The devil runs this world, and lies and deception are his greatest tools. He is so cunning that he can trick a Christian easily through the lust of the flesh if the person doesn’t study the Scriptures to know God’s will, and doesn’t walk in the love and the knowledge and the wisdom God. Lies and deception corrupt those who participate in them and destroy the lives of family and friends who learn of them.

The devil hates families, and that’s obvious with his first attack on Adam and Eve. Immorality has gone ballistic, and everything that used to be a sin and shameful is now the norm. We all get caught up with the many changes in life, and many of us give in to them because it’s legal, acceptable, and the thing to do. Good judgment gets cast aside easily because this world thrives on self-will and emotion—and on our rights! And even Christians can become blinded to the truth if they aren’t careful.

The only way any of us are going to get through this life is to not only give our lives to God so that we can live how He’s instructed us to live, but also to take on His heart. We can try hard to do all the right things because we know to do them, but if our heart isn’t right before God, then we will be deceived and do them because we have to, not because we want to. And the danger with this attitude is that if we aren’t obeying out of love and commitment to God, then the devil will be able to come in at some time and deceive us. And it goes the other way, as well. It’s just as wrong not to do something because we’ve been taught it’s wrong, but in our heart, we want to do it. When we don’t live to please God in our heart, then plain and simple, we are a liar! And the door is open for the devil to step in.

Some people think that as long as it’s not hurting anyone, then it’s okay; after all, we are supposed to love each other and not offend each other. But they forget that we don’t owe our allegiance and our lives to each other. We owe everything to God! He is the One we want to please. And so doing something in a corner because you know it’s wrong and you don’t want to offend someone and upset your cozy life is foolishness—because God sees it.

And when the one you’re hiding your issue from discovers your lie, it’s heartbreaking for them. You broke the bond of love and trust, and it hurts! It destroys all their hopes and dreams with you, and all because they found out you were doing something that you both knew was wrong, but that you felt would be okay as long as they didn’t find out. And not only did you hurt that person, but you hurt God because the devil is laughing at Him! He was able to trick you into doing something you knew was wrong in the first place—and he got you to do this all while proclaiming to be a Christian.

No wonder Christians are getting a bad rap from the world; many so-called Christians are giving off a bad testimony of the truth of God. Christians need to get into the Scriptures, spend time with God and live a godly life so they can resist the devil and his lies. And if they can’t do that, then they need to change their title to anything but Christian until they truly repent, put the world behind them and receive Jesus and their Lord and Savior.

On Judgment Day everything we ever did that wasn’t to the glory of God will be revealed for all to see—and then burned. And those who fell into the devil’s lies and deception because they served their own lusts instead of seeking God’s counsel will be humiliated and ashamed. And rightly so; they chose to give the devil glory instead of giving all the glory for their lives to God!

The devil wants to destroy every Christian, and he does it best through lies and deception. We need to be wise and resist him the second we even think that what he’s trying to get us to do is wrong. Resist him by getting on our knees and seeking God’s  face, and by studying the Scriptures so we can get God’s wisdom and guidance so that we won’t fall into the devil’s lies. If we have to hide what we’re doing, even if we feel justified in doing it, then it’s wrong! If we can’t do it in front of Christ because we’d feel guilty, then it’s wrong! If we have to lie about it to hide it from someone, then it’s wrong!

And if we play the game too long, we just may lose the knowledge that what we’re doing is wrong, and eventually, we could fall right back into sin. Losing our salvation is the devil’s mindset behind his whiles of lies and deception—so let’s NOT play his game.

Let’s be who Christ has called us to be, who we proclaim to be! Let’s be the heart of God in this world and let’s be His witness among the people. Let’s not be ashamed of who we are by giving glory to the devil! Let’s do all we do to the glory of God!

• Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and forever. Amen.—Jude 1:24-25

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