Lies Women Believe – And Knock it Off: Lie #4 – I can’t read the Bible.

​So now we have come to the cream of the crop, the epitome of evil lies I hear way too often. There are many others we could tackle but this one will be our final one in this little series we have been on for the last four weeks. In dealing with this lie, we will both demolish this foolish deception and equip ourselves with weaponry to ward off future attacks.

For those of you just tuning in, welcome, we are dealing with lies straight from Hell that target women in order to smash their witness. Keeping them sidetracked and unfocused on what really matters –the advancement of the gospel and unity of the body. We, being women who desire to live courageous lives serving a great God, need to refuse to play nice with lies like this. We need to stamp them out fast and furiously leaving no ugly trace of the enemy in our homes or hearts. If this is a lie you struggle with, it is also exactly why you may be having problems with the other lies we have been addressing. So, let’s go…

LIE #4: I can’t read my Bible. Other popular forms of this same lie: I’m too busy, I can’t understand it, it’s too confusing, I don’t like to read, I’m not a good reader, the Pastor/Priest/Minister tells me what it says, blah, blah, blah. Can you tell I’ve heard this one a few (hundred) times and that I’m not buying it? There are very rare possible exceptions to this: 1.) you are illiterate and cannot read, if so, you need to get help so you can read...but, hey that’s not you because you are reading this right now. 2.) You are like my Christian brother Jose in Guatemala and are blind and dying (though even he was listening to the Bible read to him via a special device) once again, not you since you can see these words. 3.) You are comatose or experiencing a medical trauma of some kind at this moment. Other than these I can’t think of any other reasons off the top of my head where this would be okay.

I may sound a little snarky, but this is just a display of how passionate I am about people reading the Bible (if this is new to you, you have not been reading my blogs for very long). No excuse holds water for me. As I’ve said before, if you have time to breathe you have time to read God’s Word.

“My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.” Proverbs 4:20-22
God’s words are life and bring healing. This is true life and deep spiritual healing. God’s word is about Jesus, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14. Jesus is full of the grace we desperately need for our salvation (due to our sinful nature) and full of the truth we need to be living a wise and godly life. Reading the Bible is like reading Jesus. This alone should cause you to grab it up and dig in.

As Christians (to whom this is addressed) you should have an internal drive to know God more and to serve him better. This always begins by being in the scriptures. The author of Hebrews tells us that “in these last days he [God] has spoken to us by his Son” 1:2. Are you wanting answers in your life? Direction? Wisdom? Do you desire to hear from God? I sure do and hope you do too! Then we need to be reading what he has to say to us. He is such a gracious God that he has not left us without instruction; we don’t have to wander around blindly. God has already given us eyes to see, we just have to open the book and read. “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.” Psalm 119:130. Let the Bible be the first place you go every time for answers.

Ladies, I want you to understand me clearly on this: the Devil will stop at nothing to keep you out of this dangerous book we call the Holy Bible. He will keep you busy, cloud your thoughts, try to confuse you, make you feel stupid, and encourage you to cling thoughtlessly to traditions and blind teachings. He hates you. He hates Jesus. He hates the truth and wants to keep you far from it. News flash – he can’t have his way in our lives because we belong to Christ. Don’t put up with his trickery!

Desire the truth above all, stop at nothing to get it into your mind and heart. Don’t ignorantly take other people’s teachings as solid. I don’t care if they wear fancy robes and hats, speak with big words or have the alphabet behind their name – I’m not fooled by costumes, titles or educational degrees I’ve read the truth for myself. “Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies,” Psalm 119:98. Check everything and everyone against the truth of the Scripture.

​Ladies, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11. No more entertaining lies, kill them all with the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Eph. 6:17.

It comes down to who you believe – a God who loves you, died for you, saved you and has promised good to you. Or an enemy who hates every bone in your body and is disgusted every time you start to look more like Jesus. Yep, answer is clear…now act like it. Read the truth of God’s Word every day - you breathe, you read.

“Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.” Psalm 119:165.