lies

TRUTH – the all-purpose antidote to all that ails

Posted on by Grace Day

Lately, I seem to be feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. Now, we are told to “bear one another’s burdens”, and I have a lot of friends going through some very hard things. So that could possibly account for my feeling this way. But I think the weight that I am carrying around with me is unnecessary weight, weight that I needlessly keep hanging onto, when in truth, I don’t have to carry around all the things that I do. My Heavenly Father didn’t intend for me to constantly struggle under the weight of all the things I carry with me.

Ultimately, it’s my choice what I choose to lug around with me everywhere I go. Perhaps it’s time I dared to let go of that which weighs me down on my life’s journey. My Creator God invites me to do just that – let go of what I cling to so tightly and receive instead what He wants to give me. In fact, Jesus said this to the people He was with and it’s His gracious invitation to me and to you – His invitation to every single person, an invitation that still stands today. It is an open invitation.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

That’s definitely what I need – a load that is lighter than the one I currently carry through this life. I long to be set free from the load of lies that are keeping me captive. And fortunately for me, God has the antidote that I so desperately need – truth!

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

But what is truth?

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’ ” (John 14:6)

“After Jesus said this, He looked toward heaven and prayed: ‘Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.’ ” (John 17:1 & 17)

God’s word is truth! And truth is the antidote to all that ails me. I am definitely weighed down by my sin BUT – God’s truth in Isaiah tells me this about God’s mercy and forgiveness –

” ‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’ ” (Isaiah 1:18)

I too often find myself paralyzed by various fears BUT – the truth of God’s word tells me this –

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

“For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

I carry around the rejection I experience daily in this world, BUT – the Truth is, I am not rejected. I am chosen! (so are you)

“Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?” (James 2:5)

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

“But now, this is what the Lord says – . . . ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine.’ ” (Isaiah 43:1)

I needlessly carry around despair, while Truth is waiting to replace it with hope (which is much lighter)

“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)

I am living like a captive when the Truth is – I have already been set free.

“He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)

“Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.’ ” (John 8:34-36)

I am living like one who is condemned when the Truth is – I have already been pardoned!

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1)

“as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:12-14)

I am living like I am unseen, unheard, unknown and unloved. Enter TRUTH. I am seen. I am heard. I am known. I am loved. And so are you, dear readers! the TRUTH is this –

I am seen – so are you

“My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:15-16)

I am heard – so are you

“But I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.” (Psalm 55:16-17)

I am known – so are you

“O Lord, You have searched me and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O Lord.” (Psalm 139:1-4)

I am loved – so are you

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

that’s the TRUTH!

and TRUTH is the antidote!

TRUTH is the antidote to whatever ails you – because fear, rejection, despair, bondage, condemnation, invisibility, feeling unloved – these all result from believing the lies of our enemy – instead allow the TRUTH of God’s Living Word to set you free today and everyday –

sincerely, Grace Day

living a lie

Posted on by Grace Day

“Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

That’s what Jesus told His disciples. But what is truth? And how can we know it? Jesus answers this question saying –

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) Jesus further tells us –

“Thy word is truth.” (John 17:17) – this referring to God’s Word found in the Bible.

Which makes sense because Jesus is the Living Word – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1 & 14)

There’s that word “truth” again. Truth – what we are told will set us free. Truth – what we search for, what we long for, what we say we want to know. Or do we? Are there times we prefer our lies to the truth?

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12)

We are so easily deceived. Lies lead us into captivity and eventual death. Truth sets us free and leads to life. The choice is ours to make every day. But we have an enemy actively working to deceive us and to destroy us. Jesus warned us about this, saying this about the devil,

“He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)

The battle between truth and lies continues in full force to this day. Satan hates what God loves. God loves us, we who He created in His own image, so naturally satan wants to destroy us by any means necessary. And if satan can get us to believe a lie and destroy ourselves, that just makes his labor to destroy God’s beloved creation that much easier. It started in the garden, when satan succeeded in getting Eve to doubt God’s goodness (the truth) and to believe a lie instead of the truth she already knew. Today the strategy of lies over truth is the same and it is still effective in destroying its victims – us, you and me and the people we love.

One inescapable example currently, is that of the transgender movement and its impact on individuals and on our culture. This ideology begins with a lie, is sustained by lies and ends with its victims living a lie. How does this happen? First, transgenderism starts with a false premise, in other words, with a lie. The lie? – that one is in the wrong body, that there’s been a mistake and we need to correct this mistake as soon as possible. Young impressionable children and mixed-up teenagers searching for their place in this world are particularly vulnerable to this lie, especially if they believe the further lie that – they will be happy and life will be better when they are in the body of whichever sex they are not currently. So if this is a lie, what is the truth? What truth does God’s own word (which is truth) tell us about this issue?

“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27)

What else do we know to be true from God’s own word?

“For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:13-14)

and there’s more truth about us, about you and me, about who we are as God’s creation –

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Some translations say “masterpieces” but you get the idea – God doesn’t make mistakes. Each one of us is created in our Heavenly Father’s image. We are perfectly designed and wonderfully made by a loving Creator with His good purposes in mind. Knowing this truth gives each one of us a sense of identity and purpose – we can know Whose we are and where we belong in this world. Unfortunately, if we don’t know this truth, we will believe the lie, any lie put forth that sounds good or reasonable to us at the time.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12)

And like Eve in the garden, we are deceived by a lie, in this case multiple lies, the alluring lies and false promises of transgenderism. Starting with the assertion (lie) that one is unhappy because they are in the wrong body, the next step is to “correct” the mistake. Here the trans ideology is sustained by multiple lies such as – puberty blockers do no harm, (they do much long term harm) puberty blockers’ effects are reversible, (they are not) life will be better when I become whichever sex I am not currently, (life will still have pain, loss and its share of hardships) transitioning will solve all my problems, be they emotional, mental, physical, spiritual, etc.. (no, it will just create a new set of problems in addition to the problems I already have)

Then transgenderism ends in a lie, the lie of attempting to live as someone you are not – an illusion that has to be sustained and is only sustained by continuous use of hormones not natural for your body, hormones which must be taken for the rest of your life in order to perpetuate the lie. Often, this lie is also sustained by body altering and mutilating surgeries, which then necessitate further plastic surgeries to cover up the damage done. This leads to a lifetime of pretending to be someone you are not – living a lie – instead of living in the freedom and in the fullness of who God created you to be all along.

Ironic right? In the quest to live “their truth” or to be their “authentic selves” those that fall prey to the lies of transgenderism end up creating a false persona through drugs/hormones and through body mutilating surgeries, which remove otherwise healthy body parts. Then this supposedly authentic persona who is in reality living as a fake person, must be meticulously maintained via medical interventions for the rest of their lives. Hard to believe children are becoming life-long patients of medical professionals at such young ages, not to mention sterile and stunted in their growth if the counselors and doctors get the children into “transitioning treatments” early enough.

Transgenderism requires trusting in self, rather than trusting in Creator God. Transgenderism says we will recreate ourselves in our own image, because we know better than God what is best for us. And the end result of this rebellious quest is death – sterilization, no longer able to produce life, no longer able to be fruitful and multiply as God commanded.

Transgenderism starts with a lie and ends with its victims living a lie, rather than being their authentic/true selves. Instead, they are held captive by the very lie they are forced to live – the lie they chose – the lie they created for themselves.

Truth is what can and will set each one free. God is Truth – satan is “the father of lies.” Satan wants to destroy what God has created and loves – us! Lord God, You are our only hope against this false ideology of trans that is destroying so many children body, mind and spirit. We pray for Your Truth to be proclaimed and known and embraced about the goodness and the rightness and the perfection of all You have created, including us – Your children, created in Your image. May Your Truth set us free from the tyranny of the lies of transgenderism.

“We are Your people, the sheep of Your pasture. It is You who have made us, and not we ourselves.” (Psalm 100:3)

sincerely, Grace Day