By Marni Montanez
John 8:32 New Life Version
32. You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”
In the past couple of years I have been confronted with this verse on several occasions and each time I quoted it to someone or looked into it as a mirror for my own soul, I recognized the power behind these words.
We live behind walls of deception, dodging the reality of who we are and spend our life frustrated and trapped in a prison of performing. Truth frightens people and many keep others at arm’s length in order to hide from the spotlight of truth.
As Christians, this is sad and shameful. We, more than anyone else, should and must be honest. The Holy Spirit lives within us and therefore there is no reason for hiding; hiding is the enemy’s “M.O.” This only keeps us hostage to fear, anger, and resentment.
We all have reasons for staying within the walls of deception, but none of us have the right to remain there. This deception is a mask for denial. Jesus, has more cause and more right to be angry and resentful about all of us, but instead He openly expressed His love for us on the cross.
He spoke to the Pharisees with the bold love that proclaims the truth. He was the walking truth on earth.
Most of the time when people hide from the truth it is because they have been encapsulated with fear and end up self-protecting instead of letting God protect them. This behavior is not trusting God and it is a very immature approach to living.
The great sadness behind this behavior or attitude is that it puts us right in target range for the enemy. When we hide from the truth, we set ourselves up and are pulled into the enemy’s domain, allowing satan to pour into us fear, and anguish of heart.
We cannot stand up to the deception perpetrated against us, if we ourselves are living in deception and denial.
Our freedom begins when the light of truth is turned on and we choose to be totally and completely honest with God. He alone has the power and ability to take our hand and walk us out of the hiddenness. Only He can bring us to the doorway of freedom, because He Himself is truth.
God is concerned with an honest relationship with Him. This is the only kind of closeness God can have.
Challenge: Ask God to show you the truth about yourself. Start there. Ask Him to reveal to you anything that is hidden and drowning in deception and then repent for keeping yourself there. Ask Him to shine the light and bring truth into your soul. Allow His peace to flow within you.
God bless,
Marni
Go on to: John 9:25 Now I See
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The
purpose of this series is to encourage people to live as loving, compassionate,
and peacemaking children of God: Jesus tells us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy
will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." (Matthew 6:10) God tells us through
Micah (6:8), "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord
require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your
God." And we know from Revelation 21:4 that there will be no more mourning, or
crying, or pain, or death. Thus, Christian living requires us to set the
standards of these conditions here on earth for our fellow human beings, and for
the other animals, as a witness to the rest of the world. To do otherwise is not
Christian.