Good morning…

I remember when my faith became more deeply my own. I was a new mom who had moved from the north down to the south, and I joined my first Bible study with other young moms. We were studying a book by a popular Christian writer, and her first teaching point was that we are children of the devil, the father of lies. Without batting an eyelash, our group leader read aloud John 8:44 (NIV): You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. The seasoned Bible study goers nodded, taking the bait hook, line, and sinker, but I, the newbie, questioned the thought that my dad was the devil.

In contrast, my faith had been conceived from the union of these two scriptures: Genesis 1:27 (NIV), So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them, and Genesis 2:7 (NIV), The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. These Bible verses assured me that my first Father was God, the Creator of heaven and earth, not the devil, the father of lies.

During that Bible study twenty years ago, I became aware of the war between the father of my flesh and the Father of my Spirit, a spiritual war which rages on. When I am drawn to be greedy or selfish, angry or anxious, deceptive or depressed, I know that the father of my human nature is toying with me. Using the tactic of my brother Jesus, I am given the power to set a boundary with my devilish dad, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on things of God, but on things of man,” Matthew 16:23 (AMP). Setting the father of lies behind me, I focus forward onto my divine Daddy, the Father of all creation, the Giver of each breath, the Author and Perfecter of my unique being. With the Spirit of my Creator active in my heart, I prayerfully study the Bible to expose the subtle lies of the robber of abundant life, to be guided by the truth of God’s living Word.

…like newborn babies [you should] long for the pure milk of the Word, so that by it you may be nurtured and grow… 1 Peter 2:2 (AMP),

Sue