Ten Lies We Believe ~ Episode 128
We all do it we believe lies. There are ten lies we believe! The worse thing? The lies we believe are by definition not true! We give the enemy credit when all the credit should go to Almighty God! In this episode, we explore the most common lies and ways to combat them.
Thanks to our sponsor Media Angels, and the books A Few Minutes with God and One More Child
Why do we believe lies? Because many of us are wounded in some way or like to think of ourselves as broken. We are shaped by so many of life’s events. Sometimes it is our own sins, the sins of others, the death of a loved one, or a tragedy within a family. These things shape us and how we consider the future choices we make. God predestines no one to hell! God is the creator, he is love, truth, goodness, beauty. When we see those things in our world they originate from God. Sin is the refusal to live in the beauty that is God. God’s mercy allows us to choose. God never forces His love upon us, he respects human dignity and our free will.
Think about this. Hell is a testimony to God’s respect to our freedom. Love redeemed us and won heaven for us. God will not violate our capacity for choice. So if we want to believe the lies of the enemy we have freedom to do this. The only thing we can give ourselves credit for is sin – every good thing comes from God!
Remember the song, “…and they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love…” I use to think that it was an injustice that I was not showing others God’s love because I did not feel His love myself. I was under a false impression. I believed the lies of the enemy. In my steps as a Christian, I had learned about God’s unconditional love – meaning we don’t need to work at it or earn it, yet I believed that God’s punishments were very real and the thought was depressing. Lies these are all lies. It took me years to undo and become free from these lies! And, friends, this freedom is amazing and I pray this for all of you listening today as well.
Jesus spoke about Satan in the Holy Bible, he said the enemy is the “Father of lies.”
John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
John 8:45-47 Jesus continues… “Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
If we can not hear what God says in the Word, from our pastors and from our prayers, the bigger question is, “Who DO you belong to?” The first step in combatting the lies of the enemy is to recognize them. Evil is frightening and how do we respond to evil? First by recognizing it! We often credit the evil one with the things that belong to God. At the root of evil is pride – the root of all sin.
Top Ten Lies of Satan
- Satan is a myth. Does Satan really exist? The enemy likes people to believe he does not exist – God is a myth and all of this “penance” or “fasting” or “being good” or “faith” is a tall tale. My question is to people who do not believe in God, “If you believe in God and there is no heaven, you are assured a life where good is called good and evil is called evil. There is no confusion. But if you do not believe in God, and you follow the ways of the enemy (because of course, you are following Him – he has already duped you in believing he does not exist) and then you die and learn there is God. What is the alternative? A life in eternal damnation because a person who denies God and lives a life without God in it will turn their back on God eternally. Our pastor calls it the fundamental option.) I feel sorry for those who do not believe because they are missing an amazing joy! The joy of the love of a benefactor, a Father who loves us not matter what! We have the choice of obedient love or self-seeking which often leads to destruction. What I am is God’s gift to me and what I become is my gift to God!
- Not good enough – false pride- You are sinful and therefore not good enough to follow God. God made us on the sixth day of creation and He said it was “very good” therefore, God made us good. I know there are plenty of people out there that will argue with this statement. So, let’s look at Genesis 1:26-31
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. So the question I have for you to think and pray about is this, if God made us good why do we think we are destined for evil, yes we adopted a “sin nature” as the term goes from Adam and Eve but that is why Jesus came! To take on our sins. Think about it.
- You must be perfect to be a Christian, and if you are not you fall short. First, there is no perfection outside of heaven but that does not mean we do not try. Secondly, we can not be perfect again this doesn’t mean we are lazy Christians but we don’t become holy by the way we dress or act toward others. Instead, the way we dress or act is an extension of our love of God and His goodness within us. It is a flow-through not a doing it on our own strength.
- Doubt — don’t believe what God says. Satan wants us not to believe what God says. Read Genesis 3:1-4
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
We must believe that when God says it, He means it. And do not believe or doubt God!
5. God Punishes You –– If you are a Christian nothing bad can happen to you. (So when bad things happen to good people, obviously God let you down or there is no God. God punishes you for your sin. Sin does have a consequence and a recourse but we must believe that God is good all the time and all the time, God is good!
6. Guilt, Envy, Infidelity – The evil one will tell you that these things are not bad but they are serious. Guilt can eat us up and make us focus on the problem or the issue rather than the solution. Envy is another one of those sins that takes our eyes off of God. Infidelity – well, enough said. Sins may start small but then it snowballs, and as you’ve heard there is no small sin.
7. You can’t trust God you have to do things yourself. This is such a lie, we can trust God and we can ask God for help. You know you are believing this lie if you do not ask the Lord for help throughout the day! Do you say, “I need your help Lord. How do I do this? or How can I carry on?” Or is it that I must take charge and take care of the issue without God’s help? God gives us the ability to handle things but a little prayer can go a long way to finding a solution.
8. Small Sins are not bad. Everyone sins – and your sins are just not that bad compared to everyone else. This is a truth I have heard people say! We are living a life after the fall is a battle. It is good against evil. Good is the promise of everlasting life and evil is the promise of a wonderful life on this earth without any thought of an afterlife.
9. God can never forgive you for your past sins, so why try. Your past does not define you. We are stuck in the past or worried about the future but miss that God is here now. And today? He gives us grace for today! Not for yesterday, or for tomorrow. This can cripple you and make you depressed. You may feel that God has punished you in some way due to past sins. You are a child of God! God lived, died and rose again to give us eternal life. He shouldered that pain and burden when He carried the cross. By His stripes, we are healed. Christ died for you and for me and now lives to give us abundant life! Ask for forgiveness, if you can go to your pastor – if you are Catholic go to confession and let it go!
10. Judgmental – We see the sins and failings of others and use that as an excuse to say that all Christians are hypocrites. Of course, some are and ruin it for the rest of us, but the majority of Christians that want to love and serve the Lord are too busy with their own lives to worry about the lives of others. This goes for our adult children. We can pray for them but must allow them to make their own mistakes. Intervention time is when they live under your roof! Christians do not put each other down or point out each others sins – not unless someone asks you! Committed Christians also give don’t flaunt their “holiness” in fact you will know someone is a good Christian if they don’t believe they can ever outgive God and they give God all the glory!
So how do you combat the lies?
- Pray. Keep your eyes focused on God. The #1 Satan buster is prayer. Even if it is just, “Jesus.” or “Jesus help me!” God hears us.
- Arm yourself with the power of Scripture – pray this verse daily! Ephesians 6:10-12 – I love Ephesians 6:10-12 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 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.
- Surround yourself with like-minded Christians. This is so important!
- Go to church. I go to Mass each day as much as I can. By the time I get home, and I feel joyful!
- Listen to praise and worship music. It is difficult to believe the lies of the enemy when we are infused in a joyful atmosphere.
Friends, every day we have a choice. We can be obedient and love the Lord with our whole hearts and ignore those lies or be self seeking which leads to death! Often we chose the world over God! God wishes that we do not rest upon anything other than the infinite goodness of God!
Let’s pray:
Dear Heavenly Father, our Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit please hear our plea to help us to combat the lies of the enemy who is fighting for our soul. We know you have won the battle by your life, death, and resurrection. You are so much greater than the forces of darkness. You are the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the Name above all Names and we claim the healing power of You God in our lives. We ask that you help us to combat those lies that we hear in our minds and instead give us words to praise and worship you. I pray for those that are in need of your healing and I lift up the following prayer intentions … and I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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