Day 2: Put off falsehood
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body (Ephesians 4:25)
Our great and loving Father, You are faithful and righteous and true. All Your words are true. All Your righteous laws are eternal (Psalm 119:160).
Long ago, You spoke Your command through Your prophet, Don’t scheme against each other. Stop your love of telling lies that you swear are the truth. I hate all these things, says the Lord” (Zechariah 8:17 - NLT). And all throughout Your word, You continue to emphasize Your abhorrence of lies and falsehood.
You, God, detest lies because You are Truth. Our Lord Jesus declared His identity as God and as Truth (John 14:6). He came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). So anything or anyone that is not truth is not of You.
The Lord Jesus spoke of the devil as the father of lies (John 8:44) and for good reason. The world is constantly influenced by his wiles, his schemes, his deceit—he even masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).
We see so much evidence of that all around us in this dark world with its mirages and false illumination. More and more we see the deceits and the deceptions piling up—in every sphere, in every sector of life. We see the distrust, the instability, and the confusion it creates. And increasingly we feel the terrible repercussions of lying and deceit in all the issues that touch our lives.
Except for Your power, Your strength, and Your grace we have no defense against the frightening realities of our times. But we hold on to the promise of the Lord Jesus who gave us the reassurance that He would send us the Holy Spirit and that He will guide you into all the truth (John 16:13).
Lord, You have called us into a new life as members of Your body. Receiving You means rejecting falsehood. Transform us, and sanctify us by Your truth (John 17:17). Impress on us Your holy view of lies and deceit—Your word tells us that You hate a lying tongue and consider it detestable (Proverbs 6:16-17).
Show us the unwary or subtle ways we engage in falsehood—in speech, behavior, or approval. Deliver us from compromise, and from fraud or deceit under any guise. Teach us to walk in truth with pure motives. Teach us to embrace truth in the radical way David describes:
Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret, I will put to silence... No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in my presence (Psalm 101:5,7).
We pray, as he did, Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long (Psalm 25:5).
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