Becky Austin

Pretty Lies

4:00 PM



Our Reading: Psalm 28 and John 5:24


There are two kinds of people. Self seeking and God seeking. Among the self seeking are those who disguise their evil intentions and dishonesty with fake smiles, fake offers, fake promises, and pretty lies. The Bible warns against such people:

“Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel are fervent lips with an evil heart. Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart; when he speaks graciously, believe him not.“ Proverbs‬ ‭26:23-25‬ ‭


David knew the sting of betrayal and the pain of not being able to trust the intentions of others.  It can be discouraging when you are an honest,genuine person in a world full of dishonesty and lies. But David knew who He could trust and who He could count on to righteously judge and demand accountability. 

“Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts. Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds; give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward. Because they do not regard the works of the Lord or the work of his hands, he will tear them down and build them up no more.”Psalm‬ ‭28:3-5‬ ‭


There used to be a time when “ a man’s word” meant something and people cared about principles and integrity. If someone said “ I give you my word” or “ I promise”, you could depend on that wholeheartedly. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could always trust the words and intentions of others.  But, sadly, that is far from the case today. In fact, think of how many times a day you are given false or misleading information, presented with false advertising and schemes, and called by telemarketers with sketchy pitches. 

Satan, being the ultimate deceiver, is also hard at work to confuse you, and lead you away from truth. In fact, one of his favorite places to attend and plant his servants includes church. “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭11:13-15‬ ‭


But no matter how many traps are set or pretty little lies are pitched your way, there is always a place of refuge. God is 100% honest, 100% genuine, 100% trustworthy. He represents unwavering,steadfast truth that you can depend on. 

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.” Psalm‬ ‭28:7‬ 


Reflection:

  1. Can you think of a time when you thought someone was being genuinely nice and helpful and they took advantage of you? How did you respond? 
  2. Do you ask God for discernment and wisdom to not be deceived, especially about spiritual matters? 
  3. Do you trust God and seek His Word as the ultimate source of truth? Do you realize He can not be your strength if you don’t trust Him? 


Prayer: Father, we thank you that we can fully trust You and Your intentions. Because we can trust You, You are our strength and comfort. We pray for Your righteous judgement against the evil intentions that are at work to craftily deceive us and do us harm.  We ask for discernment and wisdom as we study Your Word and apply your teachings. We may not be able to trust the words of mankind but we can always trust Your Word. 

Acts 5

God Above All (Acts 5)

12:30 PM




Acts 5 gives us 2 unusual stories that should make us pause and consider who exactly sits on the throne of not only the Universe, but of our heart.

In the first story, we have a couple who were, to the eyes of man, serving God. In fact, they made a great charitable gift to the Church. But this gift was tainted with intentional deception..“and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet.” (v2). Did God require all of the proceeds of the land?   Well, I’m not sure what God impressed upon their hearts to give to his ministry but I know that God did not want any gift given grudgingly.

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8) No, how much they gave was not the issue. In fact,  I don’t think they had to even sell the land at all for the apostles said that the land was their possession and under their control.  Likewise, what they chose to do with the proceeds was also their choice. So what upset God to the point that he required their lives as an example to the people? I believe it was their allegiance to Satan while trying to pretend that they were serving God. They wanted to appear noble and generous and sacrificial to “look good” and yet secretly benefit from selfish gain. They were even given opportunity to come clean before God and they still clung to their lie and deception. God was not fooled and God was not going to be mocked.

In the 2nd story, God rescues his apostles who were imprisoned for teaching His Word to the people.  “But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, "Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life." And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach..(v19–21) They did not hesitate to obey God and were willing to take the risk of being found by those who wished them harm. When questioned, they spoke truthfully and passionately: “But Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men.” (v29). 

What a shocking contrast to the first story where Ananias and Sapphira were seeking selfish gain under the guise of looking sacrificial and good. The apostles were willing to truly sacrifice, seeking to honor God only and without regard for how that pleased mankind or what it might cost them. In fact, they were honored when they had to suffer on God’s behalf and went right back into the danger zone again. “and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.” (v40-42)

God knows our hearts. He knows how devoted we are to Him and to obeying His voice. He gives us choices. He never forces our hand. But, He is God and He requires us to be honest when before man and more importantly honest before Him.  He does not want sacrifices that are done out of obligation or for earthly gain. “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. (Proverbs 21:3) It all comes down to who is on the throne of your heart? Is is self and the desire to preserve self or is it God and the desire to honor Him without concern for what it may cost? These are tough questions we have to ask ourselves with every decision we make.