WHILE WE'RE BLOWING LEAVES. . .

LET'S BLOW OFF THE FATHER OF LIES!

John 8: 44

"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. 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 her is a liar and the father of lies."

The context of any chapter, of course, needs to be read in its context. I chose to single this out, because I encounter the brunt of this statement in my counseling, and in my life. The friends and family I encounter on a regular basis.

Joyce Meyer was talking about that this morning in her devotion on The Confident Woman. What impresses me the most about this life we all live is that there is the truth and there is the lie. We have that choice each and every day. I truly wish I could give that as a Christmas present to the whole world. The gift of being able to get up each morning and KNOW the truth and live it in ease and style. Confident and without compromise. However you cut it, I can't do that. We can, however, practice and practice and practice the truth. And, how do we do that most of the time? We know the enemy and how he operates. Many theologians and others will argue that if you know Jesus Christ and He is your personal Savior, you never have to worry about the enemy. He can not penetrate your life. I totally disagree. That is why I teach Putting on the Armor - suiting up - being aware, processing the Word, and knowing God.
We need to know the language of our enemy. His lies. How does he get by with tripping us up? We generally understand "free-will", but it still irritates me that Adam and Eve got so tripped up. They are our first step to understanding that it is going to happen to us as well. Know God - Trust His Character. This is our mantra and platform. So, then, when we do get tripped up with a lie it will come easier and easier to BLOW it off. Visualize a powerful leaf blower. Keep it in your tool belt of armor. Test the lie. I John 4: 1/4. God will be there to show you the truth.

DON'T LET THE ENEMY FILL YOUR YARD FULL OF LEAVES (LIES)! Have your tool belt ready at all times. We know he is always looking for a loophole, or place to get a foothold.

I remember JUST ONE OF MANY he pulled on me. Back in 1982 I called the University of St. Francis main office to check how many credit hours I had to go yet. They name it off, and I immediately went into a deep depression. I wanted to quit, go start something else. I was sitting in the top of the Bass Mansion library and I heard God in a small voice say - "GO TO THE OFFICE - do inventory, don't believe this." I did and they had missed 15 hours. I was a first semester senior, not junior. That is just one of hundreds. I have become a veteran of "inventory" and checking lies out.

I promise you I don't spend all my time on that, but I am ready. So can you be ready!