Our world bombards each and every one of us with lies. Terrible lies about how we look, how we live, and who we are. Every day we have a choice: Learn to live a lesser life in servitude to those lies, or follow Jesus who is the truth and learn to fight the uphill battle of conquering them one by one.
But where do we start? What is the truth of Jesus? Each one of us accepts so many lies about ourselves and the world around us, and many times we don’t even realize it! Personally, I deal with the lie that I’m ugly.
Countless people have told me it’s not true, but the lies of the world have had a firm grasp for me to deny it. I could continuously wake up in the morning and try a motivational speech. I could surround myself with people who will continuously compliment me.
I could accept it and try to live like it didn’t matter. But none of these things solve the problem. Even if the lie was successfully broken, It would be in the wrong way, and for the wrong reasons. It would be like convincing a toaster that he has worth because the metal is shiny, not because he cooks toast.
A lie is no less a lie because it is a nice lie.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6
Jesus IS the truth. He is not the creator of truth and he doesn’t just speak truth, He is truth. The lies of this world have no power over us now that we are in Christ.
If we are filled with THE truth, how can we live in lies? We focus on physical realities when we need to be praying for an understanding of spiritual realities. Read an article about prayer.
I am not a beautiful creation because the world says I am attractive, but because I was made by and in the image of God. As we come to follow and know Christ, we must pray for God to further reveal to us our identity in him.
The closer we come to knowing Christ, and the better we are able to see how he see’s us the less ground the lies of this world will be able to hold over us.
“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” – 2 Corinthians 3:18
Jesus is the truth. Satan is all lies.
Let’s further explore this idea of truth. We serve Jesus Christ, who is the truth, and he has sent us out to glorify him and spread his gospel to everyone around us. If we are spreading Christ, that means spreading the truth of Christ in people’s lives.
To do that, we have to understand both the truth God speaks over his people and the lies that other people live under. But honestly, that’s the easy part.
We are all broken people. We all have sinned. We all have burdens we bear. So if we are intentional about really getting to know the deeper lives of the people around us, eventually we will discover their problems and strongholds.
Sometimes, we can make a difference in the lives of others by simply listening to them and praying for them. But many times, our struggles can help us relate to theirs and we will have a unique opportunity to speak the truth that we have come to experience in their lives. The lies we break are the future ministries we create.
I think the biggest lie we believe is that things will never change. Or even worse, that things will never get better, but steadily worse. Because we live under the present dark reality, we have to stare into the face of a mocking evil every single day, and intentionally reconcile this with the will of christ.
Recently I had to watch as ten men beat a man nearly to death right outside the restaurant I was eating in. And every day we hear about atrocities around the globe. Then we have the hurts and pains that happen to us and our loved ones.
If we aren’t seeing eternally, this lie will quickly twist our hearts, and we will grow cynical and disbelieving of so many gospel truths.
We have to realize that the resurrection power of Christ is an ever-present, constant, working for good force in the world.
We have to understand that even though the world looks like it is getting worse, the glory of God is moving in ways we don’t see throughout the earth.
We would be wise to remember the story of Job. Job’s life got destroyed in the blink of an eye, and ye still he did not shake his fist at God as many of us would do. Job questioned the will of God, however, he was rebuked for his pride.
How much more prideful our we in our accusations, and how much less do we deserve the favor of the LORD than the righteous man Job!
God did not promise life would be easy, he said it would be full of disappointments and persecutions and struggles. So much of the time we proclaim God gives and he takes away until he takes away. Then we become bitter and angry because we do not hold fast to the truth, and do not remember the character of our God.
God’s love for us means he will never forsake us, NOT that we will never undergo hardship. AS God said in Job 38:4-7 – “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
The plans of our God are FAR above our understanding, but his goodness towards us transcends our present trials. If we don’t have this truth and a correct understanding of God in our hearts, we will be broken down quite easily.
We might also apply this lie to our personal struggles with temptation. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” – 1 Peter 5:8-9.
It can be so easy to watch the lion of Satan pacing around us. It can be so disheartening when we fall into the same old sin patterns. If we aren’t resting in the truth of Christ, that our sin nature has been put to death, we are likely to be stuck in that place of failure forever.
But if we hold fast to the truth we have ETERNALLY in Christ that he has defeated the law of sin and death and that we are set free by his sacrifice and resurrection, we will find that instead of despair, we will live in thanksgiving and greater victory.
“being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” – Philippians 1:6
All of these doubts and misgivings need to ultimately be tempered with the ultimate truth of the return of Christ. This is the final and eternal hope that we can rest on. This is THE truth we hope in. That at the end of every day, and after every trial, heartache, and horror, our Lord will return, and everything will be set right.
Jesus is the truth. If we keep that in our minds and daily seek the will of Christ, the lies of the world will slowly but surely drift away.
By: Gabriel Hatcher
Blessings,
Mind On Jesus