1 Timothy 4:2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; (KJV)

Are you able to distinguish the truth from a lie?

How long does someone have to tell a lie before it is no longer a lie for them, it is the truth? The answer may vary depending on the person. However long it takes, the time will come, and not only are they lying to others, they are lying to themselves as well.

“Above all, don’t lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.”  – Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The Holy Spirit is your conscious if you allow Him to be. He will prick you when you are no longer speaking the truth. If you make a habit of ignoring the Holy Spirit, wrong will no longer be wrong. Then everything you say will be OK. You will ask these questions, and others like them, with regularity:

• Did God really mean I shouldn’t do ….?
• Does saying … fall into the displeasing category?
• Does it matter if I was trying to spare …’s feelings?
• Did I lie if I knew … would believe something that was not true?
• Wouldn’t it be better for me if I lied just this one time? ”

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (KJV)

Spend time in the presence of the Lord. If you do, the words you speak won’t justify any and everything you do. God gave you a clean heart upon salvation. Lies make it dirty. Don’t spend your days trying to remember what you said and who you said it to. Be watchful and exercise self-control.

Matthew 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. (KJV)

Continually repent, remain in prayer and seek the Lord because you cannot justify being self-indulgent, manipulative, and deceitful. Your words may ease your conscious. However, when your heart is defiled, you cease to love. The lies tie you and trip you up and you cannot tell the difference. Then you can be of no use in the kingdom. There are no white lies and black lies, or any other color; they are all just lies. Ask the Father to show if you have lost the ability to distinguish the truth from a lie.

Please agree with me as I pray. Then ask the Lord what your prayer should be and wait for His response:

Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for reminding me there is never a good reason to tell a lie. I repent for any time I thought so. You give me the opportunity to speak life and hope with the truth of Your word. I know I live in a world and in a nation where it appears the enemy has the victory through deception. We claim to be one nation under God. Yet, Your value system is being misrepresented. Now it looks like the evildoers are prospering. The bigger and the better the lie anyone can tell, the more popular and prominent they can become. Father, I want the truth, the whole truth, and only the truth. Let the chips fall where they may. Whatever the outcome, I take joy in the fact that the victory has already been won. I live with faith. I thank You because I am not governed by what I see. I am governed by what I know to be true. Continue to draw me closer to You. I want to be useful in Your hands. I want my words to create deliverance and not put people in bondage because I name Your name…

Ask the lord what he wants to say to you about today’s devotional and journal it here: