This year’s theme was “MIRAGE” and our theme scripture was Colossians 2:8
Colossians 2:8
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces[a] of this world rather than on Christ.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces[a] of this world rather than on Christ.
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.
I would like to share some thoughts today with you from the “Ruth Rally” Weekend. For those of you that attended the event consider this a recap. I thought that it was important to share this with you because I know that as women we are bombarded with many decisions in the course of a day.
When we are busy and feeling overworked, super tired and in many cases unappreciated, Satan has a way of getting into our heads. There are other times when everything is going right and we think we are on top of our game that we have a tendency to think that we did it all. There again Satan can fill our heads with his lies and thus we have a “Mirage”.
So what is a “Mirage?”
The scientific definition is a mirage is a refraction of light rays from an object through layers of air having different densities which is the result of unequal temperature distributions.
Now that I have given you the scientific definition, what this really means is that a mirage is something that falsely appears to be real.
In Genesis 2:15-17 God gives specific instructions.
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
In Genesis 3:1-7 Satan convinces the woman that God’s way is not to her benefit thus we have The First Mirage.
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
Since the beginning of time Satan has sent Mirage after Mirage our way; leaving us in a dry thirsty land of lies, sin and disappointment.
Beware that you are not taken captive by his lies. These lies are designed to pull you from the truth and to make you question the faithful promises of God and ultimately lose your soul to eternal damnation. Generally these lies are about externals.
Examples of the lies that Satan tells us:
I will finally be happy when…..
I have more money.
13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Stand firm and don’t allow the enemy to rob you of a life of unspeakable joy and the unparalleled blessing of living eternally with our amazing and ever faithful God.
Be Blessed, and study God’s word so that Truth will always be revealed to you.
Ask yourself:
1. What lies have I allowed Satan to tell me?
2. What were the consequences for believing the lies?
3. What was going on in my life at the time I allowed this to be fertile ground for his lies to take root and grow?
