EXPLODING FOUR MYTHS

God can be misunderstood! It is not His fault that He is misunderstood; it is rather the fault of satan and of human beings! We are living in a time when the TRUTH ABOUT GOD must be taught, believed and lived out in our lives. It is time for the myths about God to be exploded! In reality, myths are an invented concept, an imaginary or fictitious idea that has no merit, no proof and thus is misleading. While myths may spark interest or curiosity, they are based solely on fables, fantasy, illusion and imagination. They are not true! Concerning God, we must turn to the Bible (God's Word) for the absolute truth about God; truth about Him that affects our everyday life. We don't need myths about Him; we need absolute truth about Him. Don't you agree? Let's explode four common myths and replace them with the absolute truth about God from His Word! First, remember God is The self-revealing God. Everything we can and need to know about Him, He has told us in the Bible!

First, there is the myth that GOD IS UNREASONABLE. Unreasonable simply means acting contrary to sound judgment. It means to act irrationally, beyond what is acceptable or fair, foolishly, arbitralily, etc. God issued a clear, understandable and reasonable command to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. There was no mistaking of His Word. "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the (ONE) tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat.' " (Genesis 2:7) Satan (disguised as a serpent) arrived on the scene to tempt Eve and seek to make her believe that God was unreasonable. He said to her, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of ANY tree in the garden'?" (Genesis 3:1) THE "ONE" tree command was exaggerated and twisted by satan to be "ANY" tree in the garden. Satan always desires to exaggerate and twist the truth, then he can tempt us with three horrific ideas:

• God didn't say it.

• If God did say it, He didn't mean it.

• If God did say it and even meant it, what difference does it make? He only wants to keep us from obeying God. (Genesis 3:3-5)

Let's be very careful; satan will use the same twisted trick and exaggeration on you and me; we must be on our guard!

The TRUTH is: GOD IS A COMPASSIONATE FATHER! "The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The LORD is good to all, and His mercy is over all that He has made." (Psalm 145:8-9) Scripture clearly explodes the myth that God is unreasonable. He is good to everyone (to followers of Jesus and to those who do not follow Jesus), and His compassion is intertwined with EVERYTHING He does. "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22-23) "Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4) Our "desires" must be seasoned by our "delight" in the LORD. When we delight in Him, what we want blends in perfectly with what He wants! ". . .God richly provides us with everything to enjoy." (I Timothy 6:17) "Since He did not spare His own SON, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32) "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk (live) uprightly." (Psalm 84:11) Anytime God says "No" to us is because He Loves Us! He knows what is the very best for us!

Second, we have the myth that GOD IS UNRELIABLE. Wow, this means that God cannot be trusted. It means He is undependable, untrustworthy, irresponsible, even deceptive, fickle and treacherous. What a horrific accusation made against our God! There is no evidence whatsoever that Eve thought this of God. "The woman said to the serpent (satan) 'We may eat of the fruit of the trees (plural) in the garden, but God said 'you shall not eat of the fruit of the tree (singular) that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.' " Eve understood perfectly what God said, and at this point she had no quarrel with God's command. Seeing his first tactic did not work, satan told her, "That's a lie! You'll not die! God knows very well the instant you eat it, you'll become like Him. . . ." (Genesis 3:3-5 - The Living Bible Version) There are two phases to satan's temptations:

1) Flinging Doubt - "Did God actually say?"

2) Finalizing Deception - "God knows very well that the instant you eat it, you'll become like Him."

We must be on our guard constantly and watch intently for satan to fling doubt our way and then to solidify his deception; both tactics to move us away from trusting God and His Word!

The TRUTH is: GOD IS A CONSISTENT FATHER! He does not "play games", pretend, or make-believe with His Word or with His people. He is real, authentic, and completely consistent. He does not change His mind regarding His will, plan and purposes for our life and our relationship with Him! "For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable." (Romans 11:29) This means that God will never go back on His promises! "My God is changeless in His love for me." (Psalm 59:10 - The Living Bible Version) "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) When He says it, He means it!

Third, let's explode the myth that GOD IS UNCONCERNED ABOUT US. This common myth focuses on the false thinking that God actually does not care about us individually; He is not involved in our life; He is oblivious to our experiences, hurts, pain, adversities, problems, frustrations, and even satan's temptations that we encounter, etc. This myth is debunked by Jesus's birth, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension. In His ministry on earth, He healed the sick, made the lame to walk, the blind to see, touched the leper with cleansing, etc. He died on the cross, took our sin upon Himself, paid our spiritual debt, and took our place to give us eternal life instead of eternal death or separation from God forever.

The TRUTH is: GOD IS A CARING FATHER! "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father knowing it? God even knows how many hairs are on your head. So don't worry. YOU are worth much more than many sparrows." (Matthew 10:29-31) "Cast all your burdens on Him because He cares for you." ((I Peter 5:7) "I am the Lord, your Maker! I am He who comforts you, who promises to take care of you. . . ." (Isaiah 51:12) "The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows those who take refuge in Him." (Nahum 1:7) "And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19) Do you remember the hymn "God Will Take Care Of You" composed by Civilla Martin in 1904? Here are some of the lyrics:

"Be not dismayed whate'er betide, God will take care of you; Beneath his wings of love abide, God will take care of you.

Through days of toil when heart doth fail, God will take care of you; When dangers fierce your path assail, God will take care of you.

Chorus: God will take care of you, through ev'ry day, o'er all the way; He will take care of you, God will take care of you."

Fourth, let's explode the myth that GOD IS UNPLEASABLE. This common myth says that no matter what, God cannot be pleased with anything, by anybody, at anytime. It means that you and I will never be pleasing to God no matter how hard we try. We are told in this myth that "nothing I do is ever good enough. God is always mad at me for something." That is all a myth and a lie straight from satan himself. It is completely destroyed by Scripture!

The TRUTH is: GOD IS A CONSIDERATE FATHER! "But in every nation, anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable (pleasing) to Him." (Acts 10:35) "So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." (I John 4:16) "To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." (Ephesians 1:6) How do we PLEASE GOD? By abiding in Christ Jesus through Saving Faith; O Amazing Grace, God is well pleased with us just as He is well pleased with His Son Jesus! (Matthew 3:17) His Beloved Son paid the price in full for our APPROVAL from God the Father! God has accepted us because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit have done for us. "Long ago, even before He made the world, God chose us to be His very own through what Christ would do for us; He decided then to make us holy, without a single fault - who could stand before Him covered with His love." (Ephesians 1:4 - The Living Bible Version) "God says He will accept (be pleased with) and acquit us - declare us not guilty - if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins - no matter who we are or what we have been like." (Romans 3:22 - The Living Bible Version) O Glorious TRUTH, that while we could never please God outside of Jesus, the very moment we receive Jesus as our Savior and are clothed with His righteousness, we can be and are pleasing to our Heavenly Father! In one of Charles Spurgeon's sermons to his congregation he said, "Can your put your hand upon your heart, and say, 'I may not be pleasing to my fellow-creatures; I may not be acknowledged by them; and certainly, before my God, I can never be pleasing to Him in myself, but in the Beloved, (Jesus) clothed with His righteousness, and standing in His Person, as a member of His body, of His flesh and of His bones, I am accepted in the Beloved.' "

These four common myths attack the character and nature of God. There is no truth to any of them! The Scripture anniliates them! Therefore, let us NOT be swayed to give any credence to them; rather let us refuse them as mere myths and lies propagated by satan himself. "See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, or the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ." (Colossians 2:8) "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ."

(II Corinthians 10:5)

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