Today's Scripture
Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 NLT
Thoughts for Today
When a problem behavior or relationship is developing in our lives, we don’t want to face the truth about our actions because of the painful feelings honesty would bring. Instead, we try using defenses to cover the truth or excuse ourselves. Defenses can be used appropriately, but when we use them to avoid facing the truth about ourselves, they make delusion even darker.
Each person has a favorite set of defenses. A few of the commonly used ones are blaming, denying, explaining, joking, justifying, minimizing and rationalizing.
What defenses have you used? And are you using any right now to cover a problem in your life?
Consider this…
Truth brings freedom. One Living Free participant who found freedom from his own delusions said this: “The Bible says the truth shall set you free. And it’s interesting because the fear of the truth coming out is ten times worse than the embarrassment, even the ongoing embarrassment, of the actual truth. When it came out, it was like I was free from this ton of bricks I’d been carrying around, the double life I was living.”
Are you hiding from the truth in some area of your life? Take a giant step: Be honest with yourself. Be honest with Jesus. Be honest with others. Jesus is the Truth … and the truth will set you free!
Prayer
Father, thank you for your promise that the truth will set me free. Please set me free from delusions in my life. Set me free to become all that you want me to be. In Jesus’ name …
These thoughts were drawn from…
Living Free. This study will help you learn to ...
Understand life-controlling issues - how they develop and the impact they have on individuals and families.
Prevent life-controlling problems or deal with them in your own life.
Help others with life-controlling issues. If you decide to become a facilitator of a Living Free small group, this training will help equip you to lead a small group effectively.
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