Monday Morning Munch No. 6 - The Art of Deception

The world lies. I'm pretty sure every true Christian realizes that.

But do we realize how subtle its deceptions appear? I mean, Satan has this whole misleading thing down to a glowing art that has the sinner--and sometimes saint--blinded.

I suppose that's why he's called the Father of Lies.

Anyway. The subtly of sin has been heavy on my heart this week and it has surfaced more than I've ever seen.

Or maybe I was just aware of its constant presence.

The following pictures were taken this week and are subtly deceptive.

The lesson?

Be on guard. The enemy is real and his devices cunning. Be sharp, stand firm and bathe yourselves in Truth (Truth is a Person, not a concept- John 14:6) through the Word of Truth so you can fight against the lies of the wicked one and his kingdom, the world.

Lies

 Okay, we'll start out with this easily discovered lie found in good ol' Walmart. 

Just incase you were tempted to try to and ingest something to make you more like God, just know that if you drink this you will, in fact, not gain eternal energy.

...Sounds strangely familiar.

Oh, right. It was Eve who tried to eat the fruit in the garden to be more like God. Yeah. That was it.

Lies. 

 Oh, look. Walmart again. 

This isn't necessarily a lie, but should be a wake up call to the deceit bombarding us and young people everywhere. 

"SinfulColors" professional nail polish.

Wow. Now you can have pretty, brightly colored sin on your nails for less than $2. 

Sounds perfect.

Again, this isn't really a lie, but tossing around the word "sin" flippantly, decreases its harshness and makes sin, well, less sinful.

This is broadcasting sin to be cool, hip and stylish as opposed to the truth that sin is the absence of God, offensive in every way and will lead you to an eternal torment. 

Sin is creeping in more and more and wants to be deemed acceptable in any way possible. This is just the first step, folks.

I really like Dove dark chocolate. Actually I like just about any kind of dark chocolate. In this case, Dove is known for its "Silky Smooth Promises," variously written in each wrapper.

Smooth is right.

A smooth lie.

"Do what feels right." 

Uhh, pretty sure God doesn't say anything close to that.

In fact, I think His exact words were: "If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the Gospel's will save it." -Mark 8:34-35

That doesn't exactly scream enjoyable feeling, now does it? 

Do not do what feels right. Do what is right no matter how it feels.

Where to start on this bag of ridiculousness?

"It's OK to be fabulous AND flawed."

To me this reads: "It's okay to sin because being flawed is the accepted norm and you will never be anything else."

Let's just get one thing straight: we are all sinners. We sin. That's what we do. And no, we can't change ourselves, but we can be changed.

We are changed forever when God replaces our heart of stone with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). When He does that, the new heart hates sin and loves righteousness. We do not become instantly perfect--in fact we will never be perfect this side of heaven because we still live in a fallen body--but we are no longer seen as flawed. 

For Christians, our lives are hidden in Christ with God. Hidden. Meaning unseen apart from Him. And thanks to the beauty of imputation, we are given Jesus' righteousness and His very character and Spirit at salvation, therefore we are no longer flawed because He is not flawed. 

Amazing.

If you are not a Christian, being flawed is still not "OK," as this eloquent wrapper tries to make you believe. 

God demands perfection. We can't reach it on our own, hence the need for the perfect substitute, Jesus. (For more on Him, read the Gospel of John.)

I'm going to wrap up my little expose on lies with these four, but believe me, there is more where these came from. Satan has a whole arsenal filled with lies and he fires them every minute, each one aimed to deter you from experiencing the person of Truth. Don't let that happen. Seek Truth and abound in it. Be aware of the lies and don't let even the most subtle one suck you in. 

"See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ." -Colossians 2:8

Michael Carneal and Me

Dad had his morning radio news playing when I woke up yesterday morning. The local AM talk show was giving updates when the person said, "Courts are deciding whether or not Michael Carneal waited too long to withdrawal his guilty plea to the 1997 Heath High School shootings."

As my mom continued getting vitamins for my dad I just stood there in disbelief over Carneal.

Fourteen-year-old Carneal is escorted off Heath High School
 property by officers after he opened fire December 1, 1997,
killing three and wounding five more. 

Why doesn't he just admit to the shooting? I mean, he was the one. It's on video. There's eye witnesses. Evidence. And he already plead guilty once.

My cousins were there that morning. The day he opened fire on the other side of my medium-sized town in western Kentucky. I remember their fear.

Why is he trying to say he's innocent now? Three people died and five were injured. Why did he admit to it and now change his plea?

Then it hit me like a spiritual spanking:
That's just like me.
I am just like Michael Carneal.

No, I haven't murdered anyone in a high school shooting, but I've had anger without cause and Jesus says that's the same.

But besides that, I've tried to defend my sin.

How many time have I stood before God in guilt and, despite evidence and eye witnesses, tried to play it off like I wasn't guilty?

Welcome to my whole life before surrendering to Christ. And, unfortunately, too much of my regenerated life after being saved.

I hate sin.
And Satan,
and my pride,
and my ugly, ugly flesh.

Francis Chan said this, "Confess sin, don't defend it."

Yesterday's 10-second news spot reminded me of that and showed me how fast I am to judge the sins of others when I do the very same thing.

What's crazy is that after confessing my wretch sin (and every sin is wretched), my Judge, the Ruler and Creator of the universe, doesn't pronounce me guilty, but free. Completely innocent. 

The Judge says I did the sin but Jesus Christ did my time. He took the punishment then took the death penalty that I deserved.

"Sealed my pardon with His blood, hallelujah, what a Savior!"

"For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." --Colossians 3:3  

"Because the sinless Savior died my sinful soul is counted free,for God the Just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me." 

Humbled and in awe of the Lord's remarkable grace,
 

Waiting for Butter

In my pursuit of sexual purity and saving not only my body but heart for my future husband, I've always likened the physical purity as waiting for butter. Butter is the real thing and, when made the way God intended, is healthier and better for you than anything offered on store shelves. Sex in the confines of marriage--the way God intended--is the best. Anything less is margarine. Just a substitute.

Let's list a couple of the offered substitutes in today's society:

• Coke vs. generic
• Butter vs. margarine
• iPod vs. any other mp3 player
• Off-brands in general are substitutes for the real thing (definitely not knocking off-brands, that's basically the only way to shop- I adore Aldi's)

So in a world full of substitutes (and let's just face it, most substitutes aren't as great as the real thing... you can usually tell a difference in quality, taste, and overall satisfaction), Jesus died a substitutional death. (Can I get an amen for the substitute of my sins?) The only substitute that is better than the real thing.

"For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:3-4

He died as a substitute for my sins so I would have too.

Anything less than God's best may bring temporary (fleeting) happiness, but will not satisfy. God gave His best because He was the only One who could satisfy His judgement.

What an amazing substitute.