The Lie...

He lied to you.  Yep.  Through the words of another person, the action (or inaction) of a parent, relative, friend or enemy, he told you a lie.  And you bought it.  And you've lived your life constantly trying to prove it wrong.  Every interaction with every person, every choice you make at your job or in your personal life has become a way to fight the little voice in your head that never ceases, whispering the lie that you bought way back when and continue to buy every single day of your life.

~ 1 Peter 5:8 instructs us: "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.  He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." (NLT)
~ John 8:44 warns us: "...the devil...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. (NIV)
So if we look at these two verses (and countless others that tell us of the devil's character: Revelation 12:9-10, 2 Corinthians 11:3, Isaiah 14:12-15, John 10:10, etc.) we know that 1) he (our enemy) roams the earth seeking to destroy whomever he can and 2) since he is the FATHER of lies, there is no better way for him to destroy someone than to feed them a lie.

I'm here to tell you that he has fed us all a lie.  Satan knows us.  He knows our hopes, dreams, and fears.  He's observant and patient and knows what will appeal to us and he's willing to slowly beat us down until we are completely broken. He knows exactly what buttons to push to drive us to a certain point.  He knows our gifts, talents, dreams.  Yes, satan knows who we are.  And he knows WHOSE we are.  He will do anything to get us off the path to the destiny God has for us.

So what's your lie?  "No one wants to be around you."  "Nobody likes you."  "You're ugly."   "You're stupid."  "You'll always be poor."  "You'll be alone all your life."  "You'll always be sick." "You're not talented." "You'll never succeed."  Maybe as a child someone whispered this in your ear.  And over time, more people have reminded you of this lie.  Maybe as a child a lack of love (physical affection, quality time or provision) from one or both parents convinced you that you weren't loved.  Or it drove you to find any expression (probably false) of that love from others.  But all you got were people who were used to remind you...and so you believed it.  And interactions with friends, colleagues, family members, lovers, enemies (no matter how innocent) became evidence of the lie.  Maybe you've accepted false friendship from people believing that you were lucky that anyone wanted to hang out with you at all.  Perhaps you never invite anyone to hang out with you because you fear that no one will want to.  Or you turn down true friendship thinking it's only offered in sympathy.  Perhaps you didn't receive the fatherly love you desperately needed and wanted as a child.  So you seek the attention and "love" of any man who will notice you (not just talkin' to the ladies here).  Or maybe you settle for a boyfriend or girlfriend who is less than what you want because you think you can never do better.

Beloved...You have been lied to.  Let me be the one to tell you-IT'S NOT TRUE AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO BELIEVE IT!  Take some time to get alone with yourself and your thoughts.  Pay attention to every thought that passes through your mind and take some time to trace each thought back to it's root.  This is a challenge.  I know many people who don't like to be alone with their own thoughts.  Many times this is because people don't want to hear what's going on in their own minds.  There may be a lot of negativity that needs to be dealt with.  But there's no time like the present and this is necessary to heal.  Once you figure out the lie, I suggest searching for scripture that shows you the truth.  This is your ammunition.  Whether you find one scripture or ten, you now have evidence that whatever negativity you have been believing over the years is false.  My pastor, Taffi Dollar, calls the mouth and the tongue a divine apparatus.  I'm going to go one step further and call it a divine weapon.  Your scripture is your ammunition.  Put your ammunition in your divine weapon, set your target on the lie(s) and fire until all you have left is the truth of God's word.

Personally, i've known my lie for a long time.  But it just recently dawned on me how, over the years, it has affected every interaction i've had.  And I got mad!  I got angry!  Angry at how the enemy was trying, and in some cases, succeeding, at tearing me down.  And angry at myself for allowing him to succeed.  I wrote down the lie, found scripture to disprove it and went to war.  And I encourage you to do the same thing.  Now let me tell you.  At first, it won't be easy.  Your enemy will do everything he can to continue to feed you deception.  And if you let it, it will choke you.  But if you are angry enough, every time he whispers in your ear, whisper back to him "IT'S NOT TRUE!", use your scripture to remind him of why it's not true, then walk in your victory and peace.

MY FRIENDS, receive God's love and know...
You are a child of God - John 1:12
You are a friend of Jesus - John 15:15
God does not condemn you - Romans 8:1
You are FREE - Galatians 5:1
GOD CHOSE YOU - Ephesians 1:4
God's peace is yours - Phil. 4:7
God has amazing plans for your life - Jeremiah 29:11
God loves you and NOTHING can separate you from that love - Romans 8:38-39

THIS IS THE TRUTH-BELIEVE IT!!!