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Every year publishers of dictionaries add a few new words that have crept into everyday language.  One such word is ‘gaslighting’.. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines it this way:  “The psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one's emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator.”  Apparently, the word evolved from the plot of an old movie where a husband tired to convince his wife that she was going insane by lowering the gas lamps and then insisting that the lamps were on full intensity.

              Are there examples of ‘gaslighting’ in the scriptures?.. Certainly!  We see Satan in the garden challenging Eve about what she has heard from God and suggesting that she had misunderstood God’s instructions to her and Adam.  We witness Satan continuing to twist words in the dialogue between he and our Lord during the wilderness temptation period.  He is the ever present gaslighter!  Paul was frustrated on occasion when he realized that some were preaching a different ‘good news’ than that which he received from Christ.  In Galatians 1 6&7 (NLT) he writes:

I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.

              What are the antidotes for us on the receiving end of gaslighting?  First, as believers be aware that we are a prime target of our enemy.  Note Peter’s warning in I Peter 5:8 (NLT):  Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  Stand firm against him and be strong in your faith.  Secondly, be a student of the word.  Paul’s readers in Galatia had little in the way of written word available to them but today Christians have easy access to God’s word in multiple formats yet many are rather unfamiliar with the message of the Gospel.

              Thirdly, welcome and practice the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life.  In I John 5&6 (NLT) we read: “And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony.” The Holy Spirit is a great gaslight detector!  He will confirm truth and check your spirit when something is just not right.                                                                                                                                                           Pastor Dave