GOD’S TRUTH OR THE DEVIL’S LIES?
And you shall know the truth; and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32
In every election year, we will hear lots of speeches and debates. Two candidates, vying for your precious vote, each telling us they have the right answers to our problems, and they will make things better if you vote them in. The big question: Who is telling the truth?
In life, there is a daily election so to speak, a choice you and I must make: do we listen to the voice of God, or do we listen to the voice of the devil. God is a loving God who speaks truth … and the devil is a murderous thief who speaks lies. The choice seems pretty obvious, right?
Well, the sad reality is this: the vast majority of people choose the devil’s lies over God’s truth. Even Christians tend to believe the devil’s lies over God’s truth much of the time. Why is that?
FEELINGS
When God tells you what is true, the problem with believing His Word is your feelings. Your feelings line up with the devil’s lies, not God’s truth.
For example, suppose John Q. Christian succumbs to temptation and engages in some kind of sexual immorality. After the sin is committed, guilt and shame come into John’s life like a flood. When John repents and confesses his sin to God to seek forgiveness, the feelings of guilt and shame don’t instantly disappear. He gets off his knees still feeling so dirty, condemned, and separated from God. (I mean, after all, how could God have fellowship with someone who just did what John did?)
At that moment, the devil moves in and whispers, “You are not forgiven. You make God sick. He is not going to have anything to do with a person like you. Get real here. Have you forgotten what you did? How disgusting are you! And you have the audacity to call yourself a Christian? You are a total hypocrite, a failure, a loser, and the worst of the worst. I wonder if you are even saved, John Q. Christian.”
All of those things are lies… but they feel so true, don’t they?
Remember this: Truth is not what you think or feel. Truth is what God says … and God says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). All – even sexual immorality, or abortion, or lying, or theft, or whatever.
God wants us to walk by faith, not by sight or by feelings. And faith is simply believing His Word—regardless of how you feel—and acting upon it.
May you and I choose every day to believe God’s truth over the devil’s lies. God is for us, not against us. He has a good plan for us, and He wants us to walk in joy, peace, and power.
I vote, God. How about you?
Love,
Pastor Jeff Schreve,
From His Heart Ministries
