LIE. A Noun: used with reference to a situation involving deception or founded on a mistaken impression.

Christians tell lies.

This might surprise you. After all, the Bible clearly tells us in Leviticus 19:11 "Thou shalt not lie". And yet we lie to ourselves and each other every single day.I don't think there is a malicious or evil intention with the lies we tell. I honestly think we have been telling ourselves lies for so long that we just believe it as truth. We have a mistaken impression.

Today I am uncovering lies we tell ourselves in regards to spending time in the Word with the Lord in hopes that we can start living by what the Word actually says, and not by our personal interpretation of the Word of God.

I pray you have the strength to make it to the end of this post. If you do, I believe you will be set free from lies you have believed.

Every day I hear from women who have trouble consistently staying in the Word of God. When asked what you struggle with most as a Christian, most women will say "TIME". They don't have time to get into the Word. They don't have time to quiet themselves before the Lord. They don't have the time to read the Word daily or pray. If only they had more time, they could get alone with God more consistently.

Guess what, dear sisters, you've believed a lie.

LIE: I don't have enough time in the day to spend with the Lord.

We are all given the same twenty four hours a day. How is it that some people seem to have an abundance of time to spend with the Lord, and others can't squeeze a minute to be with their Creator?

You've believed a lie from the enemy if you believe you don't have enough time to spend with Jesus every day.

A wonderful sister emailed me a little breakthrough she had. She said she had a few hours before going to bed that I didn't need to work. I wanted to color and watch Frasier on Netflix. Instead, I opened the Word and spent the next hour with the Lord in the book of Ruth. It was the most precious time that I would have missed if I gave that time to something other than Jesus. I CHOSE to open the Word and spend time with Jesus.

TRUTH: You are choosing to not spend time with the Lord.

Let's paint a picture. You set your alarm to wake up an hour before the kids wake up so that you can spend time in the Word.

So you drag yourself out of bed, start the coffee pot. . . .

. . . and just have the thought to check on Pinterest

. . . which leads you to checking the news

. . . oh and Facebook, what happened last night?

. . . and your email, let's just get that out of the way before I open the Word.

. . . and before you know it the kids are up, the day is started, and you've wasted your morning with the Lord.

The brutal truth: You had the time, you wasted it.

Or another picture . . .

You sit down at the end of the day determined to read your Word before bed. But you are way to tired to read . . . but not too tired to watch the newest Netflix Original.

The brutal truth: You had the time, you wasted it.

We live in a culture that wants to blame everyone for every little thing instead of taking responsibility for our own actions. So instead of admitting that WE are choosing not to spend time with the Lord. We blame the “enemy".

"The enemy just totally distracted me this morning, and I missed my time with the Lord because I found this great new recipe on Pinterest. Tomorrow I will fight off the enemy."

My Friend, STOP blaming the enemy for something you willingly did.

LIE: The enemy is keeping me from spending time with God.

Dear sisters, please listen to me and listen to me closely.

There are three lies Christians tell but there is truth that can set us free.

The enemy is not keeping you from studying the Word of God. The enemy is not keeping you from praying. The enemy is not keeping you from opening up the book and reading it. You are keeping you from studying the word of God. You are keeping you from praying. You are keeping you from opening the book and reading it.

I am sorry if that comes across as harsh, sisters, but it is the truth, and if we are ever going to be strong Women of God we need to heed the truth.

Perhaps you have heard the following in daily banter, or even spoken the following:

"The enemy is keeping me from studying the Word."
"The enemy is causing me to become distracted during my quiet time with Jesus."
"Just fight off the enemy. He is at your heels today, friend.”
"Show the devil who is boss today."
"I just have to fight off the enemy when he tries to take me from my time with Jesus.”

I'm going to really challenge some of you today. These are all lies. Sure, the enemy has the power to suggest, but he cannot force you to do anything.

TRUTH: THE ENEMY HAS BEEN DEFEATED! Why do you keep resurrecting him?

In Luke 10, the Lord sent out seventy to prepare the way of the Lord, and to bring in a harvest of believers much as The Twelve had done. In verse 17, the seventy returned with joy to Jesus saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”

Jesus responded in Luke 10:18-19, “ And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

When you submit yourself to God, the enemy has to flee! (James 4:7)

Our God holds the keys of Death and Hell (Revelation 1:18) and that same power that conquered, destroyed, and defeated the enemy, is in you!!! (Romans 8:11)

LIE: The Enemy is distracting me from opening the Word.

The father of lies entered into this world as a serpent in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:4-5 tells us that the serpent SUGGESTED to Eve that she would not die by eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In fact, she would be like God. Eve believed the lie. She ate the apple. She believed the serpent. She ignored the voice of her Creator.

The serpent did not pick her hand up, and the serpent did not force the apple into her mouth anymore than he picked up your hand and forced you to go in Facebook over studying the Word of God.

Eve made a choice to eat the apple the same way we make a choice to open up God's Word or not.

TRUTH: He has no power. The devil didn't cause you to do anything. He can't. He has no power. All he has in his arsenal is the art of suggestion and lies.

Matthew 10:1 says, "And when Jesus had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them POWER over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease." The same verse is documented in Mark 6:7 and Luke 9:1.

Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? Yes? Then guess what, you have THE POWER given to you by Jesus Christ to cast out unclean spirits and have power of them.

I am not suggesting the enemy doesn't try to dissuade you from spending time in the Word. He knows the Word is our weapon against him so he is going to TRY to keep you from the Word through the power of suggestion. Are you allowing yourself to be deceived?

Once again, all the devil has in his arsenal is the art of suggestion and he is very good at it. John 8:44 says, "He (Satan) was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”

He may lie. He may cheat. He may try to persuade. He may deceive. BUT he cannot MAKE YOU do ANYTHING! You have the choice whether you are going to listen to the father of lies or to the Father of Light.

Have you made it to the end of this post? Good for you! I am proud of you. I wrote this post out of love for the people of God, and concern at all of the lies that are being spread . . . again, not maliciously, but because we don’t want to take responsibility for our actions.

But Erika (you may say), The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”, and today, he is devouring me by keeping me from the Word. My response to anyone who may say or think those words.

“Dear sister, read 1 Peter 5:8 again, very slowly.” 1 Peter 5:8 tells us that he walks around AS a roaring lion . . . he ISN’T A ROARING LION. He is nothing! All he can do is disguise himself as a big scary lion roaring, and devouring anyone in his path. Oh he tries. He tries to devour, but he only can devour you if you give him the opportunity.

Our God is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He has all the power and dominion, and that same power to conquer the enemy is IN YOU! So stop. Just stop blaming the enemy for every little thing. You are better than that. You are more than a conquerer through Jesus who loves you. (Romans 8:37)

HOW TO GET INTO THE WORD and IGNORE THE FATHER OF LIES.

Get rid of the phone and social media. Put it in another room, turn off the ringer, and get rid of it! Give God all of your attention.
When the suggestions come to keep you from the Word of God, rebuke them. When you rebuke the devil, he has to flee!
Take a day or two, and write down everything you do. Yes, it is tedious. But it will also show you where you are wasting time, and when you can study.
Put the kids to bed early, turn off the television, and read the Word.
Open the Word.
Read the Word.
Just do it! Stop saying you don’t know how. You don’t know where to start. Don’t pick up just one more devotional that you will be bored of. Just open up to a book of the Bible and read it! God will inspire you, and meet you in that place.
Begin Scripture writing. The act of writing the Word keeps me focused and distraction free.
Take your lunch break with Jesus. Open the Word in the middle of the day, and have lunch with the Lord.
Once again . . . OPEN THE WORD! REBUKE THE ENEMY. STOP GIVING HIM POWER. AND JUST DO IT!

I know this post is different from some of my previous posts, but it is extremely important for the body of Christ to take responsibility to their actions instead of blaming the enemy or anyone else for that matter.

If you want God to move in your life . . . if you want to hear His voice . . . if you want to see miracles in your marriages, families, and lives, then you must know His Word and how He speaks.

Another journal, another devotional, another Bible Study, will not help you get into the Word of God. You have the time. You have the only instruction book you need. Now, dear friend, be strong and go do it!