Return To Sender

Every now and then, actually every time I go to the mailbox, there is mail amongst my mail that has somebody else’s name on it. So weird right haha!? I usually leave it on the kitchen counter until I can write RTS (return to sender) on it and drop it back in the mailbox. I’m eating a late lunch right now and decided to go grab a pen to write RTS on the outside of the envelope and Holy Spirit literally just downloaded a message.

He showed me that the mail that was sent to the wrong address is analogous to lies the enemy sends to our address…the address of our minds. That is the way the enemy tries to deceive us…by getting us to believe a lie. The battlefield is in our minds!

So, I’m currently looking at this envelope and the first thing I think is, “That’s not me! Let me go ahead and write RTS on the envelope so this can be returned to the sender.” Then I thought, if I didn’t know my identity…if I didn’t know who I am (hi my name is LaRonda 🙂 ), I would have just opened up that mail as if it was for me just because of the fact that it was sent to my address. This is similar to the importance of us knowing our identity In Christ!

Every thought that comes to mind may not always be the truth. The mind is where the enemy tries to defeat us so it makes sense that he would try to get us to believe lies. But we are not ignorant of his devices (2 Corinthians 2:11). The Word of God says that we are to take EVERY thought captive to the obedience of Christ! (2 Corinthians 10:5) I used to think, “Okay, I’ll take all the thoughts that don’t seem good and bring them to the obedience of Christ.” The problem with this is that’s not what the Bible says! It says “take EVERY thought captive to the obedience of Christ!”

The thing about a lie is that it can be close to the truth. So close that it looks like the truth. It’s like a disguise. Like a wolf in sheep’s clothing! So, if we just decide to take some thoughts captive it leaves room for lies to slip in. Does that make sense? God wants to help us in identifying the truth and rejecting the lies. He gave us Himself (The Word) as well as the Holy Spirit. The Word of God is truth (John 17:17) and the Holy Spirit leads us into all truth (John 16:13). We don’t have to go through life trying to battle the lies of the enemy alone.

So, the next time the enemy tries to convince you that you’re not good enough, not forgiven, not loved, not accepted, not whatever….go ahead and write RTS on that thought and call it out for what it is…a lie! Be blessed!

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas! I’m sure most of us are familiar with this popular phrase. I remember visiting Vegas for the first time as a 16 year old and being amazed at the sights. The water show at the Bellagio, Treasure Island, Caesars Palace, and CircusCircus are a few of the attractions I remember seeing. I was in Las Vegas for a summer camp at UNLV and remember going out to sight see with the group one day.

After walking around during the day and checking out various attractions we all meet up for dinner at one of the casinos and later went to go see a Lance Burton magic show at the Monte Carlo. This was the first professional, well the first ever, magic show I had been to so I was really interested to see what it was like. Upon walking in the lobby of the Monte Carlo, there was an amateur magician at a table entertaining people with a few small tricks. I recall watching them very closely so that I could pick up on any kind of flaw and call it out. Yeah yeah…I was that person lol. Finally it was time to go inside to watch the show so I went to find my seat. At the beginning of the show, there were a few smaller acts by other magicians and then I remember the main magician, Lance Burton, coming out on the stage. I honestly don’t recall all of the tricks that he did during his show but I do remember his performance being bigger and more daring than the first couple of acts. Of course I watched all of the performances closely looking for even the slightest flaw but I found none. I was amazed! Although I tried to rationalize in my mind how certain tricks could have been done, I didn’t figure it out. The show really was amazing!

Vegas was tons of fun (in the most PG way possible…perhaps just the G) and I didn’t even think about the time I attended that show in the past until the Holy Spirit recently started revealing something to me. He gave me a visual of a lesson He was teaching me and reminded me of the magic show in Vegas. He showed me that a magician relies on deception to be successful. If they are able to deceive their audience the magic show is a success. Similarly, Satan relies on deception to be successful. He’s a deceiver (Revelation 12:9) and the father of lies (John 8:44). If he is able to deceive his audience, you and I, he succeeds. The success of both a magician and Satan hinges on the ability to trick our mind and make things that aren’t true or real appear real. This is mind blowing because we operate and literally live based on the truth we believe. If you believe a lie, you will operate your life around that lie because that is what you believe to be true, although it is actually a lie…crazy huh?

This revelation reinforces why it is so important that we fill our mind with the truth of God’s Word and believe it! Not the lies of the enemy! That’s why the Bible tells us to meditate on God’s Word day and night! We operate on the truth we believe and we need to make sure the truth we believe is aligned with God’s Word! Deception from the enemy starts with a lie! Most of the shortcomings I’ve personally had, I can trace back to a lie I believed. Even Adam and Eve were deceived into believing a lie (Genesis 3:1)! I find that many times the enemy likes to attack our identity. To make us unaware, or have unbelief, of who we are in Christ! Check out Jesus experience with this in Matthew 4:3-4. Satan’s job is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10)! That’s what he does and he will seek to do this by any means necessary. So, the next time the enemy tries to deceive you with a lie replace it with the truth of God’s Word! Believe God’s Word! DON’T BELIEVE THE LIE!