Some of the men on the retreat found out I had beer and I'd be kicking them some cold brews. Now if you enjoy drinking beer , wine, or whisky please don't read this as condemnation in any way. I abused alcohol and the way I abused, I knew was a sinning. So with the referencing to alcohol I'm am speaking about my own use. One of the weekends during the retreat the leaders and the members of the church gathered around the fire and spoke about God's calling in our lives. I remember one of the leaders asking the question. "In your own life, whatever God's calling is....are you willing to say yes." That question hit me hard. See I never stopped believing in Jesus. I became a rebellious child like a prodigal son and I knew deep down I had to change. I sat there quietly and prayed. I simply told the Lord, "Jesus i don't know how to get out of my pit. With where I am at now if you can use me please lead me out of this. I say yes to you." Friends within months, and I mean months, like a burning fire, my desire to follow Jesus, go to bible study, lead my wife and children exploded. When Jesus and scripture wasn't talked about at home in the past, it is now the dominant conversation. My daughter changed her phone wallpaper from soccer picture to pictures of the cross. My children want to be baptized. I avoided church and now, even when I'm absolutely exhausted, am going to bible study. The lies of satan got demolished by the light of God's truth and my house is not only seeking and striving to live for Christ, but now I have my children raising up to be vessels for the furthering of God's kingdom. 

    The enemy wanted me out of the picture to prevent my children coming to know Christ and from anyone else who we may come across to hear the gospel. That is what it comes down to friends. The lie of satan is to attack your identity in Christ Jesus, to doubt his word and promise, in hopes to make you defective in God's calling in your life for his glorification and for the purpose of saving souls.

    To wrap up this post I want to bring this encouragement to you if you find yourself struggling in sin, falling into temptation, and find yourself hearing the discouraging lies of the devil. First and foremost if you're feeling grieved by the sin, be encouraged. The Holy Spirit is calling you in love to repentance. If your identity in Christ is being attacked with thoughts of shame, guilt, and condemnation....rebuke it its from the enemy. Don't make the mistakes I have made and wait to get on your knees and come before the Father. He invites us to lean on him and turn to him in all things. Through his Son Jesus Christ we can come before the alter and ask for his strength, a renewed mind and deliverance from anything that may be gripping you. When it comes to sin, temptation, and our battle with the spiritual forces, God has equipped us for the battle. Ephesians 6:13-18 tells us. "Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, "   

    Don't wait to come to God in faith. Be in prayer, read the word, and trust in the sanctification by the Holy Spirit to make you more and more like Christ. Resist the devil and he will flee. I pray that any believer reading this is encouraged in their walk with Jesus and any lies they might believe from the enemy, will be distinguished by the truth and love that come from the promises of God. 

P.S. If you have not have made the decision to follow Jesus and feel that you are too sinful or unworthy to come to Jesus please know this. There is nothing that you have done that is not covered by his blood shed on the cross. He died for all your sins every last one of them. As a matter of fact he would have died on the cross if it meant just saving you.  Today is the day to repent of your sins, to deny yourself and put your full faith on what Jesus has done on the cross for you. Declare Jesus as your Lord and Savior and he will save you from the curse of hell and make you a new creation. His promises are true, He loves you, and wants you to be in heaven with him. There is no greater love than Jesus Christ. It is only through his name we can be saved. Praise God in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.