Right…Or Mostly Right?

Have you ever been on a hike or driving in the car when you came to a fork in the road? Up to that point you knew exactly where you were and how to get where you were heading. Maybe you are so far away from civilization and cell towers that your GPS no longer accurately directs you to go left or right. Both paths look pretty good…but eventually you find yourself at a very different destination than you planned.

I was recently teaching a women’s life group at my church on the subject of “truth” or being just “a little off the truth.” We looked at the original half truth in Genesis 3 when the serpent, the devil, quoted a half-truth to Eve and she bought (or shall we say “bit”) into it. We see the she ended up in a place she never wanted to be and it was just “a little off” to start with…a whole lot off eventually.

Isn’t that the way it is? If we want to draw a straight line to build a fence and we are just a hair off in our measurement, we may end up fencing the neighbors yard in addition to our own. A little sometimes makes a huge difference.

Our pastor recently gave the illustration of a watch being 7 hours off rather than 7 minutes off. We would recognize 7 hours quickly, but it would probably take us a while to notice just 7 minutes.

That’s the way the enemy works, isn’t it? He knows the truth and he manipulates it just enough to sound okay to us. Then, ultimately, we see the slight turn we made in our path that took us in a completely different direction than we planned.

“Just once won’t hurt.” “No one will know.” “Does the Bible really say…?”

We can read throughout Scripture about the enemy and his tactics. You can read what I’ve posted on this topic before, Grow Through What You Go Through, Accountable…Me?, Contentment Series, The Devil in Pew Number 7, Prepared and Pursuing and other places.

Satan fell from God’s presence because he wanted to be God. In the end, he chose his own path and now seeks to cause us to doubt God’s goodness, faithfulness and Word as well. (Isaiah 14:12-14)

7 Things to Consider:

1. Know who the enemy is as you walk in victory daily in Christ’s power.
2. Pray and ask God to help you choose a Bible reading plan and get in the Word daily to counteract the lies of the enemy.
3. If you think something sounds like Truth, measure it only by the standard of God’s word.
4. Ask a friend to pray for you in areas where you are subject to the enemies untruths.
5. If you have stumbled into the lies of the enemy, repent and walk the other way NOW!
6. Stand on His love and forgiveness, not the enemies condemnation.
7. Share your joy with someone else who is struggling.

Friends, don’t be fooled by his subtle ways of drawing us away from God’s Truth. Watch for the enemy’s hidden strategies! Remember how sneaky and subtle he can be!

This how we combat the lies, or partial lies, that the enemy speaks to us. By knowing the Truth! God’s Truth. It is relevant, current, practical and applicable to all of life no matter what you hear in our world today!

I’ve heard it said by many, “we do not fight FOR victory, we fight FROM victory.” God has given us victory in all of life through His Son Jesus. Let that victory and power direct you as you face your fork in the road every time and head in the direction He desires you to follow.

Read Greg Gilbert’s article and check out this web site for more information on Truth.

Banner photo by Andrea De Santis on Unsplash