"This is NPR--National Public Radio. From Washington this is the news, I'm David Brancatchio. President Bush is currently on a tour of the Arab Nations. Today he met with the President of Egypt to discuss . . .

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. . . those who want to enter the kingdom must build on the solid rock. Those who do not listen to the Word are like a man who builds on the sand. When the storms of life blow, their house will . . .

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. . . today the World Health Organization made a statement that Toronto was safe for tourists to return. China was still under restriction due to the number of cases reported there. The director of Health Ministries in China said that . . .

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So there I sit, hanging on the lips of a newscaster, straining to hear what he or she is reporting, but constantly being interrupted by these mixed signals. Just when I'm waiting on the next important sentence, static noise and a different signal comes on the air.

Lies and Mixed Messages
As I fumble with my tuning dial, frustrated and irritated, I can't help compare this experience to what happens in each of our lives. Mixed messages. We're tuned into something good, but before we know it . . .

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. . . there's a mixed message--we hear truth, but there's a lie to interrupt it. When I first came over to the United States, I read most of Roger Morneau's books. His book, "More Incredible Answers to Prayer, p. 58," Roger Morneau writes about the experience he went through when he was considering becoming a Satanist. A Satanic priest took him on a tour of a Satanic Temple, he writes:

"At that time," the priest said, "the master (Satan) stated that he and his angels would make themselves invisible to human beings also, thus leaving people free to live their lives as they wanted to. He emphatically argued that the only fair way for supernatural forces to influence human conduct should be by flashing thought images into individual minds."

Mixed messages and lies. You and I, on the one hand have messages of truth coming to us--truth from God's Word, truth from a preacher, truth from spiritual mentors and truth from the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. The truth is interrupted . . .

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. . . interruppted by lies--lies flashed into our thoughts by Satan, lies through the media promoting false beliefs and a lifestyle away from God, lies from communities that have been mislead and deceived by the Father of lies--Satan himself.

In the following passage, Jesus sternly identifies the source of falsehood and error to the Pharisees:

John 8:43-46,
"Why is my language not clear to you? Because you unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks he native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth why don't you believe me."

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. . . truth for our protection and for an abundant life--lies for our destruction and for a crippled, dwarfed and ruined life. In Scripture, light is portrayed as a direct opposite to darkness. The two are in conflict with one another--one cannot stand in the presence of the other. So too, truth and lies are at opposite extremes. They are at war with each other and we are constantly confronted with both--mixed messages in the Great Controversy between good and evil.
 

"Through his lies we were deceived . . . through his lies we are held captive . . ."

Lies From the Beginning
From the time Satan was expelled from the ranks of pure and sinless heavenly beings, he has been lying to people in order to lure them to eternal destruction and desolation.

• Satan's first lie, "You will become wise if you eat from this fruit," and "you shall not surely die," plunged us all into sin . . .(See Genesis 3:1-4)
• Satan's lied to Cain about his brother being the reason God didn't accept his sacrifice and caused the first murder . . .
• Satan lied to the people about the warnings Noah gave them and hundreds of thousands lost their lives . . .
• Satan lied to Abraham about God's promise to give him a son and Abraham made the mistake of having Hagar bear him a son . . .

• Satan lied to the Israelites about Moses not coming down from the mountain and led them to betray God by worshiping the golden calf . . .
• Satan lied to the Israelites about God's promises to take them to the promised land and incited discord and discontent in spite of God's amazing miracles . . .
• Satan lied to the kings of Israel about worshiping God and led them into idolatry and demon worship . . .
• Satan lied to Judas about the mission and ministry of Jesus and he became the one to betray the Savior of our world into the hands of murderous hypocrites.
• Satan lied to corrupt leaders like Nero and other Roman Emperors about the faith of the early Christians and thousands were tortured to death, burnt at the stake and thrown to the lions.

• Satan lied to Lennon and Stalin, who invented the deceitful system of Communism and murdered their way to gain control over the masses
• Satan lied to Adolf Hitler about the Jewish people being responsible for many of the problems in Germany and he set his goals on wiping them from the face of the earth by merciless massacres.
• Satan has lied to Saddam Hussein and fashioned him into the "Butcher of Bagdad," who's leadership comprised of tyranny and of terror.
• Satan lied to Timothy McVeigh about plotting to kill innocent workers in the Federal Building in Oklahoma. The bomb he detonated killed hundreds of unsuspecting citizens going about their daily work.

(Osama bin Laden - He has fallen prey to Satan's lies)

• Satan has lied to Osama bin Laden and inspired him to plan and execute the desolation of 9/11.

My friends, Satan lies to each one of us and causes us the pain we have suffered, the wrong decisions we have made and the hurt we have caused in the lives of those around us. Think of all the disappointments you have gone through in your life, the confusion you have been confronted with and the conflicts you have encountered. We hear a voice, we think it's our own reaction, we act and we fail. Satan flashes lies into our minds and we base our decisions, our responses and our reasoning on them.

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Mixed messages . . . truth confused with lies . . . lies clashing with truth . . .

We are in a daze, we are led by the nose, we have wool over our eyes and we are caught off guard by this master deceiver, the father and inventor of lies and falsehood. We are told to rely on "our gut feelings," or on our "first impressions," but nine times out of ten, those gut feelings and first impressions can very well be lies from Satan. Lies, lies, all lies. We need to be aware of this and know who we are dealing with. We need to know what causes so much of the turmoil and trials in our lives.

Don't You Hate Being Lied To?
Don't you just hate being lied to? How do you feel when you find out that someone has lied to your face? It's the ultimate way to break up loyalty and trust in a relationship, isn't it? You feel betrayed, deceived and cheated. It's almost as if everything you shared with that person has been wiped away by that single lie.

When I was much younger, in the first few years of my working career, I was living in Johannesburg, South Africa. This was one of the largest cities in South Africa and attracted many people from all over Africa. One day I was walking through the city center when I heard someone trying to get my attention, "psssssssst, psssssssst, psssssssst."

I turned to see who it was and there was a man in a doorway beckoning me to come over to him.

"Yes," I said.

"Sir, please come with us. We need someone to witness a game that is taking place. A lot of money can be won and we need an outsider to witness that all is fair."

Without a second thought, I followed the man to the small lobby of an isolated building. There were three other people standing there. The man who called me said, "Now watch carefully, this man over here is going to select a card. He is then going to place the card on the floor, together with those two other cards. This man over here is going to turn the cards upside down and shuffle them around. If this man points out the card that he originally picked out, he will double his money."

I was amused, and kept a close watch. Well, the man who picked out the card pointed out the right card.

"You see that, you see that," the man shouted, "It's so easy. You can win too. Do you have any money on you?"

"No," I said.

"Well, can you go and draw some out of the bank? You can double any amount you put down."

"Yes I can," I replied, "my bank is just across the way."

The man and I walked over to the bank and I withdrew $200. (In those days, that was a fortune). We got back to the lobby of the building. The man said, "Okay now, select a card. Once you put the card down, keep your eyes on it and don't lose sight of it no matter how much he moves it around. Give me the money, I need to go and deposit it upstairs with the banker."

As the man disappeared up the stairs, a hollow feeling hit the pit of my stomach. The man shuffling the cards moved my card around. I watched intensely. Then he stopped. I pointed to the card I thought I had picked. He turned it over. It was my card!

"Excellent!" said the man who shuffled the cards. "Go upstairs to the first room on the left and get your money."

I climbed the stairs and got to the first room on the left. There was no-one there. I walked down the corridor, but there was no-one there. I ran back down the stairs. There was no-one to be seen. I ran out on to the street, only to see the crowds of people milling back and fort in a very ordinary way, the way they always do. Sick to my stomach, I walked to my car. I felt about 3 inches tall as I realized that I had been cheated, lied to, yes, "caught for a sucker."

The Truman Show
They way we go through life, lied to, believing the lies, reacting to them and being hurt and confused by them, reminds me of a video I saw some time ago. The video is called, "The Truman Show." It's a story about a movie director who wanted to create a show that would rivet the world to their screens. He believed that people were tired with the TV shows that were being screened. He started looking for a new show that would rise above all other shows. He heard that one of his staff had a family member, a girl, who was going to have a baby. This girl was going to give up the child for adoption as she couldn't afford to raise him herself. It was then that the director had an idea that was awesome and supernaturally inspired--or so he thought. He would adopt the child, he would raise the child, but not at home, on a movie set. Yes, he would build a world for this young boy, Truman. He would build a home, a school, a college, a church, businesses, and everything a normal growing boy would encounter. The only difference is that this would be a controlled world with actors filling the roles of parents, teachers, friends, shopkeepers, doctors and mailmen. This would be the epitome of Reality TV, it would captivate the world. And sure enough, as the boy grew older, with his actor parents and friends, the director created a dramatic, nail-bitting show that everyone watched. People installed TV's everywhere, at home, in waiting rooms, in restaurants and at work--wherever that was: in restaurant kitchens, at auto repair workshops, hairdressers, grocery stores, etc., etc.

The director wrote scripts that hurt young Truman, like the early death of his father and the whole world watched his pain--real pain, not an act like the rest of the TV shows. The director wrote scripts that made young Truman happy, like when he met a beautiful young girl and fell in love. All just lies. Truman was a smart young man and as time went by, he started noticing small inconsistencies in his life. He began testing certain events and cross-questioning certain people. As actors came and went, he realized that there was something wrong. After a long time of analyzing his world, Truman decided he was going to leave town. He packed his belongings and ran down to the marina and sailed out on the water--a manmade pond that stretched to the end of the TV set. The director and all his staff panicked. What were they going to do. The whole show would fail if Truman got out. The director mercilessly instructed the technical crew to fire up the turbines to produce a fake hurricane. He then instructed the technical crew to activate the wave machine to produce high waves.

"He will drown," cried the staff.

"If he drowns, he drowns," retorted the director.

So Truman fought the worst storm he had ever encountered. The director flipped the "on the air" button and the whole world watched. Truman held on, he wrestled the sails and wrapped rope around his body to keep from being flung off. He survived. The director couldn't generate anything worse to deter Truman. The storm subsided and Truman got to the other side of the fake pond. His yacht bumped against the white screen at the end of the set, the screen on which a false sky and false clouds were projected. There he saw the white set of stairs that led to the white door that led to the real, true world outside. He climbed the stairs, opened the door and walked out of his fake, false life of lies.

Our Life of Lies By The Master Con-Artist
As I watched this video, I realized, this is us. We are Truman. We have been deceived into living our lives based on the lies of an evil director who is determined to establish his kingdom and lure as many people into it through his lies. We believe the messages that come to us that we must accumulate things and be in relationships in order to find the deep seated happiness everyone is looking for. Without realizing it, we are hypnotized and anaesthetized by Satan's crafty and cunning concoctions.
 

"Through his lies we were deceived . . . through his lies we are held captive . . ."

• Satan lies to us that God is harsh and unfair, ready to strike out and punish us for every little mistake
• Satan lies to us that we are all alone to face life and all it's difficulties, that there is no hope because we will always fail at everything we do
• Satan lies to us, saying that we must control and workout our own problems, that God is far away, totally removed from us and incapable of solving our problems for us
• Satan tells lies about God not listening to us, that our prayers are meaningless and that we are just talking to ourselves
• Satan lies to us about the future being dark and dismal without any hope of relief from the death, disease and destruction all around us

• Satan fabricates lies about old age, that it is something we need to fear, that it is a time of suffering and abandonment and that there is nothing beyond it to look forward to
• Satan invents lies if or when we have to face a disease or a terminal disease, that death is something to fear and suffering is a time of hopelessness and despair where our lives are forever darkened
• Satan attacks us with lies when we are financially challenged or in poverty. He tells us that our success in life depends on the measure of wealth we have accumulated
• Satan weaves lies into our perception of God, confusing us that we must be perfect before God before He will accept us, that we must change ourselves by our own attempts and work at being better people
• Satan is a coward and strikes out at our weakest points. He lies to us about our worth, confusing us about who we are and what our true purpose in life is, where to find real love and meaning and how to put things in the right perspective

• Satan leads us to the expectation, through his lies, that everyone must like us and treat us fairly in life
• Satan, through his lies, traps us into the expectation that we must succeed at everything we do
• Satan lures us through his lies to the expectation that all of life must be easy and pleasurable or else life is not worth living

"True contentment is not found by getting more, but by wanting less . . ."

Through his lies we are crippled in our potential of living a life filled with God's power.
Through his lies we are hamstrung in our attempts to run the good race of Christ victoriously.
Through his lies we are dwarfed in our ability to reach the awesome goals that God has for us--goals to become more like him in character, aspire to His Wisdom and transcend our earthly understanding to embrace His Infinite understanding.

Neutralizing Lies and Mixed Messages
Now that we have been thoroughly warned about the subtle and secretive mission of the master masquerader, the father of lies, we ask ourselves the question, "How do we nullify and neutralize all of Satan's lies that are hurled at us moment by moment? Are we able to stand up against his ingenious schemes to destroy our lives? In this unseen war of spiritual powers, a war more powerful than any human war, is there a weapon that we can use to repel the barrage of lies and deceit that is used against us by our foe of falsehood? Yes there is! The only way to dispel lies is by the TRUTH. The only way to destroy falsehood is by the TRUTH and the only way to win over deception is by the TRUTH. God's Word is the truth about God, about where we came from, about the meaning and purpose of life and about where we are going. In John 17:17 Jesus says, " . . .Thy Word is Truth . . ."

In Ephesians 6:11, 13-17, Paul says:
"Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the devil's schemes. 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 places. Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand. Stand firm then, with:
 

the belt of truth buckled around your waist, (The Word of God)

the breastplate of righteousness in place (Righteousness gained by believing God's promises, The Word of God. Romans 4:18-22)

your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace (The Word of God)

the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one (Romans 10:17 - Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ).

the helmet of salvation, (2 Thessalonians 2:13 - Salvation comes from the truth - "God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.")

the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

"Through His Truth we were saved . . . through His Truth we are set free . . ."

The Bible is no ordinary book, it is The Word of God. It is the same word that God spoke when He created the universe, it is the same word that Jesus spoke when he turned water into wine, made the b lind to see and raised up the dead. The way to fend off the lies of Satan is to bathe ourselves in the Truth of God's Word. Lies and falsehood cannot stand in the presence of truth. Satan well knows that his lies are neutralized by the Truth of God's Word and so he deceives us into believing:

• that the bible is just a reference book for study and discussion
• that the bible is a good book on ancient history
• that the bible is consists of symbolic parables and that it can't be taken literally--that the creation, the flood and the crossing of the Red Sea are just folk tales to amuse the younger generations
• that the bible was written to incite good morals in society, but there it has no power beyond that

Jesus' Example
Jesus was not exempted from Satan's lies. He too had mixed messages coming at Him at every turn. Just because we have three recorded accounts of Satan coming to tempt Jesus doesn't mean that Satan didn't tempt him and lie to him throughout His life. The bible says in Hebrews 4:15 that Jesus was "tempted in every, just as we are--yet was without sin." How did Jesus stand up against the lies from Satan? How did Jesus resist and overcome the twisted truths and the deluding lies that Satan launched at Him. Well, what was Jesus' reply to each of the three temptations that were recorded in Matthew 4:4, 7,10? "It is written . . ." was Jesus' defense to each of Satan's lies. The Word of God is powerful and effective in negating the lies from Satan. When the Truth of God's Word is part of our thinking, if the truth of God's Word overrides our first impressions and the Truth of God's Word makes up our gut feelings, Satan's lies will never have influence in our lives. As light and darkness cannot mix in the same space, so truth and lies cannot mix. As light disperses darkness, so truth dispels lies.

The Great Controversy, E. G. White, p. 518-520
Satan well knows that all whom he can lead to neglect prayer and the searching of the Scriptures, will be overcome by his attacks. Therefore he invents every possible device to engross the mind.

Ibid, p. 529-530
No man is safe for a day or an hour without prayer. Especially should we entreat the Lord for wisdom to understand his word. Here are revealed the wiles of the tempter and the means by which he may be successfully resisted.

Ibid, p. 598-599
Temptations often appear irresistible because, through neglect of prayer and study of the Bible, the tempted one cannot readily remember God's promises and meet Satan with the Scripture weapons.

The Word of God gives us the truth we need to survive the attacks of Satan:

• The Truth of God's Word teaches us that God is NOT harsh and unfair, but He is kind, loving and fair, that he "knows how we are formed and remembers that we are dust . . . The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love." Psalm 103: 8-14.
• The Truth of God's Word reminds us that we are NOT all alone to face life and all it's difficulties, that there IS hope because God is with us (Matthew 28:20) to help us with everything we do.
• The Truth of God's Word reassures us that we must NOT control and workout our own problems, but that God is with us to help us with everything in our lives. (Psalm 121:1, 2) "I lift up my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. The Lord watches over you . . . indeed, he who watches over you will neither slumber or sleep."
• The Truth of God's Word tells us that our prayers are NOT meaningless and empty and that God hears our cries for help. (Psalm 40:1) "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:7).
• The Truth of God's Word says we need NOT fear the future, that there is hope in spite of all the death, disease and destruction all around us. "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future. Then you will call on me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.'" (Jeremiah 29:11-13.
• The Truth of God's Word states we need NOT fear old age, that it is NOT a time of suffering and abandonment and that there is something to look forward to. "'Because he loves me,' says the Lord, 'I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.'"
• The Truth of God's Word confirms that if or when we have to face a disease or a terminal disease, that death is NOT something to fear and suffering is NOT a time of hopelessness and despair. "'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.'" (John 11:25).
• The Truth of God's Word encourages us when we are financially challenged or in poverty. It tells us that our success in life does NOT depend on the measure of wealth we have accumulated, but on our friendship with God. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:25-33.
• The Truth of God's Word clarifies our perception of God, establishing the fact that we must NOT be perfect before God before He will accept us. It says, that we CANNOT change ourselves by our own attempts and CANNOT work at being better people. "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." John 15:4.
• The Truth of God's Word supports us in our weakest points. It specifies our incredible worth, clarifying who we are and what our true purpose in life is, where to find real love and meaning and how to put things in the right perspective. "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has born? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands." Isaiah 49:15, 16. See also Romans 8:28-38.

• The Truth of God's Word educates us that not everyone will like us and treat us fairly in life, but that's okay. When we are with God we can stand up to being treated badly because the treatment by others doesn't cancel out the high value God places on us as His children
• The Truth of God's Word teaches us that if we don't succeed at everything we do, we need not beat ourselves up about it. We look ahead, learn from our mistakes and by God's help, move positively into the future.
• The Truth of God's Word warns us that we will go through suffering and through trials. Nevertheless, in spite of difficult times, we can know that we are never alone and "that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him." Romans 8:28

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through the presence of the Truth of God's Word, we can keep tuned in to only the truth. We need to ask God for an urgency to build our lives around studying His Word daily. We need to ask God to show us the deep spiritual mysteries in His Word—mysteries that will bring us deep seated happiness and contentment, irrespective of our circumstances. We need to ask to God shelter us from Satan’s lies and give us the determination to memorize God’s Word and get into the habit of making His Word the focus of our thoughts
 

"Through His Truth we were saved . . . through His Truth we are set free . . ."