I love the part in the movie Mom’s Night Out where the gang of girls walks around to the back of the tattoo parlor in search of Bones to find Bridgett’s missing baby. When the preacher’s wife taps on the door, Bones comes out in a huff and says how they should know better than to go to the back door of a tattoo parlor, because, well…it’s dangerous!

It’s a movie, so everything turns out fine, but in real life that warning is valid. It’s not wise to meet a stranger in a dark alley behind a tattoo parlor. For evil loves to lurk in the shadows.

In the dark corners is where Satan whispers his lies. Secretly and slyly, he lures us away from basking in the middle of the room with the full sun on our face, and gets us to agree to meet him in a dark alley behind the tattoo parlor.

From there he ties our hands with remnants of our past and says we can never overcome or get past this thing we’ve done. As my husband says, “He splashes in the puddles of our past and then blames us when we get wet.”

He convinces us what we did is unforgivable. He whispers for us to stay there in that puddle of shame with him where we belong. And we’re tempted to stay. The wheels are churning in our brain, weighing the choices. We want everything to be alright, for no one to ever know the details and all of this to go away.

But it’s a lie!

Remember, Satan is utter darkness masquerading as an angel of light. You cannot believe him, for he cannot utter the truth. It is not in him. His every thought is evil and deceptive, spewing forth from the pit of Hell. His goal is to flatter you, to puff you up and make you believe you don’t need Jesus. But don’t believe him. He can’t mean it, because remember, he cannot speak the truth. There’s a flip side to everything he says. Underneath the flattery is a truth he’d rather stay hidden in the dark…

The truth is Satan hates you and wants to see you destroyed. He wants to see your marriage dissolve like melting ice. He wants you mad at your husband, flaming hot at your kids and frustrated at your sister in Christ. He wants you working from sun up to sun down trying to keep up with the Jones’, whoever they are. He wants your focus on your appearance, your Facebook status, your level of authority and off of serving your neighbor, praying for your friend, taking your thoughts captive, and using your gifts for His glory.

Are you going to let him win?

I hope not, because there’s good news….

There is Someone who loves you. Someone who speaks the truth and always has your best interest in mind. His name is Jesus.

When you come to believe in Him as Lord and Savior, meaning, when you realize you are not a perfect person and have no reason for God to let you enter His mansion of glory when your time on earth expires other than the name of Jesus, then friend, you are a Daughter of the King!

And what does that mean?

It means you don’t belong to the darkness anymore, but to the light. You have crossed over from death to light! You are more than a conqueror through Christ. You are not your own, but have been bought with a price. Jesus gave His life for you. If you were the only one on earth, He would’ve died for you!

Now your identity is in Christ, not in the things that you’ve done.

That means you can stop living in the dark alley. You can stop compromising with the Evil One behind the tattoo parlor where you think no one can see you. You can walk away knowing your identity as a child of God defines who you are now.

Instead of sneaking in the shadows, you can dance in the Light! You are loved and greatly adored!

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Have you heard about my book? No More Secrets: Set Free from Fear, Shame and Control by Discovering True Grace is a memoir of God cleaning out the trunk of my soul and helping me overcome thoughts that tried to take me captive. You can pick up your copy at Amazon today!