You Know What’s Gonna Set You Free

The Helm

One of my alert readers keyed in on a high value comment regarding the Michael Heiser short I shared in The Fight You’re In Whether You Know It Or Not.

When dealing with spiritual warfare, it’s important we speak truth to lies.

Deception is a powerful weapon.

Let’s grab hold of the truth and set sail.

Clash of Tides

The truth will set you free.

Where does this phrase come from?

It’s found in John 8:32, but the greater context is Jesus having a discussion with Jewish leaders on how He is the way to salvation. The clash between Jesus and the Jews intensifies to the point of them wanting to murder Jesus for blasphemy. If anyone ever claims Jesus never claimed to be God, the charges of blasphemy are persistent. It would have been blasphemy if it weren’t true. No one would have accused Jesus of claiming to be God if He wasn’t making that claim.

While Jesus was talking directly about salvation in John 8:33, the Apostle Paul also affirms the value of truth in his letter to the Ephesians.

Girding your loins is not something we moderns do too much. What the heck does that even mean? I confess: I had to look it up. Art of Manliness has a great illustrated in-depth article on what it means to gird up your loins. The short of it is when someone would tuck their tunic into their belt to give them mobility. It’s getting ready for action. You’re alert. You’re aware. When you start saying things that aren’t true, whether to yourself or someone else, the fog rolls in and the truth becomes more difficult to discern.

Let’s look at this from an angle of AI. Technology is accelerating at a pace that has people wondering what they’ll see first: the second coming of Christ or the first coming of the Terminator. With the recent release of Veo3 (May 2025), AI is capable of creating scary realistic videos. The Prompt Theory blurs the lines between fiction and reality, giving one pause about Elon Musk’s speculations about whether or not we live in a simulation. In case you’re wondering, we don’t.

A lack of truth has also rocked the church, as well. Whether it’s lies and legitimate cover ups or lies that there have been coverups when there was nothing to cover up, or lack of transparency over where funds go, or bad actors within good organizations, many Christians have been left like sheep without their shepherds. Or worse, those shepherds were present but weren’t immune to being bought, as Megan Basham brings the receipts for in her book, Shepherds for Sale. The lack of truth brings a fog over the very places we need to be engaged. Don’t check out of church, friends.

What I’m saying is that where there’s a loss of trust in leaders, there’s nowhere we’re so safe we can hop onto an inner tube in the lazy river of life and mentally check out. We have to be alert to truth because when we’re in the fog of untruth, we’re sailing into dark waters where can lose our heading.

Why don’t people trust politicians, auto mechanics, and lawyers? It’s not because of their honesty.

In a world of social media and mainstream media, where we don’t know what is true and what’s propaganda, I know my head spins. I’ve had enough face to face conversations with friends to know I’m not alone in that. There is a saturation of influence and it’s hijacking our discernment. One friend commented to me recently that we’re left like Pontus Pilate asking, “What is truth?”

When we get like this, we’re hardly alert, loins girded, and ready for action. We’re disoriented and left reeling, looking for the balance we thought we had. There is a lot we can’t fix. When the existential dread reaches a Lovecraftian level, we can begin to feel powerless. So what do we do?

We trust Jesus’ words that the truth will set us free.

When you take telling the truth seriously as part of your spiritual warfare, you don’t give a foothold to deception. This includes the little white lies of saying “I’m fine” when you’re not. I mean this with dead seriousness. Psalm 28 speaks of someone who says they’re at peace with their neighbor while there is evil in their hearts as a worker of iniquity. With every lie, we are choosing sides.

The whole world may be fogged over but you can clear the fog in the corner you live in. That may mean you have to overcome fear in order to be honest, it may mean humiliation or discomfort to be honest, but that’s the fork in the road: the truth or lies.

Do. Not. Give. Lies. A. Foothold.

When you tell the truth, you’ll be like Gandalf, smoting the Balrog’s ruin on the mountainside.

Tell the truth. Clear the air. Disarm the darkness.

Armory

The alert reader I mentioned in The Helm also shared a song in response to praying through Psalm 3.

Many years ago, I heard someone describe the songs we sing on Sunday morning as “take home theology.” Songs get stuck in our head and their words find their way down into our hearts where they are hidden away for later recall.

There is a whole lot that could be said on what it means for God to be My glory, weighing in with C.S. Lewis, but this week let’s keep the practical application simple. I’ll write about this glory in an upcoming issue.

When you’re in the heat of a spiritual battle, whether it’s anger, a sharp word on the tip of your tongue, an itchy eye that wants to roam, lies are being stacked against you or there’s been an injustice done to you… recall the take home theology from this song.

Sing it to yourself. Sing it to God as an act of trust.

Thou O Lord are a shield for me. My glory and the lifter of my head.

Sunbreak Stories

I recently was texting with a friend (who’s also an alert reader!) about men needing courage.

He shared a song with me that brought him some courage, and I want to pass that on to all of you.

I need your help with future Sunbreak Stories.

Do you have a story you’re willing to share where the light broke through the darkness for the encouragement of others? Hit reply and let me know. I’ll keep it anonymous. The story of the Sun breaking through keeps the focus where it needs to be.

Dropping Anchor

My friends, thank you for reading. I appreciate you opening up this newsletter and supporting the work.

Every day something pops up that confirms to me that shining the light on spiritual warfare is the right path to take.

As we drop anchor today, remember to tell the truth. Look to the Lord as your shield, glory, and the lifter of your head. Lies will never protect you like He will. Gird up your loins with truth and you will be alert and ready for the battles in front of you.

Until next week…

Stay Anchored and keep fighting the good fight,

~ J.P. Simons ⚓️

Below Deck: A Deep Dive

Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices is one of my favorite old books (published in 1652!) and the original foundation I wanted to build on for a group study.

For our Deep Dive this week, I present you with the Introduction. I didn’t plan to line this up with the topic of truth telling, but it just worked out that way.

Truth sheds light on the darkness.

INTRODUCTION

In the fifth verse, the apostle shows, that the incestuous person had by his incest saddened those precious souls who God would not have saddened. Souls who walk sinfully are Hazaels to the godly (2 Kings 8:12-15), and draw many sighs and tears from them. Jeremiah weeps in secret for Judah's sins (Jer. 9:1); and Paul cannot speak of the belly-gods with dry eyes (Phil. 3:18, 19). And Lot's righteous soul was burdened, vexed and racked by the filthy Sodomites (2 Peter 2:7, 8). Every sinful Sodomite was a Hazael to his eyes, a Hadadrimmon to his heart (Zech. 12:11). Gracious souls use to mourn for other men's sins as well as their own, and for their souls and sins who make a mock of sin, and a jest of damning their own souls. Guilt or grief is all that gracious souls get by communion with vain souls! "Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed." Psalm 119:136. "I look on the faithless with loathing, for they do not obey your word." Psalms 119:158.

In the 6th verse, he shows that the punishment which was inflicted upon the incestuous person was sufficient, and therefore they should not refuse to receive him who had repented and sorrowed for his former faults and follies. It is not for the honor of Christ, the credit of the gospel, nor the good of souls, for professors to be like those bloody wretches, that burnt some that recanted at the stake, saying, "That they would send them into another world while they were in a good mind."

In the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th verses, the apostle stirs up the church to forgive him, to comfort him, and to confirm their love towards him, lest he should be "swallowed up with overmuch sorrow," Satan going about to mix the detestable weeds (Matt. 13:25) of despair, with the godly sorrow of a pure penitent heart. It was a sweet saying of Jerome, "Let a man grieve for his sin, and then joy for his grief." That sorrow for sin which keeps the soul from looking towards the mercy-seat, and that keeps Christ andthe soul asunder, or that shall render the soul unfit for the communion of saints--is a sinful sorrow.

In the 11th verse, he lays down another reason to work them to show pity and mercy to the penitent sinner who was mourning and groaning under his sin and misery; that is, lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. A littlefor the opening of the words.

Lest Satan should get an advantage of us—lest Satan overreach us. The word in the Greek signifies to have more than-belongs to one. The comparison is taken from the greedy merchant, who seeks and takes all opportunities to beguile and deceive others.

Satan is that wily merchant, that devours, not widows' houses—but most men's souls! We are not ignorant of Satan's devices, or plots, or machinations, or stratagems. He is but a Christian in title only, who has not personal experience of Satan's stratagems, his set and composed machinations, his artificially molded methods, his plots, darts, depths, whereby he outwitted our first parents.

The main observation that I shall draw from these words is this—That Satan has his several devices to deceive, entangle, and undo the souls of men. I shall—

1. Prove the point.

2. Show you his several devices.

3. Show the remedies against his devices.

4. Show how it comes to pass that he has so many various devices to deceive, entangle, and undo the souls of men.

5. Lay down some propositions concerning Satan's devices.

Thomas Brooks