Post by Richard on Mar 20, 2007 7:34:16 GMT -5
Let's Not Be Deceived!, by Kathy Bailey
What is the best way to tell a lie? When I was a kid, for example, I
would sometimes tell Mom or Dad that I was staying with Mandy
overnight. Then, when I was out, Mandy would call and ask for me.
Whoops! No wonder my parents had "eyes in the back of their heads"! I
was a bad liar! Had I actually been hanging out with Mandy, my parents
might not have found out I was trying to deceive them!
The greatest strategy in deceit is knowing this: The closer the lie is
to the truth, the less chance there is of being caught. The devil knows
this. He will present you with enough truth that you will believe him.
Jesus said, "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and will
deceive many" (Matthew 13:6 NKJV).
How many of us believe that we will be one of the "many" who are
deceived?
I suspect that most of us here think, "Oh, not ME! I would know Jesus
if I saw Him! I would know a lie if I heard it!" However, the Bible
says that the devil will slip in under our radar. He's very, very good
at pulling the wool over the eyes of God's sheep -- pun intended.
The devil is ALREADY making us numb to the truth. Without knowing it,
we're gradually cooperating with him or refusing to deal with sin, even
in our own homes. We are numb to TV, numb to the influences that are
destroying our children, and often numb to the sin that we rationalize
in ourselves.
We know his purposes!
Our children watch their peers or whatever is on TV -- as we watch with
them watching TV -- and they think about what they are missing. They
desire the freedoms and the things they see presented to them by many
of the most creative minds in our culture. Satan tells them these
things are good, pleasurable, and many others are enjoying them. The
world tells them that their parents are square, stuffy, mean,
hypocritical, and bigoted.
Do our kids see us avoiding the seductive and the worldly? Or do they
see us skirting along the edges. If they don't see us actively guarding
ourselves, they are taught by our behavior that honoring our faith is
not that important.
Jesus answered Satan with the following when being tempted: "It is
written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:4). When He was tempted by
the devil, what did the Lord use as an effective tool against the
temptations of the devil? The written Word of God. Where are these
words written? They are found in the Bible that often sits on our
coffee table or in its protective case, often unopened and unexamined.
We would be better armed to have it in our hands.
The Bible is alive! Knowledge of God is within its pages. It is a true
love-letter to each of us. As we read and study, we should be praying
for discernment and be determined that what we read determines how we
think, act, and speak. This way, when the devil tempts us, then we will
be able to respond the way that Jesus did, using the Scriptures. The
apostle Paul reminded Timothy of the importance of Scripture when he
wrote the following to him: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete,
thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Let's not be deceived by the evil one. We know his purposes, but we
know Jesus' purposes for us even more! "The thief does not come except
to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have
life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10 NKJV).
What is the best way to tell a lie? When I was a kid, for example, I
would sometimes tell Mom or Dad that I was staying with Mandy
overnight. Then, when I was out, Mandy would call and ask for me.
Whoops! No wonder my parents had "eyes in the back of their heads"! I
was a bad liar! Had I actually been hanging out with Mandy, my parents
might not have found out I was trying to deceive them!
The greatest strategy in deceit is knowing this: The closer the lie is
to the truth, the less chance there is of being caught. The devil knows
this. He will present you with enough truth that you will believe him.
Jesus said, "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and will
deceive many" (Matthew 13:6 NKJV).
How many of us believe that we will be one of the "many" who are
deceived?
I suspect that most of us here think, "Oh, not ME! I would know Jesus
if I saw Him! I would know a lie if I heard it!" However, the Bible
says that the devil will slip in under our radar. He's very, very good
at pulling the wool over the eyes of God's sheep -- pun intended.
The devil is ALREADY making us numb to the truth. Without knowing it,
we're gradually cooperating with him or refusing to deal with sin, even
in our own homes. We are numb to TV, numb to the influences that are
destroying our children, and often numb to the sin that we rationalize
in ourselves.
We know his purposes!
Our children watch their peers or whatever is on TV -- as we watch with
them watching TV -- and they think about what they are missing. They
desire the freedoms and the things they see presented to them by many
of the most creative minds in our culture. Satan tells them these
things are good, pleasurable, and many others are enjoying them. The
world tells them that their parents are square, stuffy, mean,
hypocritical, and bigoted.
Do our kids see us avoiding the seductive and the worldly? Or do they
see us skirting along the edges. If they don't see us actively guarding
ourselves, they are taught by our behavior that honoring our faith is
not that important.
Jesus answered Satan with the following when being tempted: "It is
written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:4). When He was tempted by
the devil, what did the Lord use as an effective tool against the
temptations of the devil? The written Word of God. Where are these
words written? They are found in the Bible that often sits on our
coffee table or in its protective case, often unopened and unexamined.
We would be better armed to have it in our hands.
The Bible is alive! Knowledge of God is within its pages. It is a true
love-letter to each of us. As we read and study, we should be praying
for discernment and be determined that what we read determines how we
think, act, and speak. This way, when the devil tempts us, then we will
be able to respond the way that Jesus did, using the Scriptures. The
apostle Paul reminded Timothy of the importance of Scripture when he
wrote the following to him: "All Scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete,
thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Let's not be deceived by the evil one. We know his purposes, but we
know Jesus' purposes for us even more! "The thief does not come except
to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have
life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10 NKJV).