invasive lies and the power of truth

I have had intimate relationships with lies.  Invited them into the sheets of my mind and performed lewd acts of indulgence with them.  Forgive me, Father - I have sinned indeed.

"Who are these lies?" you ask.  I blush to admit, but I divulge so that perhaps you might not be so foolish as I have been.  These dark lies have penetrated me, but I was the one who opened.  Here are but a few of my partners:

You are not enough.

You are a failure.

You are fat.

You are useless.

You will never measure up.

No one takes you seriously.

You are weak and your voice is small.

You'll never reach your goals.

You might as well give up and run away.

You're nothing but a screw-up.

Your family wishes they could trade you in.

To my credit, I have an enemy who makes a lie look like handsome, seductive validity.   He tricks me and sometimes I am duped. Conned.  Deceived.  Shamed by the Father of Lies, and yes, that is his name. 

"Your father is the devil, and you do exactly what he wants. He has always been a murderer and a liar. There is nothing truthful about him. He speaks on his own, and everything he says is a lie. Not only is he a liar himself, but he is also the father of all lies." -John 8:44

 Oh how I hate him and how he has ravaged and raped my thoughts.  

However ... he is NOT my father, and I am learning how to say - rather, scream - NO!!!  I'm learning how to fight back.  And as low as I've been in that pit of dark lies, lying there with the enemy - I'm learning how to fly high above the clouds into the sunlight.

"Because Satan's primary weapon is the lie, your defense against him is the truth.  Dealing with Satan is not a power encounter; it is a truth encounter.  When you expose Satan's lie with God's truth, his power is broken.  That is why Jesus said, 'You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.' (John 8:32)" -Neil Anderson in Victory over the Darkness.  

Today I'm making a vow.  Call it a wedding if you like.  I will no longer, as much as it depends on me, defile the marriage bed of my thoughts with that dirty, evil, conniving Snake.  I choose to work very hard to do my very best to "take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).  I choose the purity of truth.  No longer to be defiled, but to live out and think out of who I am.

The Light, the Truth, the Way - my Jesus will help me.  He will guard my mind with fierce devotion and I will refuse to usurp His power of truth by inviting these lies in.  Today I make a promise to the Lover of my soul and my MIND that I will no longer commit identity adultery with demons who tell nothing but lies.

I choose to walk and fly in the light.  The truth, as spelled out in the living Word of my God.  Here are but a few of my weapons of defense and offense in this invisible, yet more-than-real war:

You are God's precious child (John 1:12)

You are Jesus' friend and bride (John 15:15, Isa. 62:5)

You are chosen by God (John 15:16)

You are right with God through Jesus (Romans 5:1)

You are not condemned by anything (Romans 8:1)

You are secure in God's love (Romans 8:38-39)

You belong to Jesus (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

You are new and being renewed (2 Corinthians 5:17)

You are God's masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10)

God wants you to come near to Him (Ephesians 3:12)

God will never give up on you (Philippians 1:6)

Jesus has rescued you from the darkness (Colossians 1:13-14)

You don't have to be afraid (2 Timothy 1:7)

Jesus will keep you safe from the devil (1 John 5:18)

Truth is all the power I need.  If I claim it, commit to it, wed myself to it, to Him ... I can and will be safe and pure.  He has a good marriage of faithfulness planned for me, one in which my mind no longer need be pillaged and violated.  

And, dear lover of Christ - He has powerful, protective, redeeming, purifying Truth for you today as well.

Jesus I ask You today to sanctify me with Your truth (John 17:17).  Rescuer of my mind's purity - please help me.  Strengthen me to stand firm against the lies.  Help me to see them as such and refuse them access to my pondering.  Please get the Snake away from my thoughts.  I plead with You, Father, protect me with the light of your truth.  I know what you say about who I am, and I choose to believe it.

Amen