Don’t fall for ungodly deception!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you.
(Mark 13:5 (NIV))

Jesus knew that strange times would come and that people would potentially be deceived by what would be happening. He told His disciples point blank to be on their guard so that they, and we, would not be deceived when situations arise. We must stand firm in our faith and be firmly rooted in God’s Word so that we can recognize false teachings when they are presented to us. It is my prayer that we will be so firmly grounded in God’s Word that we will instantly know the enemy’s attempts to deceive us when we see them. You have to realize that the enemy knows God’s Word and can twist it in ways that are designed to confuse those who are not totally immersed in God’s truth. Consider that the serpent tricked Adam and Eve by twisting the truth in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve walked with God. They knew Him in a way that we can’t possibly know God today. Still, they fell for the deception that the serpent used, and humanity has been paying the price ever since that day!

The enemy uses things out of context, or just a partial quote of scripture. He will twist just enough of God’s Word so that it still sounds right, but with the subtle change, it is now a lie. Consider what happens if he leaves out the last instructions from Jesus to the woman caught in adultery.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
(John 8:9-11 (NIV))

If you twist this passage by removing “Go now and leave your life of sin,” it takes on a whole new meaning. It takes on a meaning completely opposite of what Jesus truly said and meant. Without those eight words, it sounds as if Jesus is telling the woman that whatever she does is okay, when what He is really saying is that she must repent and change her ways. The whole passage, when twisted like this, is now able to be a lie from the mouth of the enemy.

We must not take things at face value. We must know God’s Word. We must search God’s Word for verification and not for our sinful gratification. We must be Bereans!

Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
(Acts 17:11 (NIV))

When someone is not educated in certain aspects of life, it is easy for them to be deceived in those areas. With everything that is going on in the world, be very careful with respect to what you embrace as truth. When you are firmly grounded in God’s Word, the Holy Spirit will be in communication with your spirit. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you through the subtle lies of the enemy.

Don’t fall for ungodly deception!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you deceiving yourself?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
(1 John 1:8 (NIV))

I find it interesting that human nature is so quick to point out the faults in others, yet so slow to recognize the faults in ourselves. It is not uncommon for people to not acknowledge that they are sinners. It is a completely different matter to think that you are without sin even when we are told differently.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(Romans 3:23 (NIV))

Deception is just another name for a lie, and we all know who the father of all lies is. Satan would like nothing better to convince us that we are okay just as we are and that we don’t need someone to save us from our sins. I want to present you with a few questions. If the enemy is correct that we don’t need a savior, then why did he spend so much time trying to kill Jesus at his birth? Why did he try to tempt Jesus to give up on His mission? Why did he nail Jesus to the cross?

If you look at yourself and think that you are the exception to Romans 3:23, then you have been deceived, you have believed the biggest lie of all time. If you think that you are without sin, then you are placing yourself equal to Jesus and you are deceiving yourself!

Are you deceiving yourself?

Copyright 1998 – 2017 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Can a blind man lead a blind man?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

He also told them this parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.
(Luke 6:39-40 (NIV))

How many people today are blind leading the blind or are blind following the blind? People are searching for answers, and are looking in all the wrong places. This is Satan’s great desception. He is keeping people from seeing the truth by placing lies and stumbling blocks in their way.

God placed in us the desire to belong to Him. When people do not know Jesus, they try to satisfy that desire with whatever they can find, or whoever they can find that will verify their sense of being, even if it is a false verification.

Each person has a piece missing from them that only God can fill perfectly. Nothing or no one can fill it like Jesus. We must open the eyes of the blind and lead them to the light and the piece (and peace) that can satisfy that void.

Jesus said that we, as students or desciples, can not be greater than He. We must strive to be fully in God’s will and let the Holy Spirit fill us and train us so that we may be like Jesus. When this happens, we will truly be able to lead the “blind” to Jesus as Jesus, Himself, lead the “blind”. Perhaps, we, too, can open the eyes of the “blind” in a similar fashion to the way Jesus opened blind eyes, both physically and spiritually.

Are you leading, following or are you studying under the Master, or are you blind to what God has called you to?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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