BE HONEST by MARSHA BURNS:
In the Spirit I saw people and angels accepting assignments that were currently available in the spirit realm. They assembled in groups that would accomplish the purposes of God. They had to be honest, God-centered, like-minded, Spirit-driven people who would be sent with their angelic help to establish the Kingdom of God. Those who were chosen to fulfill His commission went to places that had been ravaged and devastated by the enemy, and there were no liars among them.
Revelation 22:13-15 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.
I heard the Lord say: "You, My people are My great experiment. I have given you the ability to choose for yourselves whether or not you will love Me and serve Me. Your choices will bear fruit one way or the other. You can say with your mouth that you will do all that I ask, but the proof will be in whether or not you are actually obedient. Your words can be a lie, but your actions tell the truth."
Matthew 21:28-30 "But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go."
James 1:22 Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Why does a person lie?'
It boils down to the shifting sands of the flesh and trying to look good to others. As soon as people feel that their self-esteem is threatened, they begin to lie. So lies are formulated as a way of protecting self-image. However, when we choose to walk in the Spirit the truth will always prevail.
2 Timothy 3:13 Evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Taking advantage of a situation or people stems from deception, and exploitation is the result of hidden motives, which equates to lying.
Remember the old adage, "Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive."
Deception causes us to lose the presence of the Holy Spirit so that His fruit is not in evidence.
From Ephesians 5:9: For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness and truth.
There will be times when we have to make ourselves tell the truth even when our first instinct is to stay hidden or to lie. We do not want to be disqualified from God's approval and blessings by being deceitful.
Proverbs 17:20 He who has a deceitful heart finds no good, and he who has a perverse tongue falls into evil.
The truth is part of our protection from the enemy.
Ephesians 6:13-16 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
The Lord wants us to be honest people of integrity. I never want to be lied to and neither do you...ever! So we must make a conscious effort to tell the truth to ourselves and each other regardless of the consequences. Lying always gets us into trouble.
How can we discern spiritual things if we speak or believe lies? The answer is that we can't.
Hebrews 5:14 Solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
If we want to be able to discern, we must have truth abiding in us and coming from us.
If we live honestly and righteously, always doing what is right in the sight of God, there will never be anything that we feel the need to cover up.
Just tell the truth!