Anchored in God’s Truth
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
1 John 3:18
In the last days, Satan and all his demons are released to deceive the world. Therefore, it is critical that we stay anchored in God’s truth. In an effort to pull us away from our Lord, Satan will stop at nothing to deceive Christians. It is important that we have accountability with our Christian brothers and sisters due to our natural bias in how we see ourselves.
Many people will be deceived by Satan’s lies and they will influence other people. These people not only include non-believers but also include believers who can believe a lie from Satan and easily justify it. When we view someone as a strong Christian and see a questionable behavior, we may assume it is okay. This is why we must be anchored in the truth and live by the truth. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. (John 16:13) Pray for truth and if the Spirit places any doubt about a questionable decision, then it is probably displeasing to the Lord.
Satan’s temptations play to our fleshly desires. If we look closely at the temptation, we can discern if it is a flesh-driven desire. Very rarely do we yield to a temptation through reasoning. It is normally emotionally driven and Satan would love it if we would live by our feelings.
An example of yielding to an emotionally driven desire is when David yielded to the temptation when from his rooftop, he saw Bathsheba bathing. David ended up sleeping with her, she became pregnant, David had her husband killed in battle, and he took Bathsheba as his wife. (2 Samuel 11) David was forgiven by God but suffered many bad consequences from his sin. Now Satan can tempt us in small justifiable steps, and the result can have both worldly and spiritual consequences.
But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. (James 1:14-16) When we make choices, picture the Lord and his thoughts about your choice. If we continue doing this, it will become habit and help redirect us when we deviate from his truth.
Today, live by the truth and overcome every lie Satan places in your path. Pray in the morning and throughout the day for the Spirit to warn you whenever you are about to be tempted. The Spirit will tell you what is yet to come.
Prayer: Lord, help me live by your truth today and never entertain any of Satan’s deceptions. Keep me from justifying my own desires and help me to do everything that is pleasing to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen