Resetting to True North: The Father of Lies and the Call to Return
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Happy Wednesday, and welcome to our midweek His Path Daily Route Update!
Whether we’re behind the wheel or walking with CHRIST, it’s easy to get distracted, drift off course, or just lose focus. Midweek is a great time to pause, recalibrate, and realign with our True North. It’s been a few days since many of us gathered for worship on the Lord’s Day—and this is a great time to reset our direction and refresh ourselves on the journey HE has planned for us.
This week, we’ll turn our attention to John Chapter 8.
In this chapter, JESUS is building toward one of the most pivotal, provocative, and divine self-declarations in all of Scripture. Near the end, after dropping hint after hint of Who He truly was, He makes this astounding statement:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
— John 8:58 (ESV)
“I AM” wasn’t just a phrase—it was divine. It bring us back to Exodus 3:14, when GOD said to Moses: “I AM WHO I AM.” JESUS wasn’t claiming to be old—He was claiming to be eternal. Yahweh. GOD.
Picture the reaction and jaws dropping. The crowd hears JESUS say, in effect:
“Remember Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses? Remember the voice in the burning bush? That was Me.”
It’s stunning. I find myself smiling as I type this. My eyes get a little misty. Yes, JESUS… You are.
But as awe-inspiring as that was, I want to draw your attention to a previous—but just as piercing—passage that came earlier in the chapter.
Let’s read John 8:39–47 (ESV):
39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” JESUS said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,
40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.
41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”
42 JESUS said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.
43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?
47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
For years, I read this as a harsh rebuke aimed squarely at unbelievers:
“You are like your father, the devil.”
But look again. Look at the tone, the focus, and who JESUS is ultimately confronting.
He’s calling out their ownership (their father) and their will (aligned with Satan). But the righteous anger is aimed not merely at them, but at their father—Satan:
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A murderer
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A liar
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A deceiver
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A corrupter
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The father of lies
JESUS describes Satan like a cancer—infecting, destroying, killing. And then He does what He always does: He shines light on darkness, not to condemn without hope, but to bring conviction and light. His call isn’t blame—it’s an invitation. Repent and live.
So where does this leave us, midweek?
This is a good moment to do a heart inventory.
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If you don’t yet know CHRIST, what will you do with this truth? Will you continue in rebellion, bonded to the father of lies, resisting the only One who can free you? Or will you surrender, fall at the foot of the cross, and say, “I am yours, save me.”?
It’s not easy… but it is simple.
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And for those of us who do know CHRIST—no, we are not bound to Satan. We are not owned by him. But we still wander. We get off-path.
As the old hymn says:
“Let Thy grace now, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it—prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it—seal it for Thy courts above.”
— Robert Robinson
It’s been a few days since we gathered to worship, sing, confess, and be reminded of who we are as the Bride of CHRIST. So midweek, let’s remember: we are loved. We are forgiven. We are sealed. And when we stumble, we return—not to condemnation, but to a gracious Husband who welcomes His wandering bride with open arms.
Don’t listen to the father of lies.
Don’t live like he’s still your master.
Live instead as a faithful bride. Not perfect, but faithful. Not sinless, but repentant. Not proud, but humbled and loved.
Be well, Church.
~Matthew
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