I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 1 John 21-23
Knowing TruthFrom the very beginning of time, Satan has been on a mission to deceive us. Starting with Eve in the Garden of Eden, he has twisted the words of God so that Christians in particular would be easily confused.
Truth gets replaced with a lot of things these days. We make “our truth” whatever fits our current situation, but that is not how God expects us to interpret the truth. People tend to take scripture or truths about God and make them what they want them to be. One truth that cannot be manipulated is the truth that Jesus is the Son of God. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one can come to the Father except through Him.
Our circumstances change and as a result, we want truth to change. But the truth never changes and that is in our favor. The truth that God is God and He loves us, and that Jesus is His Son never will change. That’s good news!
Part of the lies that Satan feeds us is that we are all alone - that we can’t have community because of our failures or our hurts, or because we are undeserving. If Satan can make us feel alone and isolated, then he can influence us. He can twist our thinking and when there is no one else around to talk to, we begin to believe him. Then we are hooked. God created us to be with other believers. If we have that community, and they speak truth into our lives, then Satan’s lies have no power over us. Staying in the word, prayer, and community with other believers can keep us grounded in the truths God has given us.
When circumstances of our lives crush us, our feelings (emotions) can become unstable and the truth of God can seem false. That is why our knowledge of God and His promises is such an important factor in our journey on this earth. When Satan tries to take us out, we can stand on the truth God has given us, even if we feel like He is nowhere near us. It is important to know what those truths are and starting with some of the basic truths are really important:
• God loves you – enough to send His son to die for you
• If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, you are saved, and eternal life is waiting for you.
• If you mess up – you are still saved, and God still loves you
• Nothing is too messed up for God to fix. It may still be painful, but He is still in control when everything around you is out of control. Nothing is out of His grasp. Nothing is above Him. He is above it all.
It is our faith that help us to know what we know. Our faith pulls us through when our feelings fail us. Faith helps us remember the things above when our circumstances deceive us, and our emotions assail us. During these times, we must hold to the truth that He loves us. If we are saved, we are saved always, and that doesn’t change. He never disowns us, and we never mess things up so bad He can’t put them back together again.
And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” Matthew 21:21-22 ESV
