This chapter begins by taking us back to the Garden of Eden.  Back to our sister, Eve and the deception she encountered with the serpent.   Satan knew he would have to subtly trick Adam and Eve into doubting God’s intention for them…. by using a campaign aimed at appearing reasonable and not anti-God.   Lies, half truths, and cleverly disguised falsehoods were all it took to cause Eve to doubt and to take the fruit and eat it.

God had given them everything.   Everything in the garden was theirs … BUT one thing… the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.   God knew if they ate from that tree, they would be eternally separated from Him.

I loved this quote from her on p. 31  “Satan promises the best, but pays with the worst; he promises honor and pays with disgrace; he promises pleasure, and pays with pain; he promises profit, and pays with loss; he promises life, and pays with death.”  (Puritan pastor Thomas Brooks)  Isn’t that so true?   Satan is no longer just a serpent…  he appears to us in so many different ways… he’s so hard to see sometimes…. but if we are armed with God’s truth, we can see him every time.

As women, we are prone to fall for Satan’s deception.   Oil of Olay will get rid of all those lines and wrinkles…. melt 10 pounds in 10 minutes! … I am sure you can name many, many deceptions that are thrown at women on a daily basis.

In believing something, put it to the test of these questions…

1.  What is the message here?

2.  Is it really true?

3.  Am I being deceived by a way of thinking that is contrary to the Truth?

When we don’t consider these, we can move from being deceived to being in bondage over it…. when we listen to a lie, we then dwell on the lie…ponder it, think it over… hmmm…. when we dwell on the lie, then we start to believe the lie (Genesis 3:6a) and when we believe the lie, we act on it and we are caught, hook , line and sinker.  (Genesis 3:6b-7)

How do we get free from the bondage of lies?  She lists several steps…

1. Identify the area(s) of bondage or sinful behavior.

2. Identify the lie(s) at the root of that bondage or behavior.

3. Replace the lie(s) with the Truth.

Next week, we will hit on the first of the lies women believe… lies about God.