Standing Up to The Father of Lies
John 8:44-47: "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 he is a lier and the father of lies. 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? He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."
The contrast between Jesus and Satan shows why our mind is a battlefield. Jesus is the truth, the giver of abundant life. Satan is the father of all lies who comes to rob us of life. From the first conflict in the Garden of Eden, Satan's strategy has been to distort the truth and lead us to question God's words. Satan didn't need to demonstrate his power to Adam and Eve. Simply believing his lies led to their spiritual death.
We also are vulnerable to the enemy's clever mixtures of truth and deception. The pages of history reflect the variety of ideologies that Satan has used to cause people to doubt God. Sometimes these false ideologies deny the existence of God; sometimes they distort His true nature. In every case, they lead to a devaluation of humanity, creation, art, morals, and knowledge.
Thankfully, Satan does not have the last word. Jesus' sacrificial death has disarmed Satan's power over us. If we cling to the truth (what God says about Himself), we can stand up to the father of lies and be guaranteed to win!
Food for thought: What lies has Satan used to undermine your faith? Combat them by immersing yourself int he Scriptures. Think through how you can get more of God's Word into your life.
Read Further:
Genesis 3:1-13: 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'?" 2The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in te garden, 3but 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 surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9But the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?" 10He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." 11And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" 12The man said, "The woman you put here for me - she gace me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." 13THe the LOrd God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" the woman said, "The serpent decieved me, and I ate."
Matthew 4:1-11: Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." 4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Deut. 8:3).' " 5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: "He will command His angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone (Psalm 91:11,12).' " 7Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test (Deut. 6:16).' " 8Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." 10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only (Deut. 6:13).' " 11Then the devil left Him, and the angels came and attended Him.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5: "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strong holds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
