Can God Lie?

In a recent post (“I Find The Key”) I told about Nancy emphasizing the importance of faith in God’s kingdom. Here are the steps she used to help me find the key to the path of life.

First, she read aloud the words of Jesus:

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.… What man is there among you, when his son asks him for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or, if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him? (Matthew 7:7-11).

When she finished, she asked, “Judy, what does Jesus say a child will get if he asks his father for a fish? Will he get a snake?”

“No,” I said, “the child will not get a snake; he will receive what he asked for, a fish.”

She continued, “Judy, what does Jesus say a child will get if he asks his father for an egg? Will he be given a scorpion?”

“No”, I answered, “He will not get a scorpion; he will be given an egg.”

Judy, can God lie?

Then she asked: “Judy, can God lie?”

Oops! I must make decision about the nature of God.

After struggling for a moment, I looked into my heart and made my decision: “No, I do not believe God can lie!”

Something quickened in my heart—it was faith. The moment I truly decided God could not lie, faith became alive and active in me.

Nancy made it sound simple: “Judy, Jesus taught that those who seek will find, and those who ask will receive. Jesus absolutely believed this. Do you? From what you tell me, you’ve been asking, but not receiving. Why? Does God, or does He not, want to give what is good to you?” she probed.

Another decision: “Yes, I believe God wants to give what is good to me,” I answered. For the first time, I really heard the words of Jesus—and they were united by faith in my heart.

Where is Jesus now?

“Good,” she said, “let’s start at the beginning. You’ve asked many times but never applied your faith. Now this time as you ask, apply your faith in God and in what He has said.”

Under her guidance, I prayed: “Heavenly Father, I want to know you. I need your Son Jesus. I place my faith in His work on the cross. I accept the blood He shed as enough for my sins and the sins of others against me. Please forgive me of my sins, come into my heart and cause me to live.”

As I prayed, I looked only to the trustworthiness of God and what He’d said, not to my feelings or thoughts.

When I finished, Nancy asked, “Where is Jesus now?”

My mind went to what we’d read: “If a child asks his father for loaf, he will not give him a stone . . . how much more will the heavenly Father give what is good to those who ask.” I had asked him to forgive my sins and to send Jesus to live within my heart. These were good things, weren’t they? I reasoned. Then, had He done what He’d promised?

If I chose not to take God at His word, I’d be calling him a liar…and I could not do that. My decision was made. “He is in my heart,” I answered.

Nancy pressed, “Why is He in your heart?”

“Because I asked him and He cannot lie,” I replied. “I choose to place my faith in His words.”

In this moment I discovered the key that would unlock the door to an authentic relationship with a living God—faith residing in an honest heart, the confidence and assurance that what God said is true. My faith was based simply on the fact that God cannot lie!

I want to make it clear, I was doing something more than mouthing words or giving mental agreement when I prayed. I had done that for years; now I was adding something to my words: faith.

We have had the good new preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard (Hebrews 4:2b).

(Story continues in next blog: “The Holy Spirit Comes”)

Question:  Do you have confidence and assurance that Jesus Christ is in your heart? Why?