Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." John 18:37
These voices try to lead us through different paths. These voices speak to us all day long. “Buy this thing, you need it!” “Watch this show, you’ve had a rough day and you deserve to take a mindless break.” “It’s OK, go right ahead and eat or drink or smoke or indulge all you want, that’s how you unwind.” “It’s not a big deal, everyone is doing it.” “Hey, times are different now, it’s the 21st Century!” “C’mon, you don’t expect that today’s believers are going to do that? That was written for the first Christians 2000 years ago. It doesn’t apply to us now.” “As long as you are a good person and don’t harm anybody, you are walking on the narrow path.” “Let’s just get along, why create waves.” “Let’s just say nothing. It’s better to just keep quiet about it. After all, it doesn’t affect us here.” “Don’t be so judgmental. Live and let live.” “There are many paths to God.” “Jesus is find for me, but not for everyone.”
These voices create much confusion in our soul. Decisions that otherwise would seem like “no-brainers,” become undecipherable. We ponder in puzzlement how to navigate the troubled waters of today’s society as we make a super human effort to discern the right path. Our work is complicated by the patterns of this world. What to do, then?
Like the song says,
“Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.”
The first thing is to recognize that there are such voices calling out our names out there. We cannot be blinded to this fact. The enemy uses the circumstances of this day in age to saturate us with his voices of deceit. Like 1 Timothy 4:1 states:
These voices create much confusion in our soul. Decisions that otherwise would seem like “no-brainers,” become undecipherable. We ponder in puzzlement how to navigate the troubled waters of today’s society as we make a super human effort to discern the right path. Our work is complicated by the patterns of this world. What to do, then?
Like the song says,
“Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.”
The first thing is to recognize that there are such voices calling out our names out there. We cannot be blinded to this fact. The enemy uses the circumstances of this day in age to saturate us with his voices of deceit. Like 1 Timothy 4:1 states:
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Therefore, we must be aware of the schemes of the enemy.
Believers are the people of God. We are blessed, chosen and adopted into the family of the Most High for His glory.(Ephesians 1:3-10) We are sealed by the Holy Spirit, therefore, the devil can’t grab us; but he sure tries.
One of his favorite and most effective tools is to shoot lies at us, like fiery darts. He sends agents of deceit into our lives charged with soft-words that have a melodious cadence. Oftentimes, such messengers are extremely hard to resist and unmask since they are clothed in manipulated Scripture. Lies mixed in with half-truths come out of their mouths to allure us into a false path that leads nowhere but to destruction.
The voices of the enemy’s agents loudly saturate our mind in such a way that we may not be able to hear the still small voice of truth.
Therefore, discernment is the key. Wisdom is the gift we ought to seek. If we feel we don’t have it, let us ask for it with fervor!
We can’t base our decisions of eternal implications on the designs of society or on the secular wisdom of our times. On the contrary, we are not to “conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2) We are to renew our minds by diving into the Word so we can figure out the patterns of God and leave behind those of this world. Only this way we could discern His perfect will, the truth.
The enemy’s tool of deception seeks to seduce us into accepting his lies as the rule. He uses those around us to entice us and confuse us. He can even use believers that he has already confused as bait to reel us in. The enemy is like an expert civil engineer that designs nice looking wide gates and roads for those who seek comfort and company. The followers of The Way, The Truth and The Life, however, seek to enter through the narrow gate and follow the straight path even if in single line.
It is not easy to tune in our ears and really listen to the Voice of Truth, especially when we hear those around us repeating the same lies that they have been made to believe. We must always be on our guards. These are troubled times. There is a warfare waging in the spiritual realm which we cannot ignore. The words of Paul become our marching orders today,
One of his favorite and most effective tools is to shoot lies at us, like fiery darts. He sends agents of deceit into our lives charged with soft-words that have a melodious cadence. Oftentimes, such messengers are extremely hard to resist and unmask since they are clothed in manipulated Scripture. Lies mixed in with half-truths come out of their mouths to allure us into a false path that leads nowhere but to destruction.
The voices of the enemy’s agents loudly saturate our mind in such a way that we may not be able to hear the still small voice of truth.
Therefore, discernment is the key. Wisdom is the gift we ought to seek. If we feel we don’t have it, let us ask for it with fervor!
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1: 5
The enemy’s tool of deception seeks to seduce us into accepting his lies as the rule. He uses those around us to entice us and confuse us. He can even use believers that he has already confused as bait to reel us in. The enemy is like an expert civil engineer that designs nice looking wide gates and roads for those who seek comfort and company. The followers of The Way, The Truth and The Life, however, seek to enter through the narrow gate and follow the straight path even if in single line.
It is not easy to tune in our ears and really listen to the Voice of Truth, especially when we hear those around us repeating the same lies that they have been made to believe. We must always be on our guards. These are troubled times. There is a warfare waging in the spiritual realm which we cannot ignore. The words of Paul become our marching orders today,
“…finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:10-12)
The enemy’s schemes are rendered useless against such stand, because, If God is for us, who can be against us?(Romans 8:31) Let us then hush all the other voices and truly choose to listen and believe the Truth, the Voice of Truth.
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