October 1
The Father Of Lies
He [the devil] was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies
Alyce was one of the most pathetic-looking young women I have ever met. She was so skinny that she literally had no more body fat to lose. She had lost her job three days earlier, and her vacant eyes conveyed that she had lost all hope for her life. She was a very talented girl and a committed Christian in many ways, but she was also a Darvon junkie who had even been arrested once for illegal possession of prescription drugs.
"I want you to tell me who you think you are," I said to Alyce.
"I'm just a no-good failure," she whimpered.
"You're not a failure," I responded. "You're a child of God." She continued to pour out the negative self-talk and evidences of demonic deception she had been living under, and I continued to counter her negativism with the good news of her identity in Christ. The more we talked, the more aware I became of Christ's presence ministering to Alyce. We tested the spirit that was harassing her, and she knew firsthand that she had been deceived. Astonished, she said, "Do you mean to tell me that my whole problem has been deception, that I have been listening to a pack of lies?" Today she's free.
The prevailing theme of the New Testament is the position we enjoy in Christ through our faith in Him. That's the good news: Christ in you and you in Christ. If there is a prevailing negative theme in the New Testament which capsulizes the opposition we face in Satan, I believe it is deception. There are at least three avenues through which Satan will attempt to dissuade you from God's truth and deceive you into believing his lies: self-deception, false prophets/teachers, and deceiving spirits. We are vulnerable to Satan's deception in these areas if we fail to clothe ourselves daily with the spiritual armor of the belt of truth.
Prayer: Lord, I put on the belt of the truth of Your Word today and stand against the deception of Satan.
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