Category: Bible tools

The Five Lies Satan Most Wants us to Believe-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

He (the devil) was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies- John 8:44b NASB 

Lies.

There are a million of them out there and for whatever reason human beings are more prone to believe lies than truth. Some lies are relatively innocuous in the grand scheme of life and eternity. All anyone is going to lose trusting an advertisement for a sketchy weight loss product is a little money and maybe some time that would have been better spent at the gym. 

Other lies are far more damaging. 

The lies Satan tells us are the worst (John 8:44). Satan’s lies are the deceptions that keep human beings (saved and unsaved) in bondage and far from God’s plan for their life. These lies cause people (saved and unsaved) to believe things that can derail their life and lead to misery and pain.  Anytime a Christian believes one of Satan’s lies they run the risk of derailing their relationship with God (1st Timothy 1:19-20, 1st Timothy 4:1, Hebrews 12:25). Following are four of the worst: 

God doesn’t care-

This is the lie Satan loves to whisper in our ear anytime life becomes weirdly challenging, or we find ourselves in the midst of some terrible trial that makes zero sense (James 1:1-3, 1st Peter 3:1-7). Even David, a man after God’s own heart wondered from time-to-time if God saw him or cared about his situation (Psalm 13:1-2, Psalm 22:1-2, Psalm 35:17). Anytime we are tempted to believe the lie God doesn’t care or He is uninterested in our pain it’s a good time to pray on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-17). The niggling sense God no longer cares about us is ALWAYS a clear indicator the enemy is at work (Ephesians 6:10:17, Daniel 10:12-14). Once you’re prayed up begin looking around for all the ways God is moving because He will be. Satan will try to convince you He isn’t but trust me He is and He is paying careful attention to you and your situation

You’re powerless to change- 

No one who is in Christ is powerless to repent or change. It doesn’t matter how bad the sin or how long it’s been going on (2nd Corinthians 5:17). Freedom is possible. That said, Satan wants to convince Christians they are doomed to live in sinful, self-defeating strongholds that keep them from transformation (Colossians 3:12, Galatians 5:12). It benefits Satan greatly if he can get Christians to believe this particular lie. No one will ever reach their full potential in Christ if they give up on (or never begin) the process of transformation. Change is never easy, even when we are born again.  That said, change is what we were redeemed for (2nd Corinthians 3:18, Ephesians 2:1-10). It helps to understand that change doesn’t start with our behavior. It starts with how and what we think. The first step in creating real and lasting change is to bring our thinking into alignment with God’s word (Romans 12:2). Changing our thinking is not easy because it is more than simple mental agreement to an idea. Changing our thinking is a process that requires time spent in prayer and Bible study with mature Christians with whom we have shared our struggles. As we pray, learn and honestly share, the Holy Spirit works to bring our thinking in alignment with His. As our thinking begins to change so will our behavior. 

What you do in private doesn’t matter- 

It does, because the things we choose to do in secret are almost always wrong.  We know they’re wrong and that’s why we do them in secret. Sin hardens our hearts. A hard heart makes us more willing to sin. Sinning in private gives the enemy an opportunity is door to step into our private world and create sinful strongholds that can become very difficult to break (Mark 9:29, Ephesians 4:27). Therefore, the best policy is to simply be the same person in private as we are in public. Choosing to live a life of transparency and openness blocks Satan from devouring us (1st Peter 5:8). 

God can’t forgive that (whatever that is)-

Satan does not want anyone to actually believe God will forgive their ugliest sins. Believing our sin is unforgivable effectively kills any desire we might have to repent and move towards God and freedom that comes with moving towards God.  God can forgive anything and He will (Isaiah 1:18). All He asks in return is that we have heart willing to leave our life of sin and live in the freedom Jesus promises anyone who repents (Acts: 3:191st John 1:5-10).  

And finally, 

You’re disqualified- 

Satan longs to convince Christians that they are somehow too sinful, too stupid, too old, too young or too whatever to do what they know in their heart God has called them to do. This strategy has kept more Christians off the ministry field than any other lie in the history of lies. It is imperative we remember that if God gives us a desire to see a ministry happen, He wants that desire to grow it into something beautiful and life giving for the body of Christ. Our job is to seek Him for the wisdom, ability and opportunity to make it happen. 

The Basics of Good Bible Study-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

 All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work- 2nd Timothy 3:16-17 NASB 

According to a 2024 study done by Arizona Christian University only four out every hundred people can think like a Christian. 

Yikes.

This depressing statistic became utterly demoralizing after reading the criteria defining a Christian worldview. It’s good stuff, just depressingly basic. It comes down to:

  • A Biblical understanding of God (Numbers 23:19, Isaiah 40: 28-29, Isaiah 44:6, Isaiah 46:10, Psalm 11:7, Psalm 90:2., Malachi 3:6, 1st Timothy 1:7, 1st John 1:5)

And the belief that:

  • People are sinful by nature (Psalm 36:1-4, Psalm 51:5, Romans 1:18-32, Romans 3:23, Romans 7:18).
  • Jesus Christ is the only hope of salvation (John 14:6, Acts 10:34-43, Romans 10:11)
  • The entire Bible is true, reliable, and relevant (2nd Timothy 3:15-17, 2nd Peter 1:20-21).
  • Absolute moral truth exists— those truths are unchanging (Psalm 119:160, Romans 1:18, John 17:17).
  • The ultimate purpose of human life is to know, love, and serve God (1st Samuel 12:24, Colossians 3:23-24, John 12:26).
  • Success on earth is defined as consistent obedience to God (Joshua 22:5, Matthew 6:20-24, Hebrews 6:10).

None of the above is exactly new news, nor is it terribly complicated. Those beliefs have been the foundation of orthodox Christianity for two thousand years. Yet this knowledge has been lost to most Christians.

Sigh. 

No wonder the world is such a dumpster-fire. 

Much of the blame can be laid at the feet of biblical illiteracy. Although, access to the Bible is readily available, few people read the Bible and even fewer know how to apply the Bible to issues of life. No one needs a theology degree to understand the Bible. However, one does need to pay attention to and understand the following five aspects of Bible interpretation:

Proper heart attitude is essential- 

The Bible is not Amazing Comics or a Tom Clancy novel. The Bible is a unique book (Psalm 119, 2nd Timothy 3:16, 2nd Peter 1:20-21) that must be approached with humility and the understanding we ALL need to learn and grow (Proverbs 11:2, James 3:13). Without the proper heart attitude Bible reading is essentially pointless.  

Commands are not suggestions –

The Bible is full of commands. Commands are easy to understand and rarely complicated to follow. If every Christian would simply do what the New Testament commands Christians their obedience would revolutionize the Church and transform society. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Christians feel New Testaments commands such as the ones found in Colossians 3:1-25, 2nd Peter 1:5-11, Romans 12:1-21, 1st Thessalonians 4:3-8, Hebrews 12:4-8, Hebrews 13:1-17 are optional or were intended only for the original readers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Commands are for everyone. 

Promises are not universal and are often conditional-

There are three kinds of Bible promises: promises God makes to everyone, promises God made to specific people concerning specific circumstances and the promises God makes about Himself. The promises God makes to everyone are often conditional. All of the New Testament promises concerning salvation fall into this category (Acts 16:31, John 3:16, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 8:38-39, 1st John 1:9). It is critical we understand all of the promises related to salvation are conditional on one placing their faith in Jesus (2nd Corinthians 1:20). There is no universal salvation apart from faith in Jesus (Acts 4:12, Acts 16:31). There are also promises God made specifically to Israel or others concerning special circumstances they found themselves in (Luke 2:35, 1st Kings 9:5, Joshua 6:1-5). These promises are not meant to be liberally applied to every person and every situation. Insisting God keeps promises made to a specific person or group of people long ago is low-level insane and will only result in spiritual frustration. That said, many of these types of Bible promises contain ageless principles that can be applied to everyone on the condition they choose to obey the Lord (examples include Isaiah 41:9-11, Jeremiah 29:11). Promises God makes about Himself are in some ways the best kinds of promises. They remind us of who God is and what He is all about.  I personally believe God loves it when His children remind Him of what God says about Himself. Therefore, it is perfectly okay to remind God He says nothing is too difficult for Him when we have a big ask in prayer (Jeremiah 32:27, Luke 1:37). Nor is wrong to remind God He promises to be our ever-present help in times of trouble when the going gets tough (Psalm 46:1).

Context matters- 

Context is not just knowing what an entire passage says (rather than a single verse). Context is about understanding the who, what, where and why of the Bible books. Any half-way-decent Bible commentary or study Bible will give the what’s-what on who the book was written too, what the writer was intending to communicate to the original readers, where the book took place (historical context). It is critical we understand these things before we make personal application. If we don’t our personal application will be off in left-field.  

Be humble concerning prophecy-

There are two kinds of prophecy in the Bible: fulfilled prophecy and unfulfilled prophecy. All the unfulfilled prophecy is related in some way to the return of Jesus (Matthew 24, 2nd Timothy 3:1-5, 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-12, Daniel 6, Revelation). It is essential we know these prophecies but refrain from thinking we understand exactly HOW God will fulfill them. When we make the mistake of thinking we have unfulfilled prophecy all figured out we run the risk of doing what the first century Jews did. They missed the messiah because they were prideful and arrogant regarding things that had not yet happened. 

Understanding and applying the Bible is the key to spiritual success. Without basic Bible knowledge and a willingness to apply what we know to every aspect of life we become sitting ducks for worldly philosophies. Even more distressing we are easily outwitted by even the simplest and most basic of Satan’s schemes (Colossians 2:8, Ephesians 6:11, 1st Peter 5:8).