Are you delusional?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.
(2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 (NIV))

What do you believe in this sinful, fallen world?

Think about the powerful delusion that this passage speaks of and take a good, long look at our world, our country and our society in general. Do you see a vast number of people rebuking and raging against God’s Word and the ultimate truth that it contains? People curse the name of Jesus and anyone who professes a faith in Jesus. They flaunt their sin as if it were a direct challenge for God to do anything about it. They have gotten to the point where they believe their own lies. They have become blinded to the truth. For the sake of time and space, I am not even going to begin listing all of the things that I have seen, for they are far too numerous and heartbreaking to give any thought to.

By definition, the word “delusion” can be defined as a persistent false psychotic belief that is held contrary to the evidence available. People can have delusions of grandeur. They can have delusional thoughts about anything, but perhaps the saddest is the delusion where people say that there is no God! They fail to recognize the truth and find delight only in their sinful pleasures. Not only do they flaunt their sin, but they utterly hate anyone who recognizes their sin for what it is. They despise God’s truth!

They completely reject God’s gift of grace and mercy.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:16 (NIV))

Sadly, they don’t believe. They turn to their own desires and believe only what their heart tells them.

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
(Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV))

If this is the powerful delusion, are you delusional?

Copyright 1998 – 2019 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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For days

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

For days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven.
(Nehemiah 1:4 (NLT))

Nehemiah did something that we seem to ignore today!

It is the first two words of this passage – for days.

We have become such an instant gratification society that if something does not happen immediately, too many of us simply give up.

We mourn. We fast. We pray to God, but when God doesn’t answer on our time table, we assume that the answer is no. Nehemiah knew differently. He knew that God is like the judge in the following parable.

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, `Grant me justice against my adversary.’
“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, `Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming!’ ”
And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
(Luke 18:1-8 (NIV))

We must be persistent in our prayers. God answers every prayer, but He takes great joy in granting justice for those who call upon His name.

Do you call out for days or do you utter a few words and give up?

Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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