Ephesians 5:11-14 "And don't even associate with the servants of darkness because they have no fruit in them; instead, reveal truth to them. The very things they do in secret are too vile and filthy to even mention. Whatever the revelation-light exposes, it will also correct, and everything that reveals truth is light to the soul. This is why the scripture says, "Arise, you sleeper! Rise up from your coffin. The anointed one will shine his light into you.” Today's episode talks about how important it is to not associate with the servants of darkness, including negative voices in our heads. The enemy is whispering lies into our minds; he wants us to keep those thoughts in the dark. He knows that when we shine a light on his stupid lies, we will see that they are not valid. In this episode, I show you how to ask the Lord to help you identify all the lies you believe, and then we ask Him to give us His truth to replace the lies. It is a really powerful exercise. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Light To My Soul
Ephesians 5:11-14 "And don't even associate with the servants of darkness because they have no fruit in them; instead, reveal truth to them. The very things they do in secret are too vile and filthy to even mention. Whatever the revelation-light exposes, it will also correct, and everything that reveals truth is light to the soul. This is why the scripture says, "Arise, you sleeper! Rise up from your coffin. The anointed one will shine his light into you.”
I liked today’s verse because it talks about the light. I love to talk about the light. However, you can’t talk about the light without talking about the darkness as well. This is why I included the first part of this verse. It says, “And don't even associate with the servants of darkness because they have no fruit in them; instead, reveal truth to them. The very things they do in secret are too vile and filthy to even mention.” I like that the verse tells us not to associate with the servants of darkness. We spend too much time associating with the servants of darkness, and I am not talking about people you know who might be doing something you don’t like.
This verse is talking about the evil forces at work in this world. How often do we engage with that voice in our heads that fills us with worry and anxiety? That voice that tells us this bad thing will happen or that bad thing will happen. How often do we listen as the enemy tells us lies about not being worthy enough and the lie that no one likes us? This verse tells us that we should expose the lies and the darkness. This includes the lies the enemy is telling us. These consist of all of our thoughts that are unkind to ourselves. We must bring our thoughts into the light and see if they still hold up.
My favorite line in this verse is, “Whatever the revelation-light exposes, it will also correct, and everything that reveals truth is light to the soul.” Could your soul use a little more light right now? I know mine could. When we hold our thoughts up to God’s light, they don’t hold up. Have you tried bringing your thoughts to the Lord and asking if they are true? The enemy wants us to keep our private thoughts private because he knows we can see how ridiculous they are when exposed to the light.
The enemy tells us we are unworthy, yet when we shine the revelation-light on that lie we know it is not true because Jesus died on the cross to make us worthy. We are worthy, not because of our merit but because of what Christ did for us. The enemy tells us that we are not loved, yet when we hold that up to the light, we know it is not true because God repeatedly proves His love for us in the Bible. Especially in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” And Romans 5:8, "But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” There is no doubt that God loves us.
In the darkness of our mind, the enemy can get in and tell us the lie that, yes, God loves most of his children, but he does not love you. Your sin is too great. We need to hold this up to the light, and we will see that it is a lie. When we examine this statement in the light of day, we can see it is an absurd thought. If this statement were true, that would mean Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, all he went through, was not enough. Do you really believe that? Do you believe there is anything you could do that is so big that Jesus’s suffering on the cross isn’t enough to cover it?
This is why the enemy whispers this stuff to us in the darkness of our minds and why he makes us too ashamed to voice these thoughts out loud. He makes us feel as though we are all alone, and if we share our thoughts with others, they will make fun of us, yell at us, or whatever it is you think will happen if you share your vulnerable thoughts with others. The enemy knows his lies start to fall apart when you bring them out into the light. This is why he makes us afraid to say them out loud. This is why he whispers them instead of shouting them. He doesn’t want anyone to overhear them and shine light on them.
I think it is essential to focus on the part of the verse that says, “Whatever the revelation-light exposes, it will also correct.” When we bring the enemy’s lies to light, they will be corrected. Once we know the truth, the lie is harder to believe. Once we know the truth, we can ask the Lord for the strength and courage to replace that lie with the truth. We know He will do this because the verse says that whatever the light exposes, it will also correct. Wouldn’t it be great not to have all those lies in your head anymore? What if you just said them out loud and then asked the Lord what truth he would like to replace those lies with? This activity does not take very long, yet the rewards can last a lifetime.
Take a moment, quiet your mind, and ask the Lord, “What lies am I believing right now?” Then, write down all those lies. Then, go through each lie individually, saying, “In the name of Jesus, I renounce the lie that…” Once you have renounced all the lies, take a moment to sit with the Lord again. This time, you will ask him, “Lord, what truths do you want to replace these lies with.” Then, write down whatever comes into your head. Once you have a list, you can go through the truths like you did with the lies. You can say, “In the name of Jesus, I declare the truth that…” and you list each truth individually.
I did this activity with several people, and they each felt more free afterward. The enemy wants you to feel stuck, like you will always feel how you feel right now. You don’t have to feel like this forever. You don’t have to believe the lies forever. If you let the revelation light into your mind and your situation, it will reveal what needs to change and help change it. The Lord is the one who changes our situation, and yet he often requires us to help. How can we let more light into our lives?
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless everyone listening to this episode. Lord, we want to let more light into our lives. Please help us. Help us figure out what lies the enemy is whispering to us, and help us expose those lies to your truth. Help put on our hearts the desire to sit and list our lies for you so that we can renounce them and then ask you to replace them with Your truths. We love you, Lord, you are amazing. You are the king of Kings and the Lord of Lords. You are the almighty one, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name. Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. Tonight is week #3 of our Grief Series in mentoring. I hope you will click on the link below to learn more about it and join us for tonight’s session. It is on Zoom at 8 P. M. EST. I hope to see you tonight. If not, I look forward to bringing you a new witness tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day, and may the grace and favor of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you.
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in March 2024 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “It is you that I say, share all that I tell you. Share of my love. Share of your time, your joy, and your hope. It's all you share that will also bring these people to my banquet. But you must dare to share, to step out in faith, to proclaim my name to all those you meet. Thank you!”