And no marvel, for Satan himself is being transfigured into a messenger of light.
2 Corinthians 11: 14 , Concordant New Testament
I received a encouraging email from a dear friend this week. He was reminding me to never speak the words of accusation. These were timely words of advice, as I was in the middle of a situation where my own confidence was being questioned. I was indeed hearing the words of my accuser. I wasn't good enough. There was no good in me. Satan has never stopped tossing accusations at me that he wants me to accept as true....and he never will. I know that I'm not alone in this respect, for there are countless people out there whom the accuser has convinced of his lies. This is how it begins. When we give credence to Satan and his lies we are speaking accusations unto ourselves. If one is not strong enough to withstand and/or deflect these lies, our life could become dark and miserable. Don't get me wrong, this is what our accuser desires. That is his game plan. So, how is it that we can be strong enough to withstand Satan's words of accusation? By being totally confident in the truth of who it is we really are. To realize this we will take heed of the words of the apostle Paul. It is Paul who spoke to the reality of Christ Jesus in us {Galatians 2:20}. It is also Paul who, on a road to Damascus, was suddenly introduced to the man he truly was. The trouble is, Saul had been persecuting this man for some time. He had become a slave to Satan's accusations. Yet in an instant, Paul was introduced to the One who would transform his life, and in doing so, the faith of the entire world. For we have no more accurate description of the indwelling Christ than the words of Paul. It is from these words that I draw my own confidence of the man I truly am. Am I the sinful man which my accuser continues to convince me of? No, for Jesus has provided for me the death of sin {Romans 6:6}. That's right, not only did Jesus die upon the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, but He put sin to death in the process. These two events are intertwined. Of course, the accuser will continue to remind us that the truth we accept is nothing but ancient history.
"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the most high.'
Isaiah 14: 12-14 NKJV
We do well to remember that the very words of accusation spoken from Satan are spoken from he who was thrown out of heaven by the One true God of the universe. It is also true that the final fate of our accuser has already been decided. When that time comes, he will be thrown into the lake of fire never to accuse anyone again {Revelation 20:10}. The question remains, however, how many of the Lords children will he drag down with him? For just because one might buy into the lies of the accuser does not in any way make them true. Donald Trump would call them fake news. If Satan accuses you of being a sinful person and incapable of the indwelling Christ in you, it is by no means true. Remember, it is Jesus Himself who dealt with that sin issue once and for all. In my own case, the lies of the accuser told me that I was not good enough for the friendship of others. That, of course, is a lie. By speaking with the boldness of Christ into our lives we can defeat the lies of the accuser. Jesus didn't do anything halfway, He went all out. When He healed, He spoke healing into that person. When He forgives you, His scars speak to all He endured for you. For his part, what has Satan ever done for you besides fill your life with accusations? In the end, those accusations will never provide for us what Jesus has given to us. That is His very presence in us.
In whom the god of this eon blinds the apprehensions of the unbelieving so that the illumination of the evangel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of the invisible God, does not irradiate them.
2 Corinthians 4: 4, Concordant New Testament
~Scott~
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