DO NOT BE DECEIVED

The longer you follow Jesus Christ with your life, the clearer certain things become. Such as, the whopper of a lie that I need more than God has already given to me in Christ Jesus as well as what He has in store. The corollary to that lie is that I need what God has expressly forbidden in order to have a "full" life.

Sin in any form will never fulfill the promise that it holds out in temptation. Living contrary to the clear Word of God will never heal a broken heart. It will never fulfill the dreams and hopes for a lasting, wholesome, enriching relationship. You may not want to hear it, but that doesn't negate the truth that God's design and His timing for human relating, especially marriage, is the only "field" capable of bearing the fruit that will endure both good time and outrageously hard times. All honest relationships have both.

God provides, in His will, the power to persevere, to forgive, to give grace, to deliver us from the delusional, wooly thinking the world promulgates as "right and good." Sin will never satisfy beyond a moment. The more it is entertained, nourished by habit and embraced in various forms of addiction, the more resistant to God's Word the human heart becomes; the deafer one becomes to the sound of His voice calling one home.

The sentient lie that is presented to the human heart by our ancient foe (yes, there is one named Satan, a fallen angel who hates anything God loves, creation and you included) is that if you heed God's Word and pay attention to His warnings about things that will not make for fully human flourishing, you'll be "missing out on the thrill of life."

The only things you'll be missing out on are the distortions of life, the twisting of sin and death. The liar tells the lie that you'll be denied so much that is worthwhile and enriching. You see, Satan cannot make Hell, eternal torment and separation from any and all goodness, seem attractive so he does his best to decorate the road that leads there as it were a perpetual party. He takes things that God created as good and distorts them. He removes them from the context that God has declared will make for life so they can be instruments to destroy the human heart and spirit.

What the deceiver tells you is normative, normal and delightful are exactly the opposite because, when Satan speaks through the instrumentality of this present age, he can only speak lies. That is his language, and a good lie is always laced with twisted truth, something that catches the eye, stimulates desire misplaced and is mere bait on his deadly hook.

Following Jesus Christ, learning that He is the Good Shepherd Who knows and truly cares for His sheep in the only way if living that can make one whole. Trusting and heeding the Word of God reveals that one trusts that God does what He says.

Who are you listening to?