Today’s Truth  “Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say” (Isaiah 28:23 NIV).

 Friend to Friend  Every weekday morning my husband’s alarm clock goes off at 5:30.  He gets up, showers, shaves, brushes his teeth, gets dressed, and places his jingling keys in his pocket.  He clears his throat, blows his nose, and well, other noisy things. When he opens and closes the door leading to the garage, the alarm in the bedroom beeps three times… loudly.  This happens every day and I don’t hear a thing.  I sleep right through it.  My body has grown so accustomed to his routine that I don’t even hear the noise.

 We can grow so accustomed to lies, we don’t even realize the noise is there.  Our alarm may beep, but we ignore the alert.  Our senses grow dim. 

 David talked to himself regularly. In one Psalm he wrote, “Awake, my soul!” (Psalm 57:8)  The Hebrew word translated “awake” is used 80 times in the Old Testament.  It means to rouse oneself or stir up.  It could be translated, “Pay attention! Open your eyes!”

 We can get used to the lies and not even realize that they are there.  So now it’s time to wake up!  Pay attention! Be on the alert! Watch out! Don’t be lulled into the hum of Satan’s lies about who you are, what you have, and where you are.  “Awake, O my soul!”  To win the war, we must wake up to the battle and become un-desensitized to the lies.

 Let me give you another example.  Come sit with me in an airplane just before take off…

 Here we go again, I mused as the flight attendant began her routine instructions.  I grabbed the latest copy of Sky Mall magazine tucked in the seat pocket in front of me and began flipping through the pages.  The man to my right continued reading the headlines in the day’s paper.  The woman to my left was a first time flyer and paid close attention.

 I glanced around the plane and noticed very few people listening to the flight attendant’s life saving instructions.  And then it hit me.  The frequent flyers paid little attention, not because we were being rude, but because we had heard it all before.  The safety procedures were routine information.  The hum of the flight attendant’s voice merged with the roar of the engine.  So we ignored her.

 But you better believe that if the pilot announced in mid-flight that a crash landing was imminent, all of us “been there done that” passengers who did not pay attention to the emergency procedures would all be reviewing those safety instruction cards in the seat pocked in front of us quicker than you could say “buckle your seat belts.”

 Friend, sometimes in our Girlfriends in God devotions, we review safety instructions that you most likely have heard before.  But I want you to read these truths from the Bible as if you are in danger of a crash landing.  We never know when life will hit turbulence. Scrambling for the life jacket and fumbling with the oxygen mask on the way down is not the answer.  We can be prepared so that when the storms of life hit, when the engines fail, when the machine runs out of gas, we’ll be ready to land safely on the ground.

 As you begin detecting lies in your thought life, look objectively at any thoughts and attitudes that do not line up with Christ’s teachings.   When you recognize and expose the lie, you disarm its destructive potential in your life.  Our power depends on believing the truth and I pray that God will open our eyes to the power available to each and every one of us (Ephesians 1:18, 19).

 Buckle up!  Let’s get ready to fly!

 Let’s Pray  Father God, open the eyes of my heart that I might know you better.  Help me hear Your voice and see Your handiwork in my life more clearly.  Help me to never get lulled into the rhythm of life and become immune to Your gentle nudges.  I pray Your words will be fresh and new every time I read them. I cry out with the psalmist, David, “Awake my soul!”  I pray that I will be alert to the spiritual workings around me and on guard with the Sword of the Spirit ready to meet whatever comes. In Jesus’ Name,  Amen

 Now It’s Your Turn
Pick a familiar passage in the Bible -perhaps Psalm 100, Psalm 23, or any number of your favorite chapters.  Then pray that God will show you something that you have never seen before in the verses.

Today’s Truth 
1 Corinthians 10:13 “And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (NIV).

Friend To Friend 
My devotion yesterday looked at our battle with the influence of an ungodly world.  But there is another enemy in this battle for our minds, and that is the flesh.  From the time we are born, we receive messages about ourselves — some true, some false.  We go through our lives doing whatever we feel necessary to feel safe, secure, and significant.  Between the time we are born physically and the time we are born spiritually (born again), we form certain habit patterns and thought patterns.  Our unique way of getting our God-given needs met in our own strength and by our own means is our unique version of the flesh.

Like the word world, the word flesh has several meanings in the Bible.  One meaning is simply our bodies – our literal flesh and bones.  The Bible says “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14).  Jesus came in bodily form — flesh and blood.

But there is another use of the word flesh, referring to our sinful thought patterns and actions that have developed over time.  It is our mechanism for getting our needs met apart from God.  Once we become a Christian, the desire to do things our own way and in our own strength apart from God does not simply vanish.  No one pushes the delete button on our old programming.  Now there is a struggle between the flesh with its default button of selfish thought patterns and actions, and the spirit with its desire to please God.

When we come to Jesus Christ, we are born again and have a new spirit birthed within us.  We are saved from the penalty of sin.  However, as long as we walk this earth and live in an earthly body, we will battle with the power of sin.  Our old fleshly desires war against our new spiritual desires.  While we fight battles with the world systems on the outside, we also fight battles with the flesh on the inside – our mind, will, and emotions.

I live on a lake and we are blessed and plagued with various winged foul.  Occasionally, we are invaded by Canadian geese that don’t have a visa and need to move back up north where they came from.  Strangely, some of the confused air travelers have stopped mid flight and settled in shopping center parking lots.  For some strange reason, the geese have decided parking lots are fabulous places to start a family.  Momma and papa goose scoop out a nest under a tree and proceed to lay eggs.  Momma does her job of sitting on the eggs and papa does his job of protecting his family.  He squawks and spits at shoppers simply minding their own business, charges curious kids, and struts around like he owns the place.

One day, I watched as a male goose waddled determinedly over to a mini-van and began furiously attacking the rear hubcap.  The confused foul saw his reflection and pecked away at his mirrored image.  The poor thing had no idea he was fighting himself and just about broke his beak.

Now friend, we are learning about how to replace the lies with the truth but sometimes we need to realize that we are pecking at our own reflection.  Sometimes we are fighting against our own poor choices and weaknesses.  Sure Satan notices and takes advantages of those weaknesses.  That’s how any opponent makes his conquest, but we have to take responsibility for our fleshly choices; admit our sins, confess our mistakes, and repent – turn and go in the opposite direction.

The world, the flesh, and the devil are so intertwined that they can hardly be separated. Ultimately, Satan is the chief conductor driving the train of lies, and he’s driving it right off a cliff.  But remember this; he can never make you do anything.  We always have a choice.  God always provides a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Let’s Pray 
Dear LORD, I know that I am a new creation in Christ.  However, I also know that I still battle many patterns of past thinking and ways of getting my needs met apart from Christ.  Help me to see when I am walking in the flesh, and then help me to turn and learn to walk in the Spirit.  Help me to retrain my mind with Your truth and walk in tandem with You. In Jesus’ Name, 
Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn 
It is easy to blame poor behavior and circumstances on the devil, but we can never say, “The devil made me do it.”  He might suggest it, but we always have a choice.

Make a list of ways you can safeguard your mind against temptation.

Pray and ask God to reveal any old pre-Christian habit patterns or thought patterns that need to be changed in your life.

Today’s Truth 
“But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 NIV).

Friend To Friend 
My brother was about four years old when he decided to grab a box of matches and a handful of sparklers to see how they worked.  He had heard that sparklers worked best in the dark, so he went into the darkest place at Grandma’s house he could find … her wardrobe closet.

Grandma didn’t have any closets in her house, so she kept all of her hang up clothes in the large wooden stand alone closet.  My brother snuck into the darkness, crouched amongst the dresses and coats, and lit the first match.  The sparklers immediately began shooting fiery pops in all directions.  Within moments, Stewart noticed more than just the sparklers were on fire.  Grandma’s clothes were up in flames.

I’m happy to say that Stewart wasn’t harmed, unless you count the spanking he got from Grandma on his behind.

Friends, we don’t have to go into a closet to find the darkness.  It is waiting for us the moment we step out the front door, turn on the television, or listen to the 6:00 o’clock news.  The world is full of darkness at every turn.

What exactly is the world? In the Bible, there are several definitions. One definition refers to all the people on the earth: “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son (John 3:16).  In some instances, the word “world” refers to planet earth itself.

Other times “world” refers to the world systems, values, and morals.   Paul refers to these world systems when he says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,” (Romans 12:2).  Jesus said that the “world” hated him and we shouldn’t be surprised if it hates us as well (John 15:18, 19). Both refer to the world systems, values, or ways of thinking. 

The Bible also tells us “that the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19).  It seems like we are “splitting hairs” here.  But when we consider the power of the enemy and the pull of the world systems, they are almost one in the same.  Right now, the world systems are being heavily influenced by the evil one.

But here’s the hope!  Jesus said, “But take heart!  I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). As long as we live in the world, we will feel its pull, but God assures us that we have what it takes to “overcome the world” (1 John 5:4, 5). We have the power of the Holy Spirit living in us and faith in the Victor who works through us. 

Let’s Pray 
Dear Heavenly Father, all around me I see the world trying to pull me away from You.  Through movies, television shows, magazines and billboards, the world tries to pull me into a self-centered existence concerned with fulfilling my own selfish desires.  But praise God!  You have given me the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the world!  I don’t have to be drawn in and seduced by the temporary trappings of this world.  I am more than a conqueror through Christ Jesus and I can keep my mind focused on things of eternal worth! Thank You, Lord.
In Jesus’ Name, 
Amen

Now It’s Your Turn 
What are some ways “the world” tries to pull you away from God?

Are there any areas of your life that you need to change to keep that from happening?  Are there any movies or television programs that leave you feeling distant from God?  Books that you read that leave you feeling yucky inside?  Any activities or relationships that need to come to a halt?

You can do it!  If God calls you to it, He will see you through it!  But He does require participation on your part.

If you’d like to comment on today’s devotion, visit Sharon’s blog at http://sharonjaynes.com/blog/ 

Additional Resource
The Bible says our struggle is against the world, the flesh, and the devil.  If you would like to learn more about how to live a life of victory and be an over comer in all three areas, then you’ll want to see Sharon’s book, I’m Not Good Enough …and Other Lies Women Tell Themselves.

 Today’s Truth
“Finally, brothers (and sisters), whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9 NIV).

 Friend to Friend
Martha was so frustrated with her marriage. She had dreams of marrying her knight in shining armor who would leave flower petals on her pillow, be distracted by her beauty, and pledge his undying love on a regular basis.  She dreamed of having three doting, obedient, well-mannered children that she could dress-up in cute little outfits and parade down the church aisle on Sundays.  Her tidy home would come with a well manicured lawn, two and a half baths, and perfectly coordinated décor.  She would be the happy homemaker who joyfully mopped the beautiful kitchen floor in her size six khaki slacks, shabby chic blouse, and stylish hair cut.  She could almost picture Mr. Clean winking at her from the corner of the room, giving his hearty approval of the smile on her flawless face.

 But life had not turned out like Martha expected.  Her knight did come along, but his armor began to tarnish soon after they said, “I do.” He left his smelly socks on the floor, had a love affair with the TV remote, and hardly noticed all the work she did to keep the house clean and orderly.

 Life sure has not turned out the way I thought it would, she thought.  I am bored and unappreciated.  Romance: that’s what I want.  This man wouldn’t know romance if it hit him in the face.  Why should I care how I look?  He sure doesn’t care about his appearance.  Look at that gut?  He complains about me gaining weight?  Well, he hasn’t seen nothin’ yet.  I’ve made a huge mistake.  I just want someone who will love me and appreciate me.  Is that too much to ask?

 And the kids? They never do what I ask.  They’re disobedient, loud, and messy.  I don’t know when I’ve seen a clean floor last and I’m sure not happy while mopping.  And where is Mr. Clean anyway?

 The enemy had slowly crept in while Martha was unaware. Unmet expectations became the breeding ground for the lies to grow. He planted the seeds of discontent one disappointment at a time. Rather than thinking how she could make her marriage better, she begins to think about how she could get out of it. Rather than enjoying her rambunctious spirited children, she loathed their energy.  Rather than being thankful that she had a home and family to clean up after, she complained about the dirt.

 Martha just needs to give her life to Jesus, you might say.  But she has!  She is a Christian, so on top of her disappointment with life, she adds guilt to it all.  I’m a bad Christian, she thinks.  If I was a better Christian, I’d be happy.  What’s wrong with me?

 The enemy’s trademark is stamped on this woman’s thought life.  He has taken her down a road of stinkin’ thinkin’.  While she assumes that these thoughts are her own, it is the enemy who makes the suggestion. She simply buys into them and makes them her own.  They become her own version of reality – her own version of the truth. But it is not God’s truth. When we know the truth, the lies stick out like a two ton elephant in a herd of sheep.

 Paul gave us an effective lie detector through which to filter our thoughts in Philippians 4:8-9.

 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Now that is a lot to think about, considering that the mind thinks about 130 words per minute.   But the good news is – we are not on our own.  God has given us the power of the Holy Spirit to enable us to do all that He has called us to do.

Paul doesn’t just leave us with the qualifying list; he gives us the means by which to implement it.  “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice.”  It takes practice!  Practice! Practice! Practice!

 But look at the result…”And the God of peace will be with you.”

 Let’s Pray
Dear heavenly Father, help me to realize when my thinking needs adjusting.  I know that I cannot act differently than I think.  Help me to run my thoughts through the sieve of Philippians 4:8.  Then Your peace will rule in my heart.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen

Now It’s Your Turn
Make a list of the litmus test for right thinking and carry it around with you today.
Ask yourself, is this thought:
True
Noble
Right
Pure
Lovely
Admirable
Excellent
Praiseworthy

 If your words or thoughts don’t pass the test, then push the delete button and erase that stinkin’ thinkin’!

 Additional Resouce  Today’s devotion was taken from Sharon’s book, I’m Not Good Enough and Other Lies Women Tell Themselves.  If you need to start speaking the truth to yourself about yourself, then this is the book for you.  And if it is the words that

June 17, 2009 
The Savior’s Plan 
Sharon Jaynes Today’s Truth 
“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17 NIV).

Friend To Friend 
Yesterday, we looked at the consequences of sin.  Today, let’s look at God’s plan of redemption.

Dear friend, I have gone into great detail concerning what we lost in the Garden of Eden and what we gained in the Garden of Gethsemane in the book, Experience the Ultimate Makeover.  I want to encourage you to read that step-by-step explanation of the incredible transformation that occurred in you the moment you believed. 

In a nutshell, the problem was this: God created man in His image.  Satan deceived man with the lie that he could be like God. Man traded the truth for the lie, and while his body lived for a time; and his soul lived for eternity, his spirit died totally and completely at the very moment of disobedience.  Every man born since that time has been born with a live body and soul but a dead spirit (Romans 5; 12. See also Ephesians 2:1; 1 and Corinthians 15:21-22).  But just as soon as Eve’s teeth sank into the forbidden fruit, the shadow of the cross appeared on the horizon.  All of the Old Testament points to that defining moment on the hill of Calvary when Jesus broke the chains of hell that had man bound, and set us free from the penalty of sin. 

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and make Him Lord of our lives, we experience new birth — become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).  Not only do we receive the promise of heaven for all eternity, we receive a new identity that day!

When we understand who we are in Christ, where we are in Christ, and what we have in Christ, we walk in victory through the storms of life, in abundance through the desert days, and in freedom in the confines of earth. 

But friend, Satan does not give up on you when you become a Christian.  He knows who you are, what you have, and where you are as a child of God.  He knows that you are chosen, accepted, adopted, appointed, valuable, justified, reconciled, redeemed, righteous, and free from condemnation, holy, sealed, complete, and completely forgiven.  His mission is to keep you from walking in the truth of who you are, and he uses the same tactics today that he used with Eve recorded in Genesis chapter three.  That is why it is so important to understand what happened in the Garden.  We must recognize his tactics in order to fight the battle for our minds.

A man in the Arizona desert came upon a diamondback rattlesnake.  With a hoe in the back of his trunk, he killed the rattler and cut off his head.  Amazingly, the headless snake continued to shake his rattle and lunge at him.  “What’s worse,” the man said, “was the fact that even though I knew its head was cut off and that he was dead, I still flinched.”

Satan’s head has been cut off.  He has already lost the battle but continues to shake his rattle to draw our attention away from the truth of his defeat.  And while he has been defeated, he wants us to think that he is still in control.

Yes, God has a plan for you.  It all starts with new life in Christ.  If you have never prayed to receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, please click on the button at the bottom of this devotion to learn more.  If you do pray to receive Jesus today, we’d love to hear about it and pray for you in this new journey!

Let’s Pray 
Dear LORD, I was a lost sinner, until You embraced me as Your child.  Thank You for providing eternal life through Your Son, Jesus Christ.  Thank You for His sacrifice on the cross for me.

In Jesus’ Name, 
Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn 
The Bible promises that “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Romans 19:9, 10 NIV).

Do you remember the day you prayed to receive Jesus as your Savior?

Today, tell someone your story.  Not only will you bless someone else, you’ll be reminding yourself of the wonderful gift of God in your life.

Additional Resource   New life!  In the twinkling of an eye, in the time it takes to say, “I believe,” God moves us from spiritual death to abundant eternal life!  If you would like to learn more about all that God has for you because of who you are, what you have, and where you are in Christ, then you’ll want to see Sharon’s book, Experience the Ultimate Makeover — Discovering God’s Transforming Power.  Begin your spiritual beauty regimen today! 

Today’s Truth  “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters.” (2 Corinthians 6:18 NIV)

 Friend to Friend  One of my favorite retreat topics is from my book, Dreams of a Woman – God’s Plans for Fulfilling Your Dreams.  In this book I talk about five dreams every little girl has: to have a daddy who loves me, to be a bride, to be a mommy, to be beautiful, and to have a best friend.

In talking to women all across the country, I have seen eyes fill with tears when I talk about the dream of having a daddy who loves me.  But the tears are not for me, they reveal the longing in their own hearts.  Butterfly Kisses, a song by Bob Carlisle that climbed the charts in 2000, received international recognition in both the Christian and secular music industries.  The song was about the tender love between a father and his daughter, starting from her birth to her wedding day.  Mr. Carlisle said, “I get a lot of mail from young girls who try to get me to marry their moms.  That used to be a real chuckle because it’s so cute, but then I realized they didn’t want romance for mom.  They want the father that is in that song, and that just kills me.”

In the Old Testament, God has many names.  He is Elohim – the Creator, El Elyon – God Most High, El Roi – the God who sees, El Shaddai – the All-Sufficient One, Adonai – the Lord, Jehovah – the Self-Existent One, Jehovah-Jireh –the Lord Will Provide, Jehovah – Rapha – the Lord that heals, Jehovah—Shalom – the Lord is peace, Jehovah-Raah – the Lord my Shepherd, and many more.  His covenant name with the people of Israel was I AM. J.I. Packer, in his book, Knowing God, said, “He is: and it is because He is what He is that everything else is as it is.” 

 In the New Testament, Jesus introduced a new name for God – Father.  It is the name that Jesus referred to more than any other and the name that He invites us to use to address the Creator of the Universe.  Just stop and think about that for a moment.  The God of the universe who created the heavens and the earth, who always has been and always will be, who is all-knowing, all powerful, and present everywhere at once – that same God invites you to call Him – Daddy!

 When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, He said:

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.  Then your  Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.  And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.  This, then, is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name….’ (Matthews 6:6-9 NIV). 

Packer went on to say: “For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new and better than the Old, everything that is distinctly Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the fatherhood of God.”  All other religions demand followers to worship created beings (Mohammad, Buddha),  but Jehovah the Creator, the great I AM, invites us to crawl up in His lap, become His child, and call Him Abba, Daddy.  He said, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters” (2 Corinthians 6:18NIV).

 This Father’s Day, no matter what your situation may be with your earthly dad, always remember that you have a heavenly Father who loves you dearly and has your name written on the palm of His hand.

 Let’s Pray  Dear Lord, Thank You for being a father who loves me as His precious child.  How amazing to think that the God who created the universe and all it contains invites me to be His child and call Him Abba, Father.  I do not take this invitation lightly, but cherish it with all my heart. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 Now It’s Your Turn

Make a list of your idea of a perfect Father?  Now put a check mark by the ones you have experienced in God as His child.

 What does God promise in 2 Corinthians 6:18?

 Describe how God, our Father is depicted in Hosea 11:3-4.

What do you learn about the love of God in Ephesians 3:18-19?

 What do you learn about the Fatherhood of God in 1 Corinthians 8:6?

June 16, 2009
The Consequence of Sin
Sharon Jaynes

Today’s Truth
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned …” (Romans 5:12 NIV).

Friend To Friend
After Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they realized that they were naked and were ashamed. So they hid.

In the cool of the day, when God came to stroll with His friends, they were nowhere to be seen. Of course, He knew where they were. He always does. But He called out anyway, “Where are you?” It was the first question in the Bible — the question He still asks of us today.

Adam and Eve appeared from behind the bushes, clothed in fig leaves and a downcast countenance. They admitted what they had done …sort of. Adam blamed the disobedience on Eve, Eve blamed her actions on Satan, and Satan; and well, I imagine he just grinned from pointy ear to pointy ear.

God cursed the serpent and predicted that One would come to crush his head. Eve was cursed with increased pain in childbearing, a desire to control her husband, and his new position to rule over her. Adam was cursed by working the ground with little result, but the most painful punishment of all was separation from God and spiritual death.

Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden. Cherubim with flaming swords flashing back and forth were placed at the entrance to keep them out. I can almost hear Eve as she walked away from her home. How did this happen? What have I done? How could I have been so foolish? Tell me, haven’t you wondered the same after you’ve bought into the enemy’s lies and succumbed to his suggestions?

Do you think God knew this would happen? I don’t know for sure, but upon close inspection, Genesis 1:29 does not say “for if you eat of it you will surely die.” It reads “for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

I can picture Eve walking out of the garden down the path of failure and defeat. Just yesterday, she had it all. It was a time of firsts. “In the beginning” quickly shone the spotlight of Eve: the first woman, the first wife, the first to believe the enemy’s lies …oh yes, she was a woman of many firsts, but she would not be the last.

Join me tomorrow as we get…the rest of the story!

But I just can’t wait to give you tomorrow’s truth to ponder …”For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17 NIV).

Let’s Pray
Dear LORD, two of my favorite words in the Bible are “but God.” Thank You so much for Your plan of salvation for mankind. You could have left us eternally separated from You because of our sin, but chose to give Your Son as a sacrifice once and for all, to pay the penalty for us. Thank You for making a way for me to be eternally joined with You.

In Jesus’ Name,
Amen

Now It’s Your Turn
Let’s look at these words in today’s devotion: How did this happen? What have I done? How could I have been so foolish? Tell me, haven’t you wondered the same after you’ve bought into the enemy’s lies and succumbed to his suggestions?

Think of a time when you uttered those same words.

Now picture God calling out to you, “Where are you?”

Now picture God making the ultimate sacrifice in order to wipe away your mistake.

Write out your own prayer of gratitude for God’s incredible gift for you. Write out your own, “But God” story today.

The Enemy’s Lies 
Today’s Truth 
“The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10 NIV emphasis added).

Friend To Friend 
“Now the serpent…”  The great deceiver clothed himself as a serpent and slithered up to Eve with a game plan to destroy God’s prized possession.  He didn’t come with a sword or a gun, or even a knife for his attack.  He simply wielded lies. The serpent knew Adam and Eve would not buy into a radical flamboyant denial of God, so he slithered into the garden with a twist and a turn of the truth.  He began by causing Eve to doubt… “Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1).

Satan knew exactly what God had said.  He was simply trying to confuse Eve.  Perhaps he was evaluating just how well she knew the truth.  He found out.

“We may eat fruit from the tress in the garden,” Eve replied, “but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die” (Genesis 3:3).

Bingo.  She didn’t know the truth that well after all.  First, God never mentioned not touching the fruit.  That seems like a pretty good idea, but it was not what God said.

Second, Satan denied God and lied about the consequences of her disobedience when he said, “You will not surely die.” (3:4). He didn’t even try to disguise the deception. He told a flat-out lie.

Finally, he told her she could be like God. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).  In other words, “God doesn’t know what He’s talking about.  He’s holding out on you. You don’t need Him.  You can be your own god.”

Eve rejected the truth and believed the lie. She believed that she could be like God…in control of her own life. “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.  She also gave some to her husband, who was with her.”

As she sunk her teeth into the forbidden fruit of deception and the lie slid down her delicate throat, the temptation settled in her soul and fermented into shame and condemnation. Her husband, who chose the woman over God, also felt the sickening rot of sin settle in his very soul.  Suddenly, shame and fear entered the world, and Adam and Eve hid from God like wayward children.

All temptation is an attempt to get us to live our lives independent of God.  Satan is not very creative, but he is very effective, and he has been lying to us ever since he lied to Eve. Why?  Because it works.

Every one of his lies springs from the idea that happiness is just a decision away.  Satan wants you to believe God is holding out on you.  You can be like God. You can be your own god.  Rather than being thankful for what we do have, he points out what we don’t have.  Think about it. Eve had at her disposal every tree in the garden except one.  Every tree. That is a smorgasbord of goodness!  Rather than being thankful, she bought the lie that the one thing she couldn’t have was the one thing that would make her happy.  I would be happy if… Is any of this sounding familiar to you?  It should.  Satan uses the same tactics with us that he used with Eve. 

Eve believed the enemy’s lie over God’s truth.  His plan worked, but what the serpent did not know was that God’s amazing plan of forgiveness and grace was about to unfold.  Satan did not win the battle for man’s soul in the garden.  Jesus Christ won the war on Calvary’s Cross.  When Jesus said, “It is finished,” and then breathed his last, He made a way for all mankind to regain all that Adam and Eve had lost.

Let’s Pray
Dear God, help me to recognize Satan’s lies as soon as they come into my mind.  I have tried being in control of my own life and seen the terrible results.  I know that true peace and joy comes from obeying You in all areas of my life. Help me to see through the enemy’s lies that tell me anything other than the truth of Your Word.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen

Now It’s Your Turn
Have you been focusing on what you don’t have rather than what you do have?

Where do you think that discontentment comes from?

Today, make a list of God’s blessings in your life.

June 1, 2009 
God’s Mirror 
Sharon Jaynes Today’s Truth 
“For as he (a man or woman) thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7 NASB emphases added)

Friend to Friend 
Amazingly, when God created man in His own image, He gave us the power of words. He didn’t entrust words with monkeys, zebras, or elephants.  He gave words to man. Our words also have creative potential.  As a matter-of-fact, the Bible tells us that “death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21 NASB).   Our words become the mirror in which others see themselves.  Our words impact children, husbands, friends, and the world.  But some of the most powerful words we speak are the ones that no one hears … the words we speak to ourselves.

We can speak life to ourselves and we can speak death to ourselves. Our minds think about 130 words per minute and our mouths (women) speak about 25,000 words in a day. That’s a lot of words! A considerable amount of those words are spoken or thought to ourselves. Most of this self-talk is harmless, such as what will I fix for dinner? or where did I put my hairbrush?  But some are very destructive saying, “I’m so stupid,” “I’m such an idiot,” or “I’m never going to be good enough,” can create habitual destructive thought patterns that can paralyze a person into inactivity. 

Negative self-perceptions repeated over a time will brand themselves into our minds and eventually become our reality. If you repeat a wrong belief or lie enough times, you begin to believe it.  “Nobody loves me,” “I don’t have any friends,” or “I’m so ugly” becomes your reality … even though it is a false reality.  You can become stuck in the house of mirrors looking at a distorted reflection of who you really are. 

The negative destructive lies of the enemy are like a tar baby.  The more you play with it, toy with it, embrace it, the more you get stuck to it. Each time we speak a lie about ourselves, the more we become bound to it.  “As [a man] thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV)

When we look into God’s mirror, His incredible love letter to us we call the Bible, we discover the truth. God does love you (Colossians 3:12). You have an entire cloud of witnesses cheering for you (Hebrews 12:1). You are God’s masterpiece, a work of beautiful art (Ephesians 2:10).  You are good enough because Christ lives in you (John14:20). You are a chosen, holy, dearly loved child of God. That’s the truth.  Let’s get out of the house of mirrors and start seeing ourselves as God sees us.

In one of John’s letters, he wrote, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 1:4).  I believe that God has no greater joy than to know that His children are walking in the truth.  When we are walking in the truth, the lies are exposed.  We can recognize the lie, reject the lie, and replace the lie with truth. Then, and only then, can we be all that God has created us to be and do all that God has created us to do.  We can experience the abundant life that He planned all along.

I believe God has great plans for all of us.  His Word promises that He does. “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).  But many of us are not experiencing the abundant life because we don’t know who we are.  We have believed the lies that we are not good enough, unloved, unworthy, and unforgivable.  We have been looking in distorted mirrors for far too long.  God wants us to look into the only true mirror that will tell us exactly who we are, what we have, and where we are as a child of God — His Word.  It is the key to living the victorious Christian life.

Let’s Pray 
Dear Heavenly Father, so many times I speak words that are not true about who I am.  I pray for the conviction of the Holy Spirit to stop me from speaking negative words about myself to myself.  Help me to speak the truth as found in Your Word.  Help me to begin seeing myself as You see me — a chosen, holy, dearly loved child of Yours who is empowered by the Holy Spirit and enveloped by Jesus Christ.

In Jesus’ Name, 
Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn 
Today, pay attention to the words you speak to yourself.  They don’t have to be said aloud.  Think about the words you even think to yourself about yourself.

Would God agree with what you are saying?  Do the words line up with what God says about you as His redeemed and empowered child?  If you’d like to comment on today’s devotion, visit Sharon’s blog at http://sharonjaynes.com/blog/.

More From The Girlfriends 
It is time to start believing the truth.  It is time to hear God say, “You are my daughter, whom I love; with you, I am well pleased.  Are you ready to walk out of the house of mirrors once and for all?  Are you ready to begin seeing yourself as God sees you?  Are you ready to begin living the abundant life that God planned all along?  Then you’ll want to read Sharon’s book, I’m Not Good Enough…and Other Lies Women Tell Themselves.