Deception

What if someone told you that there is a world around us, that is active, deceptive, engaged in, and infiltrating our lives.  This is not a physical world, but a spiritual one.  But don't let that decieve you.  It has more impact on your physical world than anything else.  It drives our physical world into caos.  It infiltrates our very minds, manipulating our cultures, not from a distance, but among us.  They are here. They are real.   Would you fight?  Would you stand up for what is true? What you stand up for what is right?  Would you develop a tactic to overcome your adversary? Would you unite with other people who believed in this invisible world?  Would you fight together with those that saw it for what it was?  This sounds like science fiction, like something written in the pages of a script for television.  But unlike what we see on television or read in books, this is actually REAL.......

Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood (the physical world), but against the rulers (those attempting to control), against the authorities (those who define the rules) against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (in the spiritual world - right among us, but unseen)."

This struggle as Paul defines it, is real.  It's not science fiction.  It is not outside my town.  I cannot operate within the confines of what I know, what I am comfortable with and escape that battle.  No, it is amoung our towns.  It is not outside our church.  In fact, our churches may be the center of the battlefields (if they are not, there may be something wrong with the church you attend).  It is not outside our circle of friends. No, the evil schemes are moving among those we love, among those we dislike, among us.  It is not outside our window.  The battle moves among our families, among our children, among our workplace.  It sits in the car with us. It lays down to sleep with us.  The battle is real.  It is constant. It is severe.  It is life and death.

Are you awake? Are you thinking of scrounging around for a defense? In this battle between the evil forces and those serving God, how do we defend ourselves?  How do we overcome something that we cannot see?  How do we begin to see or recognize the operations, motives, tactics, movements of our enemy so that we may position ourselves to withstand an attack? 

Ephesians 6:13-15
"Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace."

Today I want to examine part one, the belt of truth:

The Belt of Truth.  What truth?   The truth of who we are in this world?  The truth of who God is?  The truth of who our adversary, Satan is?  Truth as explained by the term "Wisdom" or "Knowledge"?  Truth as explained by the term "Reality"?  Truth as defined by "right" or "wrong"?  The short answer to these questions is "yes".  Truth as defined in scripture is "that which is opposed to falsehood".  It wraps the reality of Christ, the reality of our being, the reality of the struggle with sin and good and evil in this world, all into one.  The belt of truth opposes falsehood.  It opposes falsehood in our minds - deceptive thoughts, deceptive information, deceptive philosophies.  It opposes falsehood in our world - deceptive behavior, deceptive cultures, deceptive claims such as what will being you happiness, peace, or success.  It opposes falsehood in the spiritual realm -Christ said "I am the truth".  Christians can oppose falsehoods from satan just through thier faith in Christ!  We pick up the belt of truth when we wake up in the morning, and choose to follow Christ.  We wrap it around our midsection when we read the truth of scripture, the Holy Bible.  We buckle the clasps on the belt when we let these words of scripture infiltrate our hearts and minds, transforming who were were when we were a part of the world, and who we are in Christ.  We stand firm in our faith when we remember that this belt of truth only has power when it comes from God, and not of ourselves.  To build our defense, we carry the belt of truth to others when we share the gospel with them.  Our army is built out of those who recognize this battle and prepare thier hearts and minds for warfare. We stand firm knowing the enemy's tactics, and deflecting deception when it is fired upon us.

Lord, may I stand firm today in Truth.  May I recognize this battle and fight for the souls of others.  May I develop an urgency to spare someone a single day of torment by sharing the gospel.  Lord prepare me for battle.  Give me wisdom and understanding to oppose falsehood among me.  The falsehood of our world that tells me that what I do is never good enough.  The falsehood of our world that tells me not to try.  The falsehood of our world which tries to distract me from this urgent, powerful war waging among us.  May I focus on what truly matters today Lord, and find my strength on the battlefield within your arms.  Amen.

Colossians 1:21-23

"And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds, but now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him - if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm, without shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard."

I don't know why I do the things I do.  I don't mean to, but I do them.  OK, sometimes I mean them.  But sometimes I don't.  Sometimes I want to do what is good, but keep doing what is not.  I like the first part of this scripture, which reminds up that our evil actions stem from our THOUGHTS.  That is precisely why the bible instructs us to be transformed through the renewing of our MINDS (Romans 12:2).  And how do we renew our minds? By taking captive every THOUGHT and making it obedient to Christ (1 Corinthians 10:5).  See a pattern here?  In order to accomplish God's will in our lives and to live at peace with everyone  (Romans 12:18) we must know His Word in the depths of our minds.  We must believe at the very core of our being, that this is real, that God cares for us, that Jesus pardoned us, and that the Holy Spirit works within us.  A great book on this concept is Dallas Willard's "Renovation of The Heart".  He talks about how our emotions stem from our thoughts.  Don't want to be frustrated?  THINK about something that doesn't frustrate you (perhaps the love of God even when we frustrate Him).  Have you ever had conversations with your spouses that they have never participated in?  You know the ones - you roll a situation over and over in your head, speaking for the other party.  You get more and more hurt and angry.  One day I decided to put Dallas' teaching into action.  When the situation above started to happen, I decided to think of something else.  Not only did my emotions follow my thoughts to something else, but I was shocked by the immediacy at which they followed.  The only part of me that lingered was the sin part - the part that wanted to choose to think about the situation and get angry about it.  I was shocked - you mean there is a part of me that likes to be unhappy?  What a strange realization!  Especially when I know it makes me so unhappy!  When I decided to deny that sin and change my thinking, my whole being rejoiced!  I not only spared frustration and anger for myself, but I added joy and peace to my life.  How amazing it is when the Bible proves right!  When we deny our sinful nature, the result is peace and fulfillment to our lives.  But Satan tries to convince us otherwise.  He tries to convince us that we are somehow vindicated and justified in our frustration and unhappiness, but we know the result is usually lack of fulfillment and sadness.  Oh Lord, help me to carefully choose my thoughts today.  When I am faced with difficult circumstances, let me direct those thoughts to you and your Word.  Change me from the inside, so my emotions and actions flow out of a changed mind.

The second part of this scripture deals with not only our salvation (a one-time occurance) but also our transformation (continual change).  It speaks about how Christ's death on the cross presents us:
1. Holy 
2. Without Blemish
3. Blameless before Him
But here is the amazing part - THIS IS NOT A ONE-TIME THING!  He doesn't just clean us up on the day of our salvation like a child scrubbed up for Sunday School who later plays in the mud.  He continually cleanses those who believe, those who remain in Him.  We do not have to worry about rejection over the sins we still commit.  God's love is not limited for those who believe.  BELIEVE my friend!  This is real!  This is true!

Boldly move forward today, choosing to direct your thoughts by setting your mind on things above (Colossians 3:2), and enjoy the sweet assurance of the continual cleansing you receive through your faith in Jesus Christ. ~Karen