I doubt that you’ve ever made a deal with the Devil, but untold numbers of people have.
At times, though, you and I have “kicked the tires” in negotiations with Satan.
I’m not talking about the stereotypical selling of the soul in order to get fabulously rich or get even with a hated enemy.
I’m talking instead about trusting a lie to get us what we want or get us out of a situation we don’t want.
When we lie, we’re trusting Satan’s promise rather than God’s.
That’s a very bad thing that, fortunately, we Christians don’t do that often.
At least I hope that’s the case.
But is a random lie in a moment of spiritual weakness the same as making a deal with the Devil?
No.
There are many, however, who dive into the world of deceit rather than stick their toes in it from time to time.
Those are the ones who have exchanged the Truth of God for a lie.
Those are the ones that the Apostle Paul describes in Romans 1 with terms that are sickeningly, disgustingly accurate.
Those are the ones who will reap the horrible costs of their deals with the Devil.
I want you to read an excerpt from today’s reading in the One-Year Bible that is gripping, accurate and tragic. As you read, I’m confident that you’ll sift through the ancient context and pull out the relevant lessons for today regarding the folly of entering a contract with THE perpetual liar.
“Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem. You boast, ‘We have entered into a covenant with death, with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement. When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by, it cannot touch us, for we have made a lie our refuge and falsehood our hiding place.’
“So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place.’
“Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.’” (Isaiah 28:14-18)
Dear friends, let’s all discipline ourselves to remember that lies are always offenses to God and poisonous to ourselves. They connect us with the Father of lies, lure us down the path toward more and greater lies, and that’s a very bad thing.
We’ll fail on this count, of course, at some point before we leave this life. But when that happens, let’s remember to run as fast as possible to God with repentant hearts ready to embrace more tightly than ever the importance of truth.
As always, I love you
Martin
