Praying God's Word: Chapter 4- Overcoming Deception
Sometimes we're very aware of tolerating or even fueling a lie. Other times, we are caught in such a web that we can no longer see ourselves or our situations accurately. It's not always clear when we're being deceived, but one sure sign is when we begin to deceive. All you have to do to locate Satan in any situation is look for the lie. How do we recognize a lie? Anything we are believing or acting on that is contrary to what the truth of God's Word says about us is a lie. Second Corinthians 4:2 tells us how to respond to such things: "Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the Word of God." This passage helps us identify four of Satan's specialties that must be renounced and rejected by the believer in order for him/her to walk in victory:
1. Secrecy 2. Shame 3. Deception 4. Distortion of Scripture
As you consider each one, you can readily imagine how deception permeates all four and how interrelated they are. Satan's plans toward the believer are always the antithesis of God's. Our Redeemer wants to loose us from the closets of secrecy and bring us to a spacious place of joy, freedom, authenticity, and transparency. Satan wants to keep us bound in secrecy where he can weigh us down in guilt, misery, and shame...the enemy knows that once we expose the secret places of our lives to the light of God's Word, we're on our way to freedom.
Mention these peoples and most people think immediately of Arabs and the cradle of Islam. But these encompass people groups as diverse as Jews, Berbers, and Ethiopians. And, yes, Islam is by far the predominant religion, but traditional religions, Christianity and Judaism also have a significant presence.
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