He had weathered many turbulent storms, but none had threatened to drive him to an early grave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had fled from his incensed elder twin after robbing him of his birthright, so much for his gutsiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had survived the horror of getting duped by his uncle Laban, forced to toil seven more years for the woman he loved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had wrestled with God and broken a hip socket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had braved a precarious reunion with his estranged twin brother, still wary of his fury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had been through life\u2019s wringer and survived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everything that could go wrong had already gone belly up.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Or so he thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCould this be your son\u2019s tunic?\u201d One of his sons had blithely asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour son,\u201d not \u201cOur brother\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n He was used to the undisguised contempt for his pet, the son of his old age<\/p>\n\n\n\n With trembling hands, he inspected the familiar tunic. The dazzling colours he had carefully picked were now stained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He gagged at the earthy metallic smell it exuded before crumbling to a heap on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He ripped off his clothes and donned sackcloth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His skies had grayed; he would mourn his son for days on end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWithout a doubt, a wild beast has devoured him!\u201d he whimpered with quivering lips (Gen 37:33)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without a doubt.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Only that Jacob was dead wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because things are not always what they seem.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The only kid dead was a young goat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His son was alive, tucked away in Egypt, swapped for twenty shekels of silver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jacob would peg the rest of his life on the \u201cbloody\u201d lie until his miraculous reunion with Egypt\u2019s Prime Minister – Joseph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grief weaved through every meal he nibbled on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It leaked into every conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The master deceiver could not catch a whiff of the deceit served him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Egypt, God\u2019s plan was taking shape,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joseph was getting propelled to power, one hardship at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father\u2019s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.<\/em>\u201d (John 8:44)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Even if someone (definitely not you) took the devil, flipped him upside down, and wrung out all his devilish contents, there\u2019s not an ounce of truth that would be traced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not even a drop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It would be much easier to empty an ocean with a thimble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His native language is lies, and he winds up as the patriarch in the \u201cLie-ology\u201d department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When he schemes against the children of God, he relishes using lies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But that\u2019s not all, perhaps he\u2019s been lying to you a lot lately,<\/p>\n\n\n\n It could be through a medical report or a strained relationship with your spouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe you are dealing with an errant child or are smack dab in a financial rut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If he could lie to our esteemed Fathers of Faith, you bet he will throw darts at you as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But are you going to succumb?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Wouldn\u2019t you want to flesh the lies out like you would a thorn stuck in your foot?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Will you confuse goat\u2019s blood for human blood?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Yours is to stack up the lies against the truth nestled in God\u2019s word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When he presents sickness, call out the lie and clutch onto the promise for divine health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When he whispers that your financial spine will never straighten, hold on to the promise of abundance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take up the shield of faith and quench those false fiery darts (Ephesians 6:16).<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fight the good fight of faith and lay hold on eternal life (1 Timothy 6:12).<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s what Jesus did, brandishing the scriptures to shoo the lying devil away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He neutered each lie with the truth by proclaiming: \u201cIt is written!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get to know what\u2019s written about your health, marriage, education, career, finances, children, and every area of your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jacob had a hunch that Joseph was different from his other sons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He loved and favored him above them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being happy-go-lucky and overly chatty, Joseph freely spat out his dreams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In one of them, his whole family, including his parents, was bowing before him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although appalled at the thought, Jacob couldn\u2019t shake off the matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joseph\u2019s words roamed freely in his mind (Gen 37:11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The matter poked him incessantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He pondered and mulled on it constantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He had a hunch that Joseph was no ordinary kid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But when the blood-drenched tunic was laid at his feet, he let go of all hope.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Aren\u2019t you and I also guilty of discarding hope when distress checks in?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tossing away all the promises our hearts have previously nursed from God\u2019s word?<\/p>\n\n\n\n When trouble checks in, let\u2019s quarry the truth from God\u2019s word.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s find out first what God\u2019s infallible word says about our circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s not confuse goat\u2019s blood for human blood.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In which areas of your life is the devil having a field day?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In which areas has he blinded you with lies?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Take time in prayer and study of the word, and claim God\u2019s promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t allow your life to be steered by a faulty, broken, good-for-nothing compass.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yours is to stack up the lies against the truth nestled in God\u2019s word. When he presents sickness, call out the lie and clutch onto the promise for divine health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faith-life"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\n\n\nDetect the Lies<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\nBack to Jacob<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Reflection<\/h1>\n\n\n\n