01-22-24-ENG.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. . . . And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:1–5; 14

Jesus came to give us the truth. In Him is the truth. He is truth. This is why Satan and his demons have tried so hard throughout time to get rid of Jesus, or marginalize Him. The light of Christ shines so brightly that darkness has to flee. So instead of taking on a battle they know they will lose, demons seek to deceive people so they never even have a chance to see Christ’s light in their lives.

To do this, demons have a school in which most of humanity has enrolled over the years. Scripture calls what they teach there the “doctrines of demons”
(1 Timothy 4:1). Satan and his demonic forces seek to trick people with half-truths, partial truths, and all-out lies in order to deceive and control the population. I would imagine that there is not one person reading this book who has not been duped by the devil at one time or another. Satan is the Father of Lies, and he’s a master at deception, particularly those cloaked in partial truths. It’s far easier to swallow a lie coated in truth than it is without it. The devil knows that is so, which is why you’ll often find truth mixed in with lies when he sets out to deceive

(Genesis 3:1–6; Matthew 4:1–11). You and I are living in a worldwide web of lies. Everywhere we look and everywhere we go, we are bombarded with secular, cultural billboards blasting lies. Sure, they may be nicely painted, dressed up, and sophisticated sounding lies, but they are still lies. We live in a land of duplicity that has increasingly drifted away from a Judeo-Christian ethic, ultimately washing ashore onto a liar’s paradise. The devil is deceitful, so the culture is contaminated. If you want to discover absolute truth upon which kingdom values arise, it must come from an absolute source. Perfect truth comes only out of a perfect source. Everything else is guesswork. And there is only one perfect source in the universe: God. When you, or anyone you know, disagrees with God, then you are wrong. They are wrong. It is impossible for God to be wrong. God is truth. There are two answers to every question—God’s answer and everybody else’s. And when everybody else disagrees with God, then everybody else is wrong. There is nothing in God’s nature that even makes it possible for Him to lie.

He knows everything about everything. And when you know everything about everything, you can’t be wrong. When you know the past, present, and the future, you can’t be wrong. When you are the one who made it all to begin with, sustains it all in every moment—you can’t be wrong. Jesus declared that as a part of the Triune Godhead, He came “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Reaction:
What was something Satan deceived you about that impacted your life in a negative way? What did you learn through that experience? How does Jesus’ light drive out the darkness of deceit, in practical terms?

Prayer:
Jesus, flood my soul with the light of Your truth so that I will know which way to go in my life in order to live out my kingdom purpose. I do not want to get caught or trapped in Satan’s deception. Forgive me for those times when I not only believed the devil’s lies but also promoted them through what I did or said. Cover me with Your goodness and grace so that I can walk confidently in the light of Your Word. In Your name I pray, amen.