“..He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies” ( John 8:44)

Once when Jesus happened to prophecy of the future, “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you” ( Mathew 16:22). Almost immediately, “Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” ( vv 23).

Peter was certainly floored; or, actually the devil, who had attempted to distract a very serious matter.

What had just happened was true to character of the devil and persists to this day. As “he is a liar and father of lies” almost naturally deceit is his best weapon, and there is never a dull moment. Rev 12:10 says, “For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down,” meaning all along the devil is going around causing mischief against the brethren with a ton of lies. In fact, the quickest way to discern the devil is once you notice deceit. There he is in true form.

For that reason, Believers are warned, “Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the Devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” ( 1 Peter 5:8). The devil business of lying is 24/7, for once, the “LORD said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the LORD, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it” ( Job 1:7). All meaning he works round the clock carrying his “pack of lies” to cause confusion and commotion, and all things that go with that nature.

As we saw earlier, when Peter dared cast doubt on his prophecy, Jesus did not hesitate to rebuke the devil. There was no skirting about it. Likewise, once you too see the devil hurling about his devious colors through his favorite weapon of deceit, just go ahead and expose him by quickly rebutting with the truth of the Gospel.

Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, just as the devil moves around with deceit may you empower me to discern and rebuke his lies, ashaming him, for the truth of the Gospel, this I pray in Jesus’s name.