Do NOT Listen to the Father of Lies

IMG_4179For those of us who have experienced the death of a child, the enemy often tries to convince us that our child is LOST – gone forever, dead, unworthy, unsaved, never to be found again.

He tries to convince us that “if they were not perfect, if they did not leave a box of journals filled with godly prayers and confession, if they were not leaders in their church, if they dabbled in drugs or suffered addition, if they failed in any area…then they are in fact LOST! God did not love them. He did not welcome them into His presence. They are LOST!” Yes, the enemy will lie to us. And he is good at it. He will tell you your child is LOST. He knows what to whisper into the ears of a grieving mother. He knows how to humiliate a grieving father. He is the father of lies. He has had eons of practice.

But the Bible tells us that those who call on the Name of the Lord shall be saved. (Acts 2:21)

We cannot listen to the father of lies, for he only speaks lies and there is no truth in him. (John 8:42-44)

Instead, hold on to the Truth – the Truth found in His Word. Study the Word and learn what it says about eternal life and salvation by grace.

The truth is that God is merciful, loving, kind. Compassionate and gracious, slow to anger abounding in love. He does not treat us (or our children) as our sins deserve or repay us (or our children) according to our iniquities. For as far as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103).

Many of us who have buried our son or daughter must hold fast to the knowledge that our child had, in fact, made a profession of faith in some point in their life — maybe when they were young, maybe as a teen, maybe in the moments just before death. No matter when they came to life in Christ, if they have trusted Christ, confessed Him as Lord, called on the Name of The Lord, then they are saved. They have been given the gift of eternal life. And their death does not change that.

At the point when they believed the Gospel of their salvation, they were marked in Him with a seal, the promised the Holy Spirit, a deposit guaranteeing their inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession. (Ephesians 1).

Our child was marked as a Child of God when they believed, even if they were not acting like it in the months or days leading up to their death. As a Child of God, the moment they died on earth, they immediately found themselves in the presence of Christ — In the presence of a living, compassionate, gracious, merciful, and loving Christ!

Our child’s salvation – his eternal life – is not dependent on him or his behavior.  It is a gift of God’s grace.

Romans 5:8-10  But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

Romans 10:9  Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Romans 10:11-13 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

2 Peter 3:9  The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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He does not let go of those He has chosen. Even when we try to run from Him.

John 10:27-30    “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand. ” My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

Romans 8:29-30  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Romans 8:37-39 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

There are so many scriptures that teach us about eternal life for believers!  Rather than retype them, here is a list from www.openbible.info.

Learn what the Bible says about eternal life!  And hold fast to the joyful memories of your child!  Remember the laughter, the smiles, the happy times.  Choose what and who you will believe today. And look forward to the Great Reunion in Heaven someday when we will see Christ face-to-face. And hang on to the hope that you will see your child again.

How then shall we live while we wait?  Let us live well, my friend. 

For all grieving parents, I pray today that you are able to submit to the truth of God, resist the devil and he WILL FLEE from you (James 4:7). I pray also that God will make His Truth real to you today … so real that you are unable to hear the lies of the enemy. Amen

 

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Christianity, death of a child, Loss of a child, Scripture, While We're Waiting


KathleenBDuncan

I write about my life, my journey, my family, and my faith. I am wife to one, mom to seven with one in heaven, and grandmother to many. I am also full-time caregiver to my stepmom E who suffers from dementia due to Alzheimer’s. In my spare time I like to read, travel, crochet, bike, and play with our black pug Molly.

Comments (11)

  • I read this post with tears streaming down my face. My 36 year old son died ( just writing those words takes my breath) Oct 28th. He knelt with his youth pastor and asked Jesus into his heart at the age of 12. In his early 20’s he admitted he was struggling with homosexuality. I talked with him many many times. I watched him struggle with conviction over his lifestyle ..he would try and get out of it but never stay out. He talked about loving the Lord, he worried about souls going to hell, etc. I always felt deep down that he was saved but when the first wave of grief passed the next thing to hit was doubt. 1 Corinthians 6:9 literally burnt through my heart. I have to trust God. He has always been my rock . I literally did everything I knew to do to try and make sure of his salvation. I actually gasped when I read this and wondered if this doubt is truly coming from Satan. I slept a little better last night..I’m do thankful I happened upon your blog/webpage Kathleen

    • I’m sorry for your loss. And I’m glad this helped you.

      If a person has a true salvation experience, he is saved. Justified. A child of God. Nothing can snatch him from the Father’s hand.

  • […] The enemy often tries to tell parents that their child did not really go to Heaven, that they did not really know God.  Please take time to pray for your friends that they will not listen to the lies of the enemy but will hold fast to the Truth about Salvation, Eternity and Heaven. Pray that the knowledge that their child is in Heaven will be of comfort to your grieving friends. Pray that God will assure them that His Truth is real. And you may want to refer your friend to the post Do NOT List to the Father of Lies. […]

  • Great blog entry-full of Hope-
    I believe that Jesus will never turn away any person, who truly understands where he/she erred, and is truly repentant.

    Not everyone is fortunate, to be gifted with a faith upbringing. Some never have been baptized, as a result of this. I feel that God, being merciful, lovingly instructs those that fit this category of people. He’s more desirous to “save”, rather than condemn, from all I’ve learned of Him.

    Thanks for sharing this!

    • Donna, God is merciful and gracious. And He desires that all come to a salvation.

      Baptism is an outward sign of salvation. I do it believe it is required for salvation. It is something we should do as believers. But not being baptized will not keep one from Eternal Life.

      Acts tells us that anyone who calls on the name of Lord shall be saved. Even those who don’t know theology or who have not been baptized. The thief on the cross was not baptized but Christ told him that he would be with Him in paradise that day.

      I believe that many will be in Heaven that we may not be expecting. It is not my job to judge, God does that. And He is compassionate and gracious.

      I love what Psalms 103 tells us about the character of God!

  • Kathleen, I have been attacked with this kind of horror from Satan. Because of the way my son died, I was in a terrible, confused, chaotic, storm after Brandon took his life. Satan still tries but I have learned to command over him to leave me. I have learned that I really do have power over him and not the other way around. God has sent me so many marvelous signs about my son being with Him because he knew the condition I was in and that my grief was being compounded by the lies told to me by the one and only father of lies. I am so glad that I have read this today. May I reblog this on my site? God bless you for helping others in the midst of your grief. Hugs of love….
    “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

    • I am so sorry you suffered like that after the death of Brandon. But grateful that you know TRUTH! You are welcome to reblog.

      And if you have not already checked it out, you may want to join the Facebook group While We’re Waiting – Support for Bereaved Parents. There are parents on this group that have recently lost children to suicide, murder, illness, accident and miscarriage. Having moms like you have are farther along the road of healing in your grief can be a huge help to those of us whose loss is more recent. Hugs back to you my new friend.

      • Thank you Kathleen. I am not on FB but you are more than welcome to tell others about my blog. Perhaps, they will find some information that will be helpful to them among the many articles I have posted. Also, I have much of my personal grief on there, as you know. Because of what I went through, spiritually and also emotionally, I know the desperation of a Christian mother’s heart concerning the soul of her child.

        It’s like suddenly, we think, “what if his faith wasn’t enough?”…..a million doubts were put into my mind all at once but the one thing I kept repeating, “greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.” I would say it aloud to fight the liar, Satan. Thankfully, God does not forsake us in our darkest hour. xo ~ Dale, Brandon’s Mom

    • Jill, you are welcome to share any of my blog posts. This one is taken from my comments to Betty Adams earlier this week. The enemy tries to lie to us. All of us, about our children in heaven. We cannot listen to him. He really is a snake!

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