Working on my book this morning, getting so close to the finish line… and have this little nugget to remind you of out of 1 Corinthians 13:33 “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace.“

Now let’s go back to John 8:44 Where Jesus is speaking to a group of leaders: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is NO truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources for he is a liar and the father of it.” The attitudes and actions of these leaders clearly identified them as followers of Satan. They may not have been conscious of this, but their hatred of truth, their lies, and their murderous intentions indicated how much control the devil had over them. They were his tools in carrying out his plans they spoke the very same language of lies. Satan’s tricks haven’t changed in over 2,000 years – he still uses people to obstruct God’s work.

When it says in the scripture above “He was a murderer from the beginning…” Let’s go back to Genesis Chapter 2 vs. 17 where God said to Adam and Eve: “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat it, you shall surely die.” God has told them clearly, if you eat it, you will die. And then comes the devil…. and what does he say in Genesis Chapter 3 when he gets to Eve in the garden, “Did God really say you can’t eat of that tree?” And Eve told him in verse 2 “Yes, God said we could eat of any tree we want. But if we eat that one, or even touch it, we shall surely die.” Then the devil LIES to her some more when he says in verse 4 “You won’t die. God is just trying to keep you from having your eyes opened and being like Him.” Eve listened to the lies and ate the fruit and she and Adam committed Spiritual suicide. And if we are not right with God, we are dead. The bible says in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The devil hasn’t changed. He’s still using people (most don’t even realize it) to confuse you with lies. He’s still whispering to your minds like he did Jesus in Matthew 4:5 “Then the devil took Him up to the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. Gor it is written: “He shall give charge over you, and in their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot on a stone.” He’s trying to convince Jesus to commit physical suicide by whispering lies in his ear, by quoting scripture and twisting it. And what does Jesus say? “It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” (Now this is an IMPORTANT LESSON right here. You have to read your bible, ALL of it. You have to know the scripture. Because there are too many people out there teaching false doctrine and using one verse to justify sin, which as we read above, leads to both spiritual and physical death.)

Depression, anxiety, confusion and so very sadly, suicide is at an all-time high. People have the false idea that if they are “good enough Christians” they should never get those thoughts. If you are a Christian, and you are being honest with yourself, you have likely been driving down the road, or sitting at the house, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere you hear (In your voice, in your head because that’s what the devil does, hoping you’ll believe it) “Just end it. Life is hard, just end it all right now.” It is IMPERATIVE you understand that is NOT God. That is not His will for you. This is your enemy. Yep, you have an enemy and you have to understand that. The bible tells you about your enemy in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” The devil wants to destroy you, you have to understand that there is a spiritual warfare that rages in the heavenly places that you can’t see. But it’s real. The Bible also says in John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” We’re warned again that the devil wants to steal (your peace and hope) kill and destroy you. But Jesus reminds us that He came into the world to give us HOPE and PROMISE and life abundantly. The devil is going to try us. Each and every one. One day I was riding down the road, happy, not a care in the world and out of the blue I had the thought “Do you really believe all this stuff you are teaching and writing about? Really?” It took me by surprise and the next words, audible from my mouth were “Yes I do, get behind me Satan!” And that was it. I didn’t give place to it. I didn’t dwell on it. I didn’t try to dissect it. I called him out and went on. The bible says in James 4:7 to “Resist the devil and he will flee.” The bible also says in 1 Corinthians 10:5 to “Hold every thought captive.” In other words, don’t let those thoughts take root! When you give place to those thoughts, that’s when you will start to feel the confusion. Sometimes they are thoughts, sometimes it’s words from others that the devil is using to try and instill thoughts of doubt and confusion. I heard a story this past week of a little boy who was taken to Children’s hospital due to thoughts of suicide. When they started investigating, they discovered some of his little friends had been sending him texts encouraging him to do so! That is the enemy, using those who know no better to be his tools of destruction. Talk to you children! Teach them about Jesus! Teach them they have an enemy. As the old saying goes, “You have to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything.”

It’s important, no imperative, you know the bible so you can discern the lies from the truth. And remember, if it’s causing you confusion, anxiety and fear – it’s not of God. Hold fast to the truth of His word as you combat the enemy.