Knowing God’s Truth will help us overcome the lies we have believed about ourselves. Last week, I shared the Seven I AM Statements In The Book of John. This week, I want to examine some lies we believe and replace them with who God says I am.
Think about what defines you. Are you a daughter, wife, or mother? Then think about the things that make you, you. These things, put together, make up your identity. It’s our character, values, and how we live daily. Sometimes we hear a lie about ourselves that buries itself in our thoughts and causes us to lose focus on who we really are.
Grab your Bible, pin, and note paper, and let’s examine a couple of lies we can let get in our heads and find what God’s Truth says instead!
Our Enemy loves to tell us lies. If he can get us to focus on what he says about us, then he wins, and we become rejected or feel unloved.
“But to all those who accepted him and trusted in him, he gave the right to become God’s children.”
John 1:12
“For you are all God’s children through your trust in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 3:26
The relationship between a parent and child is unique. Have you ever watched a baby or a toddler look at their parent? The love and trust that the little one shows are all over their little face. Teenagers find it a little harder to see their love and trust because they are learning who they are and where their boundaries are, but they do love and trust the one who keeps them safe.
Since God is our heavenly Father, He sets the boundaries. We look at Him like a small child with love and trust.
“Through him, we gain salvation through his blood, the forgiveness of our sins as a result of his priceless grace.”
Ephesians 1:7
“He rescued us from the tyranny of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, through whom we have been set free and our sins forgiven.”
Colossians 1:13-14
We are now free from sin! Jesus paid for us with His blood. God’s justice was satisfied when Jesus willingly died for us. Since our sins are forgiven, we no longer have a barrier between God and ourselves, and we can have a relationship with Him.
“I don’t call you servants any longer, for servants are not taken into their master’s confidence. I call you friends, for everything my Father told me I’ve explained to you.”
John 15:15
Think about your best friend. What are they like? What made you friends? I bet they know some special secrets! Jesus tells us here in this verse: “I call you friend.” Friendship is a special relationship. There are things we tell each other that we wouldn’t tell anyone else. Isn’t it neat that Jesus wants to be our friend?! He is always there when we need Him, and we can share all secrets with Him!
God’s Truth tells us we are no longer rejected or unloved. We are called a child and a friend and have been redeemed and forgiven at a price! Jesus accepts us and loves us!
Another favorite lie Satan tells us is that we are guilty and God doesn’t want us. He makes us feel alone and weak, as if no one could ever want us.
“So there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death.”
Romans 8:1-2
“So what’s our response to all this? If God is for us, who can be against us? God, who did not hold back his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, won’t he also freely give us everything? Who can accuse God’s special people of anything? It’s God who sets us right, so who can condemn us? It’s Christ Jesus who died—more importantly, who was raised from the dead—who stands at God’s right hand, presenting our case.”
Romans 8:31-34
Each of us is born guilty of sin. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate the fruit, it condemned us all. The sentence is death. We have only one way to beat this death sentence: through Jesus, who took our sin upon Himself and willingly went to the cross. He came and took our place to free us from the grip of sin.
“Just as he chose us to be in him before the beginning of this world, so that in love we could be holy and without fault before him.”
Ephesians 1:4
“In complete contrast, you are a specially chosen family, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. Consequently, you can reveal the wonderful things he’s done, calling you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
1 Peter 2:9
Remember picking teams for an activity in gym class? The teacher would have two classmates serve as captains, and they would be the ones to choose their team. I did not have athletic skills and was always picked last.
God has a team and has already chosen who He wants. The cool thing is, yet it is hard to believe; it’s everyone, we all get to be on His team, and He chose each of us before time began! He knew our gifts, talents, struggles, and failures, yet He still chose us to be His!
“Just as Scripture says, ‘For your sake, we’re in danger of being killed all the time. We’re treated like sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all that happens to us, we’re more than conquerors through him who loved us. I’m convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor devils, neither the present nor the future, nor powers, neither height nor depth, in fact nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:36-39
Whenever I hear or see the word conqueror, I think of knights and kings dressed in armor going to battle the enemy. Each of us is in a battle; some are physical, and some are mental. But the biggest battle is a spiritual one. We must be ready to fight. Through God’s love, nothing can separate us from Him, and we can conquer every battle!
God’s Truth tells us that we have been set free from our sins. We are no longer alone because God has chosen us to be His, and nothing will ever separate us from His love because, in Him, we are conquerors!
The last lie we will look at is that Satan wants us to feel hopeless because he knows that when we have hope, we are powerful. If He can make us believe we are worthless or can’t measure up, then we will be useless to God and His plan.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt becomes tasteless, how can you make it salty again? It’s good for nothing, so it’s thrown out and trodden down. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill can’t be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a bucket. No, it’s on a lampstand and provides light to everyone in the house. In the same way, you should let your light shine before everyone so they can see the good things you do and praise your heavenly Father.”
Matthew 5:13-16
What is your favorite food? I bet salt is one of the ingredients! It adds or enhances our food’s flavor, preserves it, and helps slow decay. But for salt to work, it must stay pure.
What is the first thing you do when you walk into a dark room? Of course, you reach for the light switch. God created us to be salt and light in our world. Our saltiness gives those around us a taste of who God is in our lives, and our lights shine before men, lighting the way to God and His salvation.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every one of my branches that doesn’t bear fruit. He prunes every branch that bears fruit so it can bear even more. You are already pruned and cleansed by what I’ve told you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. Just as a branch cannot produce fruit unless it remains part of the vine, so it is for you: you cannot bear fruit unless you remain in me. I’m the vine; you’re the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce plenty of fruit—for apart from me, you can’t do anything.”
John 1:1-5
In my post about Jesus and His I am the True Vine, I shared some facts about grapevines. When we accept Jesus into our hearts, He grafts us into His vine, and we become one. We cannot bear fruit alone; we must always be in Him. As we grow and produce fruit, God will prune us so we keep growing and producing good fruit. Stop bearing fruit, and we are cut and thrown into the fire.
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Ephesians 2:10
When you hear or see the word masterpiece, what comes to mind? A beautiful painting by Michelangelo, a famous symphony by Bach or Mozart, or a literary work by Mark Twain? Well, guess what, friend? You and I are great masterpieces made by our Creator God!
Way back when God created the heavens and earth, He created you and me! God knew every detail, every special feature, and created it just for our unique person. We have been given talents and giftings that only we can do.
We defeat the lies with what God’s Truth says about us. Whenever we feel helpless or hopeless, we can respond with, ” I am a branch bearing good fruit.” Or when we feel inadequate, we can say, “I am salt and light.” If a lie tells us we are worthless, we can respond with, “I am a work of art created by my God!”
Friend, our Enemy constantly attacks us. He wants us defeated and wallowing in our sins. He knows we can’t share the Good News if he distracts us and leads us to believe lies.
These are just a tiny few of the lies Satan tells us each day, but we have a weapon that we use to counter the lies. God’s Truth is in His word, the Bible. I encourage you to read God’s word this week and defeat the Enemy’s lies about you!
And if no one has told you today
YOU ARE LOVED!!!
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Resources:
https://www.bible.com/bible/111/EPH.2.10
https://www.bible.com/bible/1932/JHN.15.1-5
https://www.bible.com/bible/1932/MAT.5.13-16
https://www.bible.com/bible/1932/ROM.8.36-39
https://www.bible.com/bible/1932/1PE.2.9
https://www.bible.com/bible/1932/EPH.1.4
https://www.bible.com/bible/1932/ROM.8.31-34
https://www.bible.com/bible/1932/ROM.8.1-2
https://www.bible.com/bible/1932/JHN.15.15
https://www.bible.com/bible/1932/COL.1.13-14
https://www.bible.com/bible/1932/EPH.1.7
https://www.bible.com/bible/1932/GAL.3.26
https://www.bible.com/bible/1932/JHN.1.12
