Sunday, April 15, 2018

Believing Lies

I feel like I say it all the time, but we can always use a reminder to seek TRUTH.

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I literally JUST worked through this myself a couple weeks ago…& I can’t believe I “fell for it” because I know better.  I totally let my guard down & started believing some lies. It’s my own fault. I wasn’t in the Word daily and I chose not to do my Bible study. It’d be easy to say I didn’t have time for it, but I DID have time and chose not to…total lack of discipline (my WORD for 2018, by the way) on my part. Thankfully Jonathan helped me recognize some “stinkin thinkin,” and once I identified it, I was able to get to the root & change my thoughts…which changed my actions, behaviors, reactions, etc. It wasn’t a life or death deal…just some negative self talk, self doubt, bad attitude, short fuse, etc. But, if you don’t deal with that type of thing, it can escalate.

So here it is, friends. You cannot always trust your emotions. Your feelings are not always truth. It’s hard to wrap our mind around how something can feel true and feel SO real…but it is totally possible to actually be believing a lie. Sometimes it’s so deeply engrained in our thinking we can’t even recognize it as a lie.

This is why it is so, so important to be in the Word! We have to know the truth so we can recognize lies, and have the ability to replace those lies with truth of God’s Word. Business people in other cultures spend lots of time studying their currency (the REAL THING, or the truth, which is the Word of God) so they can easily recognize something counterfeit (fake $, which is lies from the enemy). This is discernment, and sometimes we have to put work into having discernment. It’s a skill we can develop by studying truth, seeking the Lord, and learning to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

We have a very real enemy, seeking whom he may devour. His desire is to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). By causing us to listen to, dwell on, believe, and eventually act on lies, the enemy puts lots of Christians in various forms of bondage. Ephesians 6:12 says “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” This is why so many believers are caught up feeling defeated, overwhelmed, frustrated, discouraged, addicted, bitter, angry, insecure, & anxious.

There are so, so many lies we can get caught up believing, but here are a few I hear often from women.

  • “I’m a failure” or “No one likes me.”
  • I’m not good enough/fit enough/pretty enough/smart enough.
  • I don’t like staying home/cooking/cleaning.
  • I don’t understand the Bible and I’m bored reading it.
  • My husband is a jerk or never does things for me like my friend’s husband does.
  • I can’t help the way I am.
  • I don’t have any gifts to contribute.
  • God doesn’t love me/can’t forgive what I’ve done.

Believing these lies will no doubt negatively impact our thinking, and if we don’t learn how to take control of our thinking, it can grow until we end up in full blown bondage of some sort. 2 Cor 3:17 says “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” As believers, we are meant to walk in FREEDOM. And no matter where you are, what you’re experiencing, what you may have been believing, it is not too late. You can still walk in freedom.

What if we learned to replace those lies with the TRUTH??

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  • “I’m a failure” or “No one likes me.” Psalm 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
  • I’m not good enough/fit enough/pretty enough/smart enough. Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female. 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
  • I don’t like staying home/cooking/cleaning. Titus 2:5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Proverbs 31:10-31
  • I don’t understand the Bible and I’m bored reading it. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 2 Tim 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet,a light on my path.
  • My husband is a jerk or never does things for me like my friend’s husband does. 1 John 4:7-8 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
  • I can’t help the way I am. Romans 6:6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—  Phil 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
  • I don’t have any gifts to contribute. 1 Cor 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
  • God doesn’t love me/can’t forgive what I’ve done. Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Romans 8:37-39  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Can you imagine the freedom you’ll be able to experience in your faith, your relationships, your habits, and your thinking if you start operating by THE TRUTH? I see chains being broken. Relationships restored. Families reunited. People able to experience true joy & peace (even during trials).True FREEDOM.

It might be something as simple as a bad day or bad week….or it might be years and years of being in bondage.

I don’t know what you’re going through, what you’ve been through, or how you’ve been brought up. But what I do know is that if we take some time to examine our thinking and get down to some ROOTS, He can set us free.

Here are some practical steps from the book Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free in Moving from Bondage to Freedom:

1. Identify the area(s) of bondage or sinful behavior.

2. Identify the lie(s) at the root of that bondage or behavior.

3. Replace the lie(s) with the Truth.

*Also, I’m teaching this study live in our FB group if you’d like to join us!

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