Five Lies from the Enemy - INSIDE VL Magazine

- Hey y'all, and welcome back to Inside Vio Magazine. We have another incredible article today about lies of the enemy, which we all get taken by. And so, Maddie, one of our team members is gonna read the story from Lisa Appalo. - Hi everyone, my name is Maddie Como, and I'm the latest member of the Victoria's Living team. I have the privilege of sharing a message written by Lisa Appalo in the second issue of this year's Victoria's Living magazine. This article is called Five Lies From The Enemy, so it goes through what that looks like and how to fight against those. I do have a cat around here called Crumpet, who may make an appearance at any given moment. I come from a dog family and had no idea how to train a cat, so she just wonders wherever she pleases, so don't mind how her if she makes an appearance. So, without further ado, are you aware that there's a 24/7 battle raging against you? Most enemies carry weapons you can see, things like guns, knives, fists, but not this enemy. Satan's weapon is far more subtle. A lot of times we don't recognize when Satan has taken aim at this. His age-old strategy lies. And while styles, languages, and technologies have changed, his tactics have not. He is the father of lies. And based on Genesis 3,

here are five lies that he uses to trip us up. The first is that the lie that God's word isn't true. So in Genesis 3, verses one, it says, "The serpent was the shrewdest "of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. "One day he asked the woman, did God rarely say?" Satan's first move was to question what God said. Satan knew that if he could wedge even a sliver of doubt between Adam and Eve and God's word, he could win. Satan knows God's word has the power to defeat him. It provides protection for the believer, gives wisdom, and direction, and so much more. Of course, Satan still works the same angle today, tempting us to question scripture, dismiss hard passages, or treat truth as optional. But Jesus said God's word is truth. And when we stand firmly on it, we stand on solid ground. The second lie is the lie that God isn't good. Everything God created was good because God is good. He made Adam and Eve in his image and placed them in a garden overflowing with beauty and provision. They were surrounded by his goodness. And here comes Grumpett. Okay, say hi, hi everyone. Okay, off you go. Where was I? Ah, but Satan twisted God's one restriction to make it seem unbearable.

He's slyly insinuated that a good God wouldn't withhold something so desirable. And this is a lie that we had to, when we're waiting, hurting, or watching others get what we want. The scripture reminds us to give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His faithful love endures forever. God's goodness does not fluctuate with our circumstances. The third lie is the lie that God isn't generous. Satan exaggerated God's restriction. Adam and Eve could eat from every tree except one. It was abundance by any measure, yet Satan painted God as stingy. He still whispers that God is holding out on us. And when we believe that lie, we cling tightly to money, relationships, and control instead of trusting him. But God is a God of abundance, not scarcity. He supplies all our needs from his glorious riches. The fourth lie is the lie that sin has no consequences. Satan downplayed the seriousness of Eve's sin. And in Genesis three, verses four, he said, "You won't die," the serpent replied. He still suggests to us that a little compromise won't matter, that no one will know, and that grace will cover everything anyway. Don't bite that apple. Sin always leads to death and destruction. And though we're saved by grace, we still reap what we sow.

Sin promises freedom, but it delivers bondage. The fifth lie is the lie that we can be God. Genesis three, verses five, says your eyes will be opened and you will be like God. If Satan can't erase God, he will try to replace him with us. But putting ourselves in God's place is idolatry, and there is only one true God. We were not meant to rule our own lives. We were meant to trust the one who does. So what is the truth? The truth is that we are not defenseless. Seton comes out as with lies, but God gives us weapons. Weapons of divine power. He also offers a simple strategy. Call the lie what it is. Take the thought captive and replace it with scripture. And I learned something once that helps me remember this, and it's recognize, replace, remember. It's you first recognize the life of what it is. It's just that it's a lie. And then you replace it with what you know to be true. And that's God's word. God's word comes from the Bible. And then you remember, you remember that scripture and you remember that God loves you and his word is true. God's word may not silence the enemy forever, but his truth will keep us from falling prey to the lies and will keep us on path to victory. So there's some consider questions at the end here. The first one is, which lie have you fallen prey to? I know for me something that I struggle with sometimes is reading my Bible. I have fallen prey to the lie that reading it has to be this deep scholarly thing that I need to make pages of notes after everything I read. And if I don't understand something or have it all figured out, then why bother opening it at all? But I heard a pastor say once, I heard him point out that Adam took God's command not to eat from the tree so seriously, because he heard that first hand directly from God, whereas Eve heard it second hand from Adam. So when the serpent twisted the command and asked Eve, did God really say this? She didn't have that same first hand grounding to push back with. So the enemy found room to twist things. So when I skip going to the source myself, I'm doing the same thing. I'm going off what I remember and what someone told me instead of what God actually says. And that's exactly where doubt and lies can creep in for me too. And the second question is, are you tempted to doubt God's goodness or generosity because of

your current circumstances? It can be really easy to fall into this line of thinking, but your identity isn't found in your current circumstances. Your identity is in eternity. It's in heaven. Praise God. A picture that helped me hold on to that is his years again. It's something I read recently about a spiritual green card, which is quite fitting as if you couldn't tell, I'm not from here. I'm from England. I live here. I work here. So I'm required to have a visa or a green card. And this piece of writing said that Christian should carry a spiritual green card with us to remind us that our citizenship is in heaven. It's not here. God allows us to feel discontent and longings that will never be satisfied on this side of eternity to keep us from becoming too attached here. And it's not because God doesn't care about your circumstances. It's that he's reminding you that this isn't the whole story. So don't let your current circumstances cloud God's goodness and his love for you, because even if God never did anything for us again, he would still deserve our praise for the rest of our lives. Thank you for listening. And I pray that you are all able to recognize these lies and be prepared to fight against them. God has given you the resources to do that. And he will never leave you. And like Lisa said here, he will keep you on the path to victory. Thank you and God bless. Thank you for watching our broadcast. Are you an incarcerated brother or sister who needs encouragement? Write to us at Victoria's Living Correspondents P.O. Box 2751 Greenville, North Carolina 27836. To view Victoria's Living Magazine in its entirety, please have your chaplain contact us at 352-478-2098 or email us through our website at vlmag.org. We are happy to provide our Victoria's Living Magazine free of charge in bulk with or without staples. [BLANK_AUDIO]