Inventor of Lies

"The worst thing you can do in life is underestimate your adversary" -- William Jefferson Clinton We have an adversary. An ancient, invisible, supernatural, brilliant beyond brilliant, wickedly cunning, savagely cruel adversary. And what is he known for almost above all else? HE LIES. In fact, he's the "father" of it (John 8:44). I started to write that Satan is, like, "the Muhammad Ali" of lying (the all-time champ; the best there ever was in the game), but that's not quite right, is it? He INVENTED "the game." He created the concept. From the first book of the Bible to the last, what is highlighted about Satan is his ability to DECEIVE! He was "more subtil (deceitful, crafty, cunning with guile) than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made" (Genesis 3:1). He is "that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world." (Revelation 12:9). If we believe that we ("who, me???!") could never fall prey to the deceptive genius of this all-time reigning artist of seduction, we must have an insanely high opinion of ourselves. Because he's DAMNED good at it. Literally! And he's had centuries upon centuries to hone his craft. If the "father of lies" has one thing that is his "green kryptonite," then, what would that one thing be? THE TRUTH. Jesus to the Father: "Thy Word IS TRUTH" (John 17:17). You had better believe Satan has one serious vendetta against the Word of God. He has hated the Bible for centuries with a hatred Michael Moore and Martin Scorsese could not even begin to conceive in their most superlative cinematic fantasies. Satan's very first appearance in scripture in Genesis 3 depicts one malicious assault after another on Eve's recollection of what God had said, beginning with . . . "Yea, hath God said . . .?" A crafty attempt to inject just a thin strand of doubt in Eve's mind as to whether she could really be altogether SURE that she had in her possession THE authentic, preserved and infallible mental record of God's Holy pronouncements. "Are you SURE that's what He said, Eve?? Are you really, really sure you got it right? You sure some small but game-changing detail didn't just get lost in the translation??" So much has changed. And yet remains the same. We have an adversary, folks. He's more evil and nasty and unscrupulous and vicious than you can ever even know. And I'm not lying or delusional when I say he is gunning for you (I Peter 5:8). And your confidence in God's Holy Book.