I hope you had a wonderful week! I don't know if you're following any news in the Middle East, but things are getting pretty intense there. Pray for that area and for Israel, because I don't think things are going to settle down for awhile. One thing to keep in mind is as we get closer to the end, things in that region will be leading indicators to His return and with the knowledge, wisdom and discernment given to us by the Holy Spirit (when we ask!) we can keep abreast of it.
This week we're going to revisit The Truth. When I wrote about this last time it was focused on the Holy Spirit showing us truth, helping us walk in the light, and being truthful with one another to enable reconciliation. This time we're going to look at the truth in our lives and how we live it.
First, let's just get down to brass tacks. If it's not truth, whether it's our words or our actions, it's deception. Lies. Plain and simple. Regardless of if you intend good from whatever deceptive words or actions you choose, it's still a deception. And remember who is the father of all lies: Satan (John 8:44). And on the flip side, if anything is not done in truth it is not from Yehovah because all His works are done in truth (Psalm 33:4).
Let's dig into this "father of lies," a bit. Recall that from the beginning, the fall of man was instigated by the serpent, Satan (Genesis 3:4, Revelation 12:9), through his deceit. By Adam and Eve choosing Satan's words over Yehovah's, they gave him power over the world. In fact, they made him prince of the world (John 12:31, John 14:30, John 16:11). You can see his influence permeates throughout all the world in every aspect. Deception runs rampant in the world, and anyone that is a friend of the world is the enemy of Yehovah (James 4:4). Going further, we are to keep ourselves untainted by the world (James 1:27), meaning we should not let how the world operates influence how we operate in the world.
This includes everything we do, from what we say to how we conduct ourselves, in our personal life, spiritual life, and professional life. Yes, everything. Some suggest that there are "white lies," where it's ok to lie if the lie is meant to spare someone's feelings or to try to do good. See Psalm 33:4, and remember that all Yehovah's works are done in truth, so ANY lie is not one of His works. This idea of a "white lie," is a creation of Satan to deceive us, once again, into perpetuating his creation: deception. So, to be clear, when I write about lies, I mean ALL lies, including the "white," ones.
Just think about it logically. In any case you can think, whatever lie you tell, you are leading the person you lie to into darkness. That individual has a completely different perception of reality than the truth. He or she is now living in darkness in that area of their life, not in the light, and you imposed that on them. Furthermore, we know that all secrets (the truth behind the lie, in this case) will be revealed (Luke 12:2,3), and in the end we all will stand before the judgment seat and be judged by not only the words we purposely said, but the idle words as well (Matthew 12:36, 2 Corinthians 5:10).
But there's another reason to always be truthful in all that we do. We will be able to dwell in His holy hill (Psalm 15). Those who walk uprightly, work righteousness and speak truth in their heart will be able to be in His tabernacle and live in His holy hill.
Let's also not forget the complete picture of what we're dealing with. And what I'm talking about now is that spiritually we have to remember there are other entities working for the father of lies. The words we choose to speak and actions we choose to take can provide the opportunity for those spirits to take up residence in us and influence us towards continuing to sin even if we have salvation through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit dwells within us. I wrote a four part series of newsletters about this previously (1, 2, 3, 4). In other words, our choice to lie in whatever situation invites the opportunity for a demon of lying to take up residence and influence more lies.
But you might ask, what about if I lie to save someone's life or to save my own life? Or maybe that's too much of a stretch for you because you already know that whoever loves their life will lose it and whoever hates their life in this world will have eternal life (John 12:25). Ok then, what if I lie so I won't be forced to do something evil? Or maybe something that we might see in our lifetime: what if I lie by pretending to take the mark of the beast, so I don't get persecuted for not taking it? My question to you would be, what do you trust Yehovah to do for you? Or better yet, do you trust Him to take care of you? I wrote about trusting Him in a previous newsletter and it all comes down to fear. If we fear what might happen to our bodies, or what might happen to our loved ones, or maybe more benignly fearing we won't be successful in what we do, then we've lost the trust in Yehovah. And once we have that fear, it controls us rather than Yehovah leading us.
I'm sure you've heard of Ben Franklin's quote, "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." While I don't have any biblical basis for this comparison, I see His gift of eternal life and our mortal life as interchangeable with liberty and safety in Ben Franklin's quote. In other words, those who would give up eternal life to live a little longer on earth, or exalt themselves in the world, deserve neither eternal life nor this mortal life. And why do I say that in the context of being truthful? Because I see any lie as our choice to give up eternal life, since we chose it knowing that the One who gives us eternal life hates lies (Proverbs 12:22). He is merciful, so He doesn't rescind that gift if we lie, but you can be sure He is sad and disappointed in us every time we do.
Something to meditate on this week is Psalm 25. With this Psalm, we can affirm our trust in Yehovah (verse 2) and ask Him to lead us in truth (verse 5). It is a very powerful Psalm, and I recommend you read it until it means something to you and it can truthfully come from your heart as a prayer to Him.
Shabbat Shalom and God bless you! I hope you have a wonderful week!
-Rob and Sara Gene
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