He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.
For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
There is so much trouble, pain, dissension, anger, and destruction in this world. The question seems to be asked more frequently – “what is going on”? “Why is there so much hate”? “Why are people doing the things they are doing”? “Why are people making the decisions they are making”?
The difficult truth is there are demons, serving satan, who are actively impacting this world “… to steal and kill and destroy…” (John 10:10a). It is these forces we struggle against as revealed in Ephesians 6. When our coworker becomes difficult, when someone in traffic becomes angry or belligerent, when another tragedy is announced on the news… it is quite possible there is a hateful influence nudging the decisions and actions leading to those moments. It does not excuse our poor actions, but we can know it is not really other people who are our enemies. If demons were too obvious however, it would be easier for people to recognize and reject the influence, so the work takes place primarily behind the scenes. Lies and half-truths are one of their most effective tactics. One of their greatest lies is to twist ideas to convince people something is positive, good, acceptable, or maybe even from God, although it is contrary to His Word. Nothing from God will ever contradict the Bible. As we see in 2 Corinthians, it is possible for satan and his servants to “masquerade as angels of light”. After all, they once were angels originally created as perfect and good. They can counterfeit what they know about good, causing confusion, misinformation, and outright false beliefs. The best way for us to live our lives to avoid falling into these traps is by spending time in the Word of God in order to know the truth, by communicating with God in prayer and through worshiping God regularly. We do not need to be fearful, but we should strive to be vigilant and aware of the reason for so many of the world’s problems. Jesus did tell us, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33b)
Pray
Father, we ask for wisdom and discernment to avoid the lies of the enemy. Give us strength and courage to withstand all the ugliness taking place in this world. Help us to live each day closer to You and to be intentional in showing kindness to everyone we encounter each day. We know if we submit ourselves to You and resist the devil, he will flee from us. (James 4:7). Through the power and presence of Your Holy Spirit we do just that. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen!
