Truth or Lie?

"If you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free."  -John 8:31-32

 Now re-read that and put emphasis on the IF and the THEN.

IF, meaning that if you do not hold tight to His teaching, the truth cannot set you free! And don't we all long to be free from something? Some kind of physical or mental bondage?  Some heaviness that lingers?  A nagging sin, the regret of a bad decision, a lie that keeps us from being at peace, the list goes on...

But God didn't die for nothing!  He died to free us from bondage and He promises that IF we cling to His teaching, and His truths, the result (THEN the truth can set you free...) will be freedom. 

However, it's vital to understand that we won't experience total peace and freedom just because we believe in God.  It requires a degree of dedication on our part.  Dedication to being life long learners, being humble before God, and holding the words of the bible close to our hearts. 

It also requires that we are comitted to putting our thoughts (and other people's words and advice) through a "truth" strainer. 

Feelings are not facts.

A half truth is a full lie.

"Be self controlled and alert.  Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."  -1 Peter 5:8

"The devil....is the father of lies."  -John 8:44

Satan disguises himself very well in the world we live in today, just as he did in the very beginning, sneaking around as a serpent in the garden.  His messages fill our ears through the radio, tv, newspaper, internet, advertising, even "christian" authors and teachers.  If we aren't committed to distinguishing God's truths from the world's lies, the grey area becomes huge.  And before we know it, we are justifying outright sin, and allowing satan to feed us lies that keep us from experiencing the joy and peace God promises.

I highly recommend the book called, "Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free" by Nancy Leigh Demoss. 
Take a look at a few common lies women believe and check your heart to see if you find them there.

1.  God isn't really enough.
2.  God doesn't love me.
3.  I'm not worth anything.
4.  I have a right to act how I act.
5.  I can sin and get away with it.
6.  My sin isn't that bad compared to so and so...
7.  God can't forgive what I've done.
8.  I have to earn God's love through good deeds.
9.  I have to have a husband to be happy and complete.
10.  My husband should always make me feel happy and complete.
11.  If I feel something, it must be true.
12.  I can't control my emotions and I can't control how I respond when I'm hormonal.  (hahaha.)
13. It's all about me.
14. I am a product of my circumstances and my past, and I can't change how I am.
15.  I can't live up to God's standards so why try?

Start by praying and asking the Lord to give you a spirit of discernment, so that you are quickly able to judge God's truths from Satan's lies.  Ask God to show you what lies you have been believing that have kept you from experiencing the fullness of God's love and freedom. 

Because the TRUTH is:

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God."  - Romans 8:38-39