Joh 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
I have mentioned that I am reading William Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. As Shirer describes Hitler and recounts how he came to absolute power in Germany, wreaking death and suffering upon millions and ultimately devastating the German people who believed him, I was impressed with Jesus’ words to the Pharisees. The devil is the father of lies, there is NO truth in him. If his lips are moving (he probably doesn’t have lips), he is lying.
Here is an example of this lying evil. These are the words of Hitler after he had obtained from the German legislature (the Reichstag) the “Enabling Act” which gave Hitler a four year period in which he could deviate from the constitution “for the good of the nation.” And this is what he said:
The government [Hitler promised] will make use of these powers only insofar as they are essential for carrying out vitally necessary measures. Neither the existence of the Reichstag not that of the Reichstrat is menaced. The position and rights of the President (Hindenberg) remain unaltered…The separate existence of the federal states will not be done away with. The rights of the churches will not be diminished and their relationship to the State will not be modified. The number of cases in which an internal necessity exists for having recourse to such a law is in itself a limited one.
We must understand that evil, wicked servants of the devil, can stand up before an audience, look right at them, and most “sincerely”…..LIE. We fail to recognize this because we cannot conceive of ourselves doing such a thing. But Hitler was not us. Hitler was a psychopath, a devil, a servant of Satan in the garb of a son of righteousness. A wolf in wool.
This is why the Apostle John warns us:
1Jn 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
How do you test the spirits? How do you tell if someone is a child of God or a child of the devil, a speaker of truth or a liar of lies? For one thing, you just stop for a minute and cease looking at things as they appear on the outside. You stop quickly accepting their claim to be of Christ. You take some time to examine the fruit of the person’s life. You compare what they are saying with God’s Word. You ask the Lord to show you. You admit that MANY such liars exist, and that these liars which we most often deal with are to be found in the ranks of visible Christianity.
Act 20:29-30 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; (30) and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.
How many pastors and church elders really believe this? When a victim of domestic abuse, for example, comes to them for help – how many truly acknowledge that evil can look like an angel of light? That an evil man or woman can appear to be soooo godly? That is is very possible for a wicked child of the devil to, without conscience, look right at them and lie? It would appear that not many church leaders believe these things.
So if you do not want to end up being a dupe of the devil, used by him in his wickedness, admit that you need to wise up. Admit that you need God’s wisdom…and start asking for it.
Carolyn
Awesome. Exactly right on!
Be free
The abuser, like you called it, one of the liars in Christianity, professing his false faith to everyone… was discovered to be stalking yet again, so wisdom has been a bit more on the forefront of thought these last few days. Your post was quite timely.
The beauty is scripture repeats so many times about fearing the Lord is naturally dovetailed (not those exact words, but in practicality it is) into seeking his wisdom and knowledge – for that matter – asking for it too! And what you read once in scripture will have new even greater meaning when you go back and read it again.
An approach that I took a few nights ago, upon discovering the abuser’s continued fixation, was to go and look up every scripture that references fear – needless to say, there are many. Why I mention this is because for all of the endless hours of reading, listening, praying, etc. it feels like reading these very same verses, again, is like reading it the first time -with a new light shining on it.
Evil is awful, and is very tiered – as are the levels we experience it in this world. And the same verses of the Bible we read before may very well be a whole new spin when read them again, later. The acceptance of satan being such a dark and tiered spiritual terrorist amongst us is critical for application of the scripture – this is not a love cures all deal, satan can’t be cured – he IS satan! From there the Holy Spirit can and will use the same exact words in the Bible and reveal the “next level” understanding to us…. yes, re-use those same exact scripture words from before, to gain wisdom and insight to combat the new level of evil that we encounter now….
It’s the first step in the direction of the Lord’s wisdom…. and it’s all right there in one book… his book…. and what an ever-revealing, endless source it is. He gives us the steps, the how, and it’s up to us if we do it or not.
Thank you for posting the reminder today…… he ia ready for us to ask and seek, always has been, always will be…. Sometimes it takes a run-in (or a repeat run-in) with the abusers, yes, the servants of satan, to remind us to never stop seeking or asking the Lord…. He promises us he will always have more waiting for us…..
Innoscent
Be free, I love your close connection to the Scriptures, how you avidly drink to its source. It is our VERY weapon against the devil and his forces. The sword of the Spirit we are told in Eph 6.17. Recently I was reading Luke 4 the temptations of Satan upon Christ and gained amazing new insights, yet have read it many times. I so agree that the Spirit illuminates the Word to equip us further as we move forward in this warfare. And we can place these insights within the big picture of the battle between good and evil.
Innoscent
YES to wising up to Satan’s falsehoods!! So many of us shouldn’t have had to endure despicable oppression by abusers had the church taught us about Satan’s devices as soon as we join ranks. So now we urgently need to educate ourselves. And I praise God for Unholy Charade’s ministry that has been a school for me to question and review everything, unlearn garbage and relearn truth about issues of abuse and evil. 2 Cor 2.11
Church is not about being a cosy love nest and acceptance of everyone, and everything. A breeding ground for wolves. The ministers have missed the mark so terribly. We are in a war, which is intensifying! It’s about forming soldiers for Christ, equiping Christian agents to the warfare, studying the tactics of good and evil, and fighting… not washing our hands and retreating urrgh..
Satan’s approach is subtle and stealthy, as well as charming, flattering and pleasing to the senses. He has demonic and human agents fair in appearance and fully equiped to his strategies and spurious teachings. They make you feel you’re family and special friends desiring your good, they flatter, target your emotions and use NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programing) and hypnosis tactics, same trick as in the garden of Eden.
If ever there was a time it is now that we must become experts in detecting the wiles of the devil, study, observe, pray, expose and expel .
And I reckon that the church is crumbling and about to implode as there are too many infiltrated wolves in sheep’s clothing at every level… just like Hitler and his minions within the German government.