John 8:44 You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father’s desires (1939). He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
It is important to understand that when the devil speaks a lie he is actually being true to his real nature. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:3 that our nature, before coming to Christ, was to sin and to follow after the wishes of the flesh. This is why Jesus said to the Jewish leaders of his day, You belong to your father the devil. He was not saying that they were devil worshippers. Nor was he saying that they were the children of the devil. (See John 8:37)
Jesus was saying that they were displaying the same nature as the devil, which is to long for the forbidden fruit. It is his nature. Just as he was a murderer and a liar from the very beginning, so too, his nature is to long for everything that God has forbidden. God said to man, don’t eat from this one tree. The first thing the devil says in the Bible, « Did God really say you can’t eat that fruit? »
Brother, sister, the devil hasn’t changed his strategy since the Garden of Eden. It is the same today as it was then. And it will remain his strategy until the end of this world! Whatever God has deemed forbidden, the devil will want it. And when you want the same thing as the devil, you manifest the same nature as the devil. Just like the Jewish leaders in the time of Jesus.
A former pastor and good friend of mine committed adultery. When I confronted him I told him that there was no negotiating. « You must completely, radically, and forever, break it off with this other woman! » He began to shed a tear of remorse. And he said, « Couldn’t God be giving me this other woman? »
When your soul longs for the forbidden thing so much, you open yourself up to a spirit of delusion which makes God’s laws seem harsh and unfair. Not only will you begin to feel you deserve the forbidden fruit, you will impute to God fault in making you the way you are. And this is ultimately the nature of the devil.
But it is NOT your nature! You are a child of God, bought by the precious blood of Jesus; forgiven of your sin; and filled with His Holy Spirit. Today you will take hold of God’s Word and you will be enveloped by His Presence and you will conquer the forbidden fruit before it can conquer you. This is your new nature. And this is your destiny!
Jeûne de Daniel 
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