SPEAKING UP
Today's reading:  Nehemiah 5-9

"My reply was, You know you are lying.  There is no truth in any part of your story.  They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining they would break our resolve and stop the work.  So I prayed for strength to continue the work."  Nehemiah 6:8-9 NLT

Our enemy is a sneaky one.  He whispers lies as fluently as I speak Southern Illinois English. 

At one moment he tells us to give up, give in and throw in the towel on this Christian walk thing.  He reminds us of each and every mistake we've made.  He keeps an ongoing tally of our slip-ups.  He is ever so quick to delude our minds with doubts and fears.

In the next breath he applauds our sinful attempts.  He tries to gloss over what we know in our hearts to be wrong.  He attempts to pile decorative frosting on some rather bitter tasting choices we've made.  He urges us to place blame when responsibility is solely ours.

What should we do with a 'friend' like that?

Tell him the truth!  Speak up!  Call him out!  Pray!

Or just sit there continuing to believe his lies, buying into his schemes and falling for his tricks.  He's content with you doing just that--are you?