As we take this journey to learn the truth about lies and our engagement with the world, the flesh, and the devil, below you will find videos of each message as well as the weekly reflections. For those who want to go further, see the deeper dive sections.
CULTIVATING OUR HEART REFLECTION:
Reflect on the disciplines or rhythms that crucify our flesh and cultivate our heart. Ask the Lord to highlight the one that is needed most in your life. Make a practical commitment by writing down when and how you will practice that rhythm in your life.
A DEEPER DIVE:
Read through Galatians 5:22-26. Reflect on which characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit you would like to see further developed in your life. Ask the Lord to show you how He wants to cultivate your heart so that He can produce His fruit in your life and act on what He says.
THE SUBSTANCE OF DECEPTION REFLECTION:
Reflect on one area where you are struggling with the desires of your flesh and giving in to self-gratification. Identify the strongest desire you believe is driving your behavior. Ask the Lord to reveal to you what your deepest desire is and surrender it to Him so that He can satisfy it.
A DEEPER DIVE:
Identify where you might have rejected God (my way instead of God’s way) or replaced God (my way is better than God’s way). Reflect on what causes you to choose your way over God’s way. Go to Biblegateway.com and use the search tool to find out what the Bible says about the topic or area you have identified. Take one practical step this week to live God’s way instead of your own.
OVERCOMING THE WORLD REFLECTION:
Reflect on where you may be on autopilot in your relationship with Jesus. Have you become unaware of the effects of the world in your life? Ask the Lord to make you aware of areas in your life effected by the world, areas where you are on autopilot.
A DEEPER DIVE:
Think about the phrase “in the world but not of it” and how it pertains to your life. Which way on the pendulum have you swung? So in the world that you cannot be bothered with associating with people who are unlike you or don’t know Jesus? Or so of the world that you have forgotten how Jesus has taught you to live?Ask the Lord to guide you to a holy tension of living in the middle, truly in the world but not of it.
A SYSTEM OF DECEPTION REFLECTION:
Reflect on what you trust most to guide your life. Has the world deceived you into trusting your desires, your feelings, the wisdom of others or yourself? Imagine what life would be like if you truly trusted God to guide your life. How would your life be different?
A DEEPER DIVE:
Identify where you might have rejected God (my way instead of God’s way) or replaced God (my way is better than God’s way). Reflect on what causes you to choose your way over God’s way. Go to Biblegateway.com and use the search tool to find out what the Bible says about the topic or area you have identified. Take one practical step this week to live God’s way instead of your own.
DEALING WITH THE DEVIL REFLECTION:
Identify one area in your life you believe can never change. Reflect on what lie comes into your mind that makes you believe it can never change. Surrender this lie completely to the Lord in order to receive the truth of his victory so that what the enemy has been using for evil in your life, God can begin to turn it around for your good.
A DEEPER DIVE:
The Devil can deceive us into seeking God’s approval, power, and plan for our life through meeting false needs that God never desired for us to fulfill. This week, read the entire chapter of John 14 and ask Jesus where you have tried to find fulfillment that isn’t through Jesus, “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
THE AUTHOR OF DECEPTION REFLECTION:
Identify where the deception of the devil has caused you to overestimate the seriousness of your sinful condition or become confident in your spiritual or religious status. Surrender your sinful condition or your spiritual status to the Lord and humbly walk in His forgiveness and truth.
A DEEPER DIVE:
The devil can deceive us into unknowingly rejecting or disregarding the teachings of Jesus. This week, read the entire chapter of Matthew 5 and ask Jesus where He is calling you again to obey His teachings.
THE ORIGINAL LIE REFLECTION:
Identify where deception has led you to lie to yourself or others in order to cover shame, hide from God, live in fear, or avoid responsibility. Reflect on one way you could speak and live the truth instead of a lie in one of these areas this week.
A DEEPER DIVE:
Deception begins with a thought spark by a question. Often our questions reveal our distrust of God. Where have you questioned God in your life? Have you changed what you know God has said by either adding or subtracting from it? Reflect on where you struggle to trust God and why. Surrender your trust in yourself and trust that God loves you.
THE EPICENTER OF DECEPTION REFLECTION:
Identify one lie you tell yourself or others. Reflect on what motivates you to tell the lie and imagine what your life would look like if you stopped telling the lie and told the truth.
A DEEPER DIVE:
In order to go beyond just telling the truth to believing and living it, honestly make a list of the lies you tell or are living. Use this list as a means to confess to the Lord the deception you have allowed in your life. After confessing, commit to following Jesus by telling the truth one lie at a time until the list of lies have been replaced with the truth.