{God is Truth. Satan Lies.} The Foundation

I have a confession to make.  I'm not an organized blogger.  That's probably not a huge surprise to those of you who read here regularly. :)   I tend to blog in the same way I scrapbook...as the mood strikes.  

Recently, though, I've begun to dream some dreams and plan some plans for the future that involve setting actual goals for my blogging.  What was it we learned about setting goals in school?  Goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.  So I've been working on that.  On paper.  Long-term goals, short-term goals, goals broken down into bitesize pieces.  Getting a little more serious about this blogging adventure. 

As I mentioned in the introduction, this series has been rattling around in my mind for a LONG time.  I've pondered, and prayed, and bounced ideas off of friends, and pondered and prayed some more.  

I started a mental list (which as anyone who knows me knows is a pretty dangerous thing...mental anything is not my strong suit these days!) of topics for this series long before I picked out a title or created the graphic.  So I've been planning...in a very loose sense of the word...for a while. 

But as I sat down staring at my blank blog template to begin the first "real" post in this series, I realized I wasn't sure exactly where to start.  I had several topics ready for the series, but it somehow felt awkward to just jump into them.

So I did what I should have done to begin with.  I prayed.  I went to the Father of Truth, the Giver of Wisdom, and asked.  

And I realized...I need to "start at the very beginning", as the song from my favorite movie/musical of all time says.  I need to begin with the foundation. 

As I said in Not "50 Shades" or "Magic Mike", But the More We Were Created For,

For those who don't believe the Bible is the true, inerrant, holy Word of God...well, I'm glad to have you reading, and hope you'll stay and read some more, and I'd love to chat with you via the comments or email about that.  However, this particular post really isn't for you.  Because until a person realizes the depth of their sin against the holy and righteous Creator of the universe, repents of that sin, and accepts the gift of salvation by grace through faith in Christ Jesus...the rest really doesn't matter much.  If you haven't taken that step, I'd love to chat with you about it!

But my focus in this post is Christians...those who claim to have been convicted of sin, turned to God in repentance, and accepted that gift of eternal life...those who claim the name of Christ.  

Change "post" to "series" and that applies here as well.  Most of what we'll discuss in this series applies to those who claim the name of Christ.  However, before we get into those posts, I want to lay out some basic premises: 


1. In the beginning, God created the world and all that is in it. (Genesis 1-2)  Because of this, He is the ultimate authority over all.
2. Adam and Eve walked in the Garden with God, in a perfect world. Then the serpent tempted Eve, and Adam and Eve sinned.  From that point on, all men have been sinners. (Romans 3:23)
3. The payment for sin is death. (Romans 6:23)
4. Jesus Christ died for our sin, and then rose on the third day. He paid the price for our sin. (Romans 5:8)
5. Jesus is the only way to God.  He is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6)
6. Salvation is the free gift of God, by grace through faith.  It cannot be earned.  (Ephesians 2:8-9)
7.  Once we accept the free gift of God's grace and mercy in salvation, nothing can separate us from Him, ever. (Romans 8:38-39)
8. If we do not accept this gift, then death leads to Hell...a very real place of eternal separation from God and everlasting torment. (Rev. 20:10, 14-15)


This is the most important truth of all.  And anything keeping you from accepting the free gift of salvation is the worst lie of Satan. If you have questions about any of this, please feel free to ask in the comments, email me via the link in the sidebar, or message me on the Ponderings of an Elect Exile page on Facebook.  I would love to visit with you about it, and I would count it a privilege to pray for you. 

God is Truth.  Satan lies. 

God loves us more than we can ever begin to imagine.  Satan hates God and seeks to destroy God's most precious creation, mankind, in any way he can. 

God is Truth. 

God is Love.

God is Good.


You can also learn more about the above truths here.


 

"God is Truth. Satan Lies."

"God is Truth. Satan Lies." Those words from last week's sermon on Genesis 3 sum up the heart of the blog series that has been "percolating" in my heart and mind for months.  About a month ago, I posted some background thoughts behind that series. I had planned to introduce it the following day.

Various things happened, and that introduction didn't. 

Until today, that is...with a new title and a little different intro than I had planned.

Here's my heart in this:

Satan is the father of lies. From that very first recorded appearance in Genesis 3, his mission has been to deceive God's most precious creation: man. Genesis 3:1 affirms his craftiness, and in the next few verses, we see that craftiness in action.

He first plants doubt in Eve's mind: "Did God really say...?"  Then he twists what God actually did say.  He...and Eve...knew that God didn't say they couldn't eat out of any tree...just one.  At this point, Eve makes a critical mistake.  Rather than refuting the serpent with truth, she misquoted God, adding "neither shall you touch it" to God's original command.

I wonder: Was this intentional on Eve's part?  Was she embellishing on purpose?  Or did she really not know exactly what God's words had been?  Had she heard them and simply forgotten?  Whatever the reason, she didn't face the serpent with truth, and it had disastrous consequences.

Satan's response completely contradicts the character of God.  He insinuates that God's commands are meant to withhold good things from His people.  Eve buys into this and not only eats the forbidden fruit herself, but offers it to Adam.

Satan still works in this way today.  He will do anything to deceive and destroy man. He twists truth so that his lies sound good, and pleasant, and even wise. He leads us to doubt God, and to completely misunderstand His character.

His deception is not only rampant in the world, but in the church, among Christians, as well.  "Follow your heart," we are told.  "We must be tolerant."  "God wants us to be happy." 

My hope in this series is to expose some of  the deceptions that are commonly seen in our culture so that we can stand firm in the truth.  I love these verses from 1 Corinthians:

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.  

Do everything in love.

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

We can be on our guard against deception, stand firm in the faith, be bold in truth, while still doing everything in love.

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 

 but speaking the truth in love, 

we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 

 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, 

 causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Ephesians 4:14-16

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From Compliant Legalism to a Berean Heart...and an Exciting Announcement or Two!

Me, a Rebel?

The older I get, the more I realize I have a bit of rebel in me. That's been a rather shocking realization for a girl who was known as being ultra-compliant in her growing up years. A little less shocking upon further analysis, though, as I've realized that I'm still very compliant when it comes to submitting to authority; my rebellion tends to come out in relation to "society" or the culture in general.


Submission vs. Compliance

Submission to authority is a good thing. We're told over and over in Scripture to submit to our earthly authorities. As I remind my children often, submitting to our God-given earthly authorities is an important part of learning to submit to God.


On the other hand, compliance isn't always all it's cracked up to be. In my case, a compliant personality went hand-in-hand with deep-seated people-pleaser tendencies. The combination created fertile ground for legalism to flourish.


The Faces of Legalism

Let me clarify "legalism" as I'm using it here. Legalism can be  (1) depending on the law to obtain salvation, (2) depending on the law to keep salvation, or (3) creating/upholding a code of conduct for oneself or other Christians in areas that aren't specifically addressed in Scripture as sin, in order to somehow "prove" one's salvation. 


I grew up knowing better than to fall into the first two.  I knew that salvation was by grace through faith alone, and as a good Southern Baptist girl, "once saved, always saved" was a familiar phrase from early childhood.


That last one, though...that one has taken a bit longer to learn.  Between my personality and various influences in my youth and young adult years, I ended up with a pretty good list of "What a Real Christian Looks Like" imprinted deeply in my mind and heart.  It wasn't that those who didn't adhere to those standards weren't Christians, they just weren't "serious" Christians. 


But God is Gracious!

God has spent much of the past 8 years graciously, patiently, and lovingly growing and teaching me in this area.  It's been quite a journey which could fill a book of its own.  That "list" didn't go easily!  There are still times when I want to pull it out and start checking things off...in my own life or the lives of others.  I'm still definitely not "there"...spiritual growth and maturity is a lifelong process that doesn't end as long as we are on this earth.   I'm so thankful for the promise of Philippians 1:6:

And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you. (Amplified)

A Passion and a Burden

In the process of burning away the dross of my legalistic tendencies, God has also been developing in my heart a deep passion for the truth of the Word.  Along with that passion has come a deep burden for those affected in so many ways by Satan's twisting of the truth in the church and among those who call themselves Christians.


As those who read here regularly know, when something is heavy on my heart, it tends to come out in writing.  For quite some time, posts related to this burden have been percolating in my heart, in my head, and in draft here on the blog.


God has finally begun to pull those fragmented pieces together, with the result being a new series titled "Ponderings of a Berean Heart".   Check back here tomorrow for a detailed intro to this series on living in Biblical truth. I'm excited about sharing this journey with you!



In the meantime...

As I posted on Wednesday, I'm so excited to be part of the new writing team at Homeschool Toolbox!   My first column went live on the site today...you can read it here.   I'd love to hear any feedback you have!  You can comment there on the column itself, or come back here and comment.  Or if Facebook comments are more your thing, you can comment on the Ponderings of an Elect Exile Page or the Homeschool Toolbox Page on Facebook.  (Be sure to like both pages if you haven't already!)  

And for those who are joining us from Homeschool Toolbox...Welcome!!  I hope you'll get comfy, grab a drink, and stay for a while! Please take a minute to follow Ponderings of an Elect Exile on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest.  Or subscribe by email via the box in the sidebar.  I'd also love to hear from you in the comments or using the email option on my profile page. 

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