How do we discern God's truth from the devil's lies?

It seems like one of satan's favorite tools is to take people's faith in the one, true God, and turn it into religious tradition or twisted ritual so that we lose sight of what's really important. We can get so caught up in legalities of religion and contradicting beliefs that we forget what Jesus says are the two most important commandments: 1) "Love your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your strength and with all your mind;" and 2) "love your neighbor as yourself."
Luke 10:27 NIV

When talking to the Pharisees about how they put their tradition and rituals above the commandments of God, Jesus said, "You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'"
Matthew 15: 7-9 NIV

These things are still happening today. How can we know when what we hear is God's truth and not the wisdom of men who have become used by satan?

A Living Nativity

The week before Christmas '09 - I was blessed to be part of the Living Nativity that my Church puts on each year.  What an awesome event!  People from all corners of the community come together to reconstruct and portray Bethlehem as it might have been 2000 years ago.  With the sound of angels singing on high, the sight of baby Jesus and a camel named Clyde, everyone who came was lifted away from the holiday ads and gift-wrapped wishes, to a place of Christmas meaning and the message of a Savior and life everlasting.

Isaiah 9:6
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Boys busy in Bethlehem

Wisemen and the Llamas

Shepard  in Vogue

Getting the Mind of Christ

1 Corinthians 2:14-16

from the NIV Bible...
"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgements about all things but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: 'For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instuct him?' But we have the mind of Christ."

from the Message Bible...
"The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can't receive the gifts of God's Spirit. There's no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit--God's Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God's Spirit is doing, and can't be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah's question, 'Is there anyone around who knows God's Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?' has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ's Spirit.

What Paul is saying in this letter to the Church in Corinth, is that we have to be in touch with the Holy Spirit to understand God's messages. If we don't have the Spirit living in and through us, if we are not in open communication with His Spirit, we will not understand His truths. Paul also says that when our spirits are in tune with His Spirit, we can make sense of all things, we understand, accept and progress in a life accomplishing His will. We musn't worry about what people with the spirit of the world in them think, because those who do not have the Holy Spirit in them cannot know God, and it is God, our creator, who we seek to please. Paul says that Christ Jesus is the the one who knows God's Spirit and understands all things, and it is through Him that we too can come to know God and understand our true purpose.

Paul tells us that "we have the mind of Christ"--"we have Christ's Spirit." What an amazing promise. When we seek and recieve the Holy Spirit, we can become more and more like Christ.

To often in my life, I have settled to be less than what God asks of me. I think, "Well, I'm not perfect." Which is true, but this is me justifying my lack of effort to strive toward perfection or to be more like Christ. Although, I have already fallen short of His example, it doesn't mean that I can't start seeking a relationship with God each day and through His power, continuously improve myself. This is what the Japanese call Kaizen, a philosophy of continuous, incremental improvement. This is how we get the mind of Christ, by seeking Him each day, and each day, striving for more improvement through Him, who strengthens us. We must spend time in His word, spend time in His creation and strive to open our hearts, minds and souls to the Holy Spirit, so that God can change us and use us for His purposes.