The Father of Lies

One thing I have noticed in my own life is that often I am swayed to and fro by my emotions. They tell me all sorts of contradicting things, often at the same time. Often I find that these keep me from drawing close to God and lead me to have bad attitudes about life. So where do these emotions come from? Jesus encountered a similar problem with the crowds in John 8:
"Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:43-44)
The problem is that we are believing lies from the devil. Why? Because it's how we are. In our sinful nature, we want to believe lies. What is the solution? Counteract them with the truth! Be specific about telling yourself what you know to be true.
Some of the common lies I encounter:

"You're better than that person." WRONG! Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We all stand equal before the cross of Christ our Lord.

"Since you're not better than that person, you can't be right about ___ idea or action any more than they can." This is a sinister one. Having recognized that we are equal in the sight of God with other people, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that all people are exactly the same. This is simply not true. God draws people from different places and teaches them different things at different times. In 1 Corinthians 12:14-18, Paul writes: "Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be." I know in my own life I often was kept from thinking or acting rightly because others in authority did not think that way, and so even though I knew that something was right, I felt guilty for doing something that they didn't - as if I was prideful for being able to see something that they didn't. Of course, it is also very easy to fall into the first lie again once you escape the second one.

"You aren't good enough to commune with God right now. You need to do some other things first, or else God won't accept what you have to say."
I think this is the most serious and dangerous lie, and also the one that has the most widespread effect across Christendom. When we believe that God is more or less pleased with us positionally depending on what we do or don't do, then the devil has many opportunities to stop us from being effective and growing. We already have victory in Christ, if He is dwelling in us. Not we can have; we have His righteousness covering our sin and His spirit sanctifying our lives. 1 John 5:11-12 says: "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." If we have this salvation, by faith and through grace, then our worship is accepted by God because of the work of Jesus Christ. This is something to be joyful about! Our God has conquered sin and has promised to work all things out for the good of those who love Him. (See Romans 8) So if we know we have Jesus Christ in our life, then we have no reason to be worried or afraid. These worries and fears come when we believe the devil's lies that say we aren't good enough or that God doesn't want us to come into his presence for some reason. Hebrews 10:19-23 puts it this way: "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." God himself has given us FULL access to his own throne room - the Most Holy Place. If we shrink back from guilt, then what we are saying is we don't believe that Christ is faithful and has forgiven us. We need to preach the truth to ourselves.