Evangelist Joshua Orekhie Ministries

EJOM DAILY DEVOTIONAL:

Tuesday, October 6, 2026

TOPIC: STOP DECEIVING YOURSELF. TELL YOURSELF THE TRUTH

OPENING SCRIPTURES

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” (James 1:22–24)

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

Galatians 6:7 (KJV): “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

MEMORY VERSE

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

PRAISE AND WORSHIP

Sing any of your favourite songs.

Stop Deceiving Yourself. Tell Yourself The Truth – EJOM DAILY DEVOTIONAL: October 6, 2026

Beloved, one of the hardest things in life is to tell yourself the truth. It is easy to deceive other people, and sometimes it is even easier to deceive ourselves, but we can never deceive God.

“Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). God sees what you hide, He knows what you deny, and He hears what you refuse to say.

So sometimes, you need to sit down quietly and ask yourself some honest questions. Am I really doing the right thing? Could it be that I am the real cause of this problem? Is there something in my attitude, my words, or my decisions that keeps bringing me back to this same place?

Until you tell yourself the truth, you will keep blaming other people for your mistakes, and you will keep going round in circles. Many people refuse to face the truth. Deep inside, they know that the hard times they are passing through are the result of their own actions and decisions in the past.

They know they ignored advice. They know they spent carelessly. They know they entered that relationship against every warning. They know they offended people who could have helped them. But instead of admitting it, they look for someone to blame.

Beloved, the first step to coming out of a pit is to admit how you got into it. Some people do not know how to talk. Some people talk too much, and because of that, they reveal all their plans and secrets to their enemies.

Samson kept his secret for a long time, but one day “he told her all his heart” (Judges 16:17), and that was the beginning of his downfall.

King Hezekiah received visitors from Babylon, and he showed them everything in his treasure house; “there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not.” Then Isaiah told him that everything he showed them would one day be carried away to Babylon (2 Kings 20:13–17).

Beloved, not everybody who asks about your plans needs to know them. “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise” (Proverbs 10:19).

“A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards” (Proverbs 29:11). If your mouth has been opening doors for your enemies, tell yourself the truth and learn to keep quiet.

Sometimes you need to sit down and tell yourself the truth. Maybe everybody around you is not jealous of you. Maybe that person who corrected you does not hate you. Maybe your boss is not a witch; maybe you have been coming late to work.

Maybe your in laws are not the problem; maybe your attitude needs improvement. Perhaps you need to learn to listen more and talk less. Perhaps you need greater financial discipline, because “the foolish man spendeth it up” (Proverbs 21:20).

Maybe you repeatedly ignore warning signs and then blame others when things go wrong. “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished” (Proverbs 22:3).

Hear me well. The person who corrects you may be the best friend you have. “Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish” (Proverbs 12:1). Even the Lord Jesus said, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent” (Revelation 3:19).

Correction is not rejection. It is love wearing a serious face.This does not mean that every difficulty you face is your fault. When the disciples saw a man born blind, they asked Jesus, “Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Jesus answered, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (John 9:2–3). Some battles are attacks of the enemy, some are trials of faith, and some are simply part of living in a fallen world.

Job suffered, and it was not because of his sin. So do not condemn yourself for everything. But do not excuse yourself for everything either. Ask God to show you which is which and what you need to avoid or emulate.

Stop defending what is destroying you. Stop protecting what you need to expose. Some people will fight anybody who touches their bad habit. They will defend their anger, defend their lies, defend their laziness, and defend the relationship that is ruining them.

Beloved, why would you guard the thing that is killing you? “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light” (John 3:20–21).

God reveals the truth to restore, not to destroy. When God exposes a weakness in your life, it is not to shame you; it is an invitation to repentance and growth. After Adam sinned, God did not come with fire; He came with a question: “Where art thou?” (Genesis 3:9).

He was giving Adam an opportunity to come out of hiding. When Jesus met the woman of Samaria, He told her to go and call her husband. She said, “I have no husband.” Jesus said, “Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband” (John 4:17–18).

The moment she told the truth, her life changed drastically, and she ran into the city to tell everybody about Jesus. The truth she was ashamed of became the door to her testimony.

Jesus Christ is the truth. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). And He said, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). Freedom does not come from hiding the truth; it comes from facing it.

There are some people who need only one thing to move forward and succeed in life, and that thing is to say the truth. God is ready to show them mercy, but they are still covering up.

David said, “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long… I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (Psalm 32:3–5).

As long as David kept quiet, he suffered. The moment he confessed, mercy came and give him second chance. A lot of people are deceiving themselves. You know you are the cause of the problem, but you keep blaming your mother.

You say your mother is responsible for your marriage failing, your father is responsible for your poverty, your village is responsible for your stagnation. Beloved, there may be things in your family background that need prayer, but there are also choices you made with your own hands.

God said through Ezekiel, “What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel” (Ezekiel 18:2–3). Stop hiding behind your parents. Take responsibility for your own life before God.

When you refuse to say the truth, the devil will continue to keep you in ignorance. He is the father of lies (John 8:44), and he blinds the minds of people so that the light cannot shine on them (2 Corinthians 4:4).

As long as you keep believing a lie about yourself, he keeps you in the same place. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). Beloved, say no to a life of deception and embrace the truth, even when it hurts.

And let me touch something very deep. There is a voice telling you that if you go to a particular person and genuinely ask them to pray for you or advise you, your way will open.

But because there is envy in your heart toward that person, you refuse to meet the person. You would rather remain where you are than humble yourself before someone you are jealous of.

Beloved, envy is a destroyer. Address it on time before it causes further damages in your life. “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work” (James 3:16). “Envy is the rottenness of the bones” (Proverbs 14:30).

King Saul could have been blessed by David’s anointing, but the Bible says, “Saul eyed David from that day and forward” (1 Samuel 18:9), and envy destroyed him. Haman had wealth, power, and honour, yet he said, “Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king’s gate” (Esther 5:13). His envy led him to the gallows he prepared for another man.

Look at Naaman. He was told to go and wash himself in the river Jordan, but he was angry and said, “Behold, I thought…” He wanted the miracle to come his own way. He almost went home with his leprosy.

But his servants told him the truth: if the prophet had asked you to do something great, would you not have done it? Naaman humbled himself, dipped his legs seven times into the water, and was made whole (2 Kings 5:11–14).

Beloved, your healing, your breakthrough, or your direction may be connected to a person your pride or envy is telling you to avoid. “God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). Humble yourself and go.

A lot of people are sitting in darkness today, not because God has forgotten them, but because of deception and lies have glued their destiny. The lies they tell others, the lies they tell themselves, and the lies they have believed from the enemy.

But today, the light of God is shining upon you right now. I decree that you are coming out of your hiding place and let the grace of God find you. Remember this” Always tell yourself the hard truth. Tell God the truth. And where necessary, tell the right people the truth.

The moment you tell the truth, mercy will meet you, doors will open, and your restoration will begin. There are people who have known you as a liar, even as a Christian.

You attend church, you carry your Bible, you greet people with “God bless you,” but when your name is mentioned in the market, in the office, or in the family, people shake their heads. They refuse to do business with you. They refuse to lend you money.

They refuse to trust you, even though you are very nice to them. Why? Because they know you as a person who goes about deceiving others in order to extort from them. If people have that kind of mindset toward you, then you have a lot of work to do to correct that perspective.

You may be offended by their distrust. Ask yourself honestly how they came to that conclusion of you. A reputation is not built in one day. It is built by many small actions over time.

If people see you as a liar, it is likely because they have experienced your lies, heard about your lies, or watched you deceive others. Instead of fighting their opinion, examine your record.

“Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint” (Proverbs 25:19). People who have been hurt by an unfaithful person will not put their weight on that person again easily.

Beloved, being nice is not the same as being trustworthy. Some of the greatest deceivers are very nice people. They smile, they compliment you, they buy you gifts, and then they disappear with your money. That is why people who know your past are not moved by your niceness.

To them, your sweet words sound like the beginning of another trick. “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?” (Proverbs 20:6). People are not looking for a nice person; they are looking for a faithful person.

Your name is precious. “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold” (Proverbs 22:1). “A good name is better than precious ointment” (Ecclesiastes 7:1).

The money you collected by deception is not worth the name you lost. And remember, “Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour” (Ecclesiastes 10:1). A few lies can spoil years of good work.

And here is what makes it more serious. When a believer is known as a liar, it does not only damage his own name; it damages the relationship with them. Unbelievers look at your life and say, “If that is what Christians are like, I do not want to be one.”

That is why the Bible commands, “Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God” (1 Peter 2:12). Your honesty is part of your evangelism.

Look at Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector, and everybody in Jericho knew him as an extortioner. When Jesus decided to stay in his house, the people murmured, “That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner” (Luke 19:7).

His reputation was so bad that people complained when Jesus visited him. But Zacchaeus did not try to defend himself or argue that people misunderstood him. He stood up and said, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold” (Luke 19:8).

He did not only say sorry; he paid back. And Jesus said, “This day is salvation come to this house” (Luke 19:9). Beloved, if you have extorted people, a true change of heart will show in restitution.

When tax collectors came to John the Baptist asking what they should do, he said, “Exact no more than that which is appointed you.” And to the soldiers he said, “Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages” (Luke 3:13–14).

Repentance is practical. It changes the way you charge people, the way you make promises, and the way you handle money. When you have a bad record, people will need time and proof to confirm or observe any possible changes.

Thank God for Barnabas, who took Paul and vouched for him before the apostles (Acts 9:27). But in the end, it was Paul’s consistent life over many years that convinced everyone.

Look at John Mark. He abandoned Paul and Barnabas in the middle of a missionary journey. When Barnabas wanted to take him on the next trip, Paul refused, and the disagreement was so sharp that they separated (Acts 15:37–39).

Paul did not trust him anymore. But years later, Paul wrote, “Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11). Mark rebuilt his reputation with the very man who had refused him. It took time, but it happened.

Look at Onesimus. He was a slave who had wronged his master Philemon and run away. After he came to Christ, Paul wrote to Philemon, “Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me” (Philemon 1:11).

And Paul added, “If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account” (Philemon 1:18). Onesimus had to go back to the man he wronged and face him. True change does not run away from the people you have hurt.

Look at Jacob. His very name meant supplanter, one who deceives. He cheated his brother and deceived his father. When he wrestled with the angel, the angel asked him, “What is thy name?” And he answered, “Jacob” (Genesis 32:27).

He had to confess who he had been before his name could be changed to Israel. Then he went to meet Esau, the brother he had cheated. He did not go with pride; he “bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother” (Genesis 33:3), and he sent gifts ahead to show his sincerity.

Beloved, you may also need to humble yourself before the people you deceived. And look at Judah. Years earlier, he had led his brothers to sell Joseph and deceive their father. When Joseph tested his brothers in Egypt, he said, “Hereby ye shall be proved” (Genesis 42:15).

People who have been deceived before will test you. Do not be angry when they test you. When the moment came, Judah, the same man who once sold his brother, offered himself as a slave in place of Benjamin (Genesis 44:33).

That act proved he had changed. Your actions, not your words, will prove your change. So what must you do to correct that perspective? First, take responsibility. Do not say, “People just don’t like me” or “They are jealous of me.” Admit, at least to God and to yourself, that your past behaviour gave them reason to doubt you.

Second, apologise sincerely and specifically to those you deceived, where it is possible and wise to do so.

Third, make restitution. Pay back the money you collected by deception. Settle the debts you have been avoiding. If you cannot pay all at once, go to them, tell them the truth, and agree on a plan, then keep to it.

Fourth, keep your word, even in small things. If you say you will come at ten, come at ten. If you promise to pay on Friday, pay on Friday. The Bible describes the righteous man as one who “sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not” (Psalm 15:4). That means he keeps his word even when it costs him.

Fifth, be transparent. Put agreements in writing, give receipts, be clear about prices, and do not hide anything. “Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men” (2 Corinthians 8:21).

Sixth, stop asking for trust and start earning it. Do not go back to borrow from people you have not repaid. Do not keep saying, “Trust me, this time is different.” Let your life speak. “Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth” (Proverbs 27:2).

Seventh, be patient. Trust is lost quickly but rebuilt slowly. It may take months, even years. Do not give up when people still doubt you. Keep doing what is right.

Jesus said, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10). Start with the small things.

Be faithful in little, and God will open bigger doors. “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good” (Ephesians 4:28).

And understand this: God can restore your name. “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man” (Proverbs 3:3–4).

When you walk in truth consistently, God Himself will begin to change the way people see you. The same people who refused to trust you may one day testify, “This person has really changed.” “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Beloved, let me ask you some searching questions today, and I want you to answer them honestly before God. Do you remember all the lies you have spoken about other people?

Do you remember the false stories you spread, the things you added to make the story sweeter, the rumours you passed on without checking, the accusations you made just to bring someone down?

Some of those people lost their jobs, their marriages, their reputation, or their peace because of words that came out of your mouth. You may have forgotten, but God has not forgotten, and the person you hurt has not forgotten.

The Bible says, “Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people” (Leviticus 19:16). “Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off” (Psalm 101:5).

“Speak not evil one of another, brethren” (James 4:11). “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly” (Proverbs 18:8). Your lies did not just pass through the air; they wounded somebody deep inside.

So what should you do? Repent before God, and where it is possible, go to the person and confess it. Jesus said, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift” (Matthew 5:23–24).

Some people are praying, fasting, and giving offerings, but heaven is saying, “Go and settle with your brother first.” The Bible also says, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed” (James 5:16).

Under the law, when a man wronged his neighbour, God commanded, “Then they shall confess their sin which they have done: and he shall recompense his trespass” (Numbers 5:7). Confession was not enough; he had to make it right.

If you told lies about someone to other people, go back and correct the story where you can. If your lie caused someone to lose something, ask God for wisdom on how to make restitution, as Zacchaeus did when he said, “if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold” (Luke 19:8).

It may be humbling, it may be embarrassing, but it will set you free. Pride will tell you to keep quiet. The Holy Spirit is telling you to go. And what about the secret relationship you are hiding from your spouse or your partner?

The secret calls, the hidden chats, the second phone, the “meetings” that are not meetings, the person you have saved under a false name. You smile at home and lie about where you have been.

Beloved, God sees it all. “For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops” (Luke 12:2–3).

The devil makes secret relationships look sweet. “Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell” (Proverbs 9:17–18).

What starts as sweet ends in sorrow. “But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his reproach shall not be wiped away” (Proverbs 6:32–33). “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4).

God wants you to end it and bring it to the light. First, cut it off completely. Do not say, “Let me end it slowly.” Delete the numbers, block the contacts, and stop the meetings. “Flee fornication” (1 Corinthians 6:18).

Second, confess it to God and receive His mercy.

Third, ask God for wisdom on how to bring it into the light with the one you have wronged. For many, this is best done with the help of a mature pastor or a godly counsellor who can guide the conversation and walk with you both through the healing.

And if there is any real danger of violence in your home, seek help and safety first. But do not use wisdom as an excuse to keep hiding forever. The secret you keep will keep you in bondage.

If you are not married but you are deceiving the person you are in a relationship with, the same truth applies: stop the deception, end what God has not approved, and walk in honesty.

And what about the strange places you go to for power, fame, and money? Some people sit in church on Sunday, but on Wednesday night they are at the herbalist’s house.

Some wear charms under their clothes and still lift their hands in worship. Some have gone to marine spirits, secret societies, spiritualists, and so called prophets who use candles, incisions, and strange rituals, all because they want to be rich, famous, powerful, or feared. Beloved, flee and repent.

The Bible is very clear: “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD” (Deuteronomy 18:10–12). God asks, “should not a people seek unto their God?” (Isaiah 8:19).

When King Ahaziah was sick and sent messengers to enquire of Baalzebub, God asked, “Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?” (2 Kings 1:3). Beloved, is there no God in your life that you are running to strange altars?

King Saul consulted a woman with a familiar spirit at Endor, and the Bible says, “So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD… And also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; And enquired not of the LORD” (1 Chronicles 10:13–14).

The power you collect from strange places always comes with a price. The devil does not give gifts; he gives loans with very heavy interest. He offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, but on one condition: “if thou wilt fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9).

That is still his offer today, and it always costs a soul. Jesus asked, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26).

Simon the sorcerer had bewitched the people of Samaria for a long time, and they called him “the great power of God.” When he tried to buy the power of the Holy Ghost with money, Peter told him, “Thy money perish with thee… Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee” (Acts 8:20, 22). Even for him, the door of repentance was open.

In Ephesus, when the gospel came with power, “many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men” (Acts 19:18–19). They did not hide their charms in a drawer “just in case.”

They confessed, they renounced, and they got rid of those things. Beloved, do the same. Confess it to God, renounce every covenant you made, stop going to those places, and responsibly dispose of every charm and ritual object that belongs to you.

Do not keep them out of fear. And seek out a sound, Bible believing church and mature ministers who can pray with you and walk with you as you break free.

You do not need strange power to succeed. “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22). “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another” (Psalm 75:6–7).

What God gives you will not chase you at night. What God gives you will not demand your children’s blood. What God gives you will not end in madness or sudden death. “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:14).

Beloved, all these things, the lies against others, the secret relationships, and the strange altars, have one thing in common: they live in darkness. And God is calling you out of darkness into His marvellous light.

“For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14). It is far better to bring it to the light now through repentance than to have it exposed later in judgment.

But hear the good news. No matter how deep you have gone, the mercy of God is deeper. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). God is not waiting to destroy you; He is waiting to forgive you. But you must come out of hiding.

Beloved, there is no gain in lying and deception. Whatever you gain by a lie, you will lose by the truth. The Bible says, “The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death” (Proverbs 21:6).

It may look like the lie has helped you today, but it is only a matter of time before it catches up with you. “The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment” (Proverbs 12:19). A lie may carry you for a moment, but only the truth can carry you for a lifetime.

God is expecting you to say the truth. “Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight” (Proverbs 12:22). Do you want to be God’s delight? Then deal truly.

When David asked, “LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?” the answer was, “He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart” (Psalm 15:1–2). Truth is not just what comes out of your mouth; it must first live in your heart.

The truth is your salvation, and it will give you peace of mind. Have you noticed that a liar is never at rest? He has to remember every lie he told, to whom he told it, and how he told it. He is always afraid of being exposed.

“The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1). But the person who tells the truth sleeps well at night. “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever” (Isaiah 32:17).

If you want peace of mind, make truth your lifestyle. Your next miracle may be on the other side of saying the truth. Remember the woman with the issue of blood. After she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and was healed, Jesus asked, “Who touched my clothes?” She could have slipped away quietly.

But the Bible says she “came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.” And Jesus said to her, “Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague” (Mark 5:33–34). Her body was healed when she touched Him, but her full restoration, her peace and her public honour, came when she told Him all the truth.

Beloved, some people have touched God, but they have not told Him the whole truth. Tell Him everything, and receive your complete miracle. It breaks my heart when I see people lying, and even young children lying with ease.

A child of five years will look you in the face and lie without blinking. Where did that child learn it from? Most times, it is a habit inherited from the home. Children do not only listen to what we say; they watch what we do.

The Bible says, “As is the mother, so is her daughter” (Ezekiel 16:44). Of King Ahaziah it was written that he “walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother” (1 Kings 22:52).

The truth is, if you are a lying parent, your children may copy that from you. If you are a parent who deceives or manipulates, your children may copy that lifestyle from you.

Look at the family of Abraham. When Abraham went down to Egypt, he told his wife Sarah, “Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister” (Genesis 12:13). He told the same lie again in Gerar (Genesis 20:2).

Years later, his son Isaac went to the same Gerar, and when the men asked about his wife Rebekah, “he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife” (Genesis 26:7). Isaac told the very same lie his father told him. So our children copy what they see.

It did not stop there. Rebekah, Isaac’s wife, taught her son Jacob how to deceive his blind father. She cooked the meat, dressed Jacob in Esau’s clothes, and covered his hands and neck with the skins of goats. When Jacob was afraid, she said, “Upon me be thy curse, my son: only obey my voice” (Genesis 27:13).

Jacob deceived his father with goat skin. Later, Laban deceived Jacob by giving him Leah instead of Rachel, and Jacob cried, “wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?” (Genesis 29:25). And when Jacob became a father, his own sons sold Joseph, “killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood,” and brought it to their father to deceive him (Genesis 37:31–33).

Jacob deceived his father with a goat, and his sons deceived him with a goat. Beloved, what you sow in your home, your children will harvest, and sometimes you will harvest it from them.

Parents, think about the small lies we tell in front of our children. The phone rings, and you tell your child, “Tell them I am not at home.” You reduce your child’s age to achieve something. You teach them to lie about their their grades or lie to their parents. You manipulate your spouse in front of the children to get your way.

People know you as a mechanic outside, but at home, you tell them you are a pastor. You may call these small things, but you are training your spirit to lie. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6). If you train them in lies, they will not depart from lies.

We must teach our children the benefits of telling the truth. The Bible says, “Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD… Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile” (Psalm 34:11, 13).

God commanded parents, “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 6:6–7).

Teaching truth is not a one day lecture; it is a daily lifestyle. Let your children see you tell the truth even when it costs you something. Let them see you return extra change at the market. Let them hear you say, “I was wrong, I am sorry.”

Keep your promises to them, and when you cannot, explain honestly. Praise them when they tell the truth, especially when it is difficult. If a child confesses that he broke a plate, correct him, but also commend him for being honest. And also pray for them every day that the Spirit of truth will dwell in them.

Beloved, let us put away lying. “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another” (Ephesians 4:25).

Jesus said, “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil” (Matthew 5:37). Let your yes be yes and your no be no. And remember the solemn warning of Scripture: “all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone” (Revelation 21:8). Lying is not a small matter before God.

The apostle John said, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 1:4). May that be your joy as a parent. May your children rise up and walk in truth because they saw truth in you.

IN CONCLUSION 

To break free from self deception, first, ask God to search you. Pray with David, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23–24).

Examine yourself honestly by the Word of God. “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Stop blaming others and take responsibility for your choices. Confess your sins to God and forsake them.

Invite trusted, godly people to speak truth into your life. Act on what God shows you, for the doer of the Word is blessed in his deed (James 1:25).

“Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD” (Lamentations 3:40). The truth you run from will keep you bound; the truth you face will set you free.

Let us pray.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I come before You with honesty. I stop deceiving myself today. Show me the truth about my life, my attitude, my words, and my decisions. Forgive me for blaming others for what I caused with my own hands. Forgive me for defending what is destroying me and hiding what I should expose. Help me to keep my mouth from revealing my secrets to my enemies.

Remove every envy, pride, and jealousy from my heart, and give me the humility to go wherever You send me for help. Where the problem is not my fault, give me grace to stand in faith; where it is my fault, give me grace to repent and change. Deliver me from every lie of the devil, and let the truth of Jesus Christ set me free. I come out of darkness into Your marvellous light today, in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

WISDOM FOR TODAY

You cannot correct what you refuse to confront. The truth may wound your pride, but it will heal your life.

PERSONAL CHALLENGE

EVANGELISM CHALLENGE

Share your own testimony honestly. Tell them how God showed you the truth about yourself and how He forgave you when you confessed.

Share the story of Zacchaeus, the extortioner whose life and name were changed in one day, or the woman with the issue of blood who told Jesus all the truth and went home in peace.

Let them know that no matter what they have done or where they have been, God is not waiting to destroy them; He is waiting to forgive them. Read to them 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.”

Then invite them to give their life to Jesus. If they are ready, lead them in a simple prayer of repentance and faith. If they are not ready, do not force them; leave them with the Word, pray for them by name, and follow up with them during the week.

Finally, remember that your life is also a sermon. Let the people around you see the change in you. Keep your word, pay what you owe, tell the truth even when it is costly, and treat people with honesty and kindness. Someone who once refused to trust you may one day ask, “What happened to you?” When that moment comes, be ready to point them to Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

FURTHER STUDY

📖 James 1:19–27; 1 John 1:5–10; Jeremiah 17:5–10; Galatians 6:1–10; Revelation 3:14–22; Ezekiel 33:30–33; Genesis 3:8–13; Exodus 32:19–24; 1 Samuel 15:10–24; 2 Samuel 12:1–13; Psalm 51:1–17; Luke 15:11–24; Luke 12:15–21; Isaiah 6:1–8; Psalm 139:1–24

PRAYER ASSIGNMENT (MORNING)

AFRICAN PROVERB

“He who conceals his disease cannot expect to be cured.”

Meaning: A sick person who hides his illness from the doctor will never receive the treatment he needs. In the same way, the person who hides his sins, weaknesses, and problems from God and from himself cannot be healed or delivered. Healing begins with honest admission. The moment you stop hiding and start telling the truth, God can begin His work of restoration.

CLOSING REFLECTION

Beloved, God is not afraid of your truth, and you should not be either. He already knows everything about you, and He still loves you. The only person you deceive by hiding is yourself. Stop telling yourself comfortable lies. Stop blaming others for what is in your own heart. Stop hearing the Word without doing it. Look honestly into the mirror of God’s Word, come to yourself like the prodigal son, and run back to the Father. The truth may hurt for a moment, but it will set you free forever. Remain blessed in Jesus’ name.

CLOSING REFLECTION

Beloved, God is not afraid of your truth, and you should not be either. He already knows everything about you, and He still loves you. The only person you deceive by hiding is yourself. Stop telling yourself comfortable lies. Stop blaming others for what is in your own heart. Stop hearing the Word without doing it. Look honestly into the mirror of God’s Word, come to yourself like the prodigal son, and run back to the Father. The truth may hurt for a moment, but it will set you free forever. Remain blessed in Jesus’ name.