Deception

Deception is all around us because we live in a world of darkness. Therefore we need to be very careful where we get the Word of God.

There are so many devotionals in the world that look as though they are teaching God’s Word but in fact they are actually watering it down and thus keeping us from the path that leads to God’s blessings.

I recently came across a devotional that triggered alarm in me. This devotional had highly misrepresented a verse of Scripture. It lead the reader to believe that they were on the right path in life, but in fact, it was so vague it seemed to say all people who work hard are blessed by God. I quickly went to their website and realized that they support alternative lifestyles and all forms of religions. This devotional seems to offer God’s Word to its readers but in all actuality is not Christ based and thus does not offer Truth to anyone.

“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”(2 Tim 4:3-4 NLT)

The Bible speaks about syncretism which is the amalgamation of different religions and schools of thought. This devotional I am referring to is in fact using different schools of thought. But, this is what the Bible teaches:

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12 referring to Jesus Christ as stated in Acts 4:10)

Here is the verse of Scripture in the non Christian devotional I am referring to: “And every work that he undertook…he did with all his heart; and he prospered.” ( It was labeled as 2 Chron 31:21)

The actual verse of Scripture in the Bible reads: “In all that he did in the service of the Temple of God and in his efforts to follow God’s laws and commands, Hezekiah sought his God wholeheartedly. As a result, he was very successful.” (2 Chron 31:21 NLT)

This is a complete misrepresentation of the Word of the Lord. We must be very discerning when we gain hope from something that sounds very broad and satisfies everyone. The path to life is narrow, and it includes faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone.

“Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matt 7:14)

“Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following.”(Acts 20:30)

This particular abbreviated portion of 2 Chron 31:21 leads the reader to believe that God blesses and approves our work if it is done heartily, no matter what profession we have chosen- which is incorrect. We may be very prosperous and successful in a profession that the Lord abhors.

Think about night club owners, lawyers who use deception to slander opponents and win cases, abortion doctors, child trafficking kingpins, psychologists and self help gurus who encourage us to build up “self” while ignoring our Creator. It doesn’t matter how hard we work, if Christ is not the center of our life and pleasing Him our goal- we are far from our true purpose. Our purpose or the reason God created us, always involves spreading our faith, the prototype being the Great Commission.

God confronts the idea of selfish ambition in the Old and New Testaments.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves”(Phil 2:3)

God has a very important lesson about selfish ambition in the book of Genesis. The story talks about people who wanted to create a name for themselves and how this angered God…

“They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

“But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. “The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”(Gen 11:3-7 NIV)

This was not a project ordained by God. It was a human idea, devoid of God’s guidance and therefore God destroyed it. But if you will notice, they had spent much time building it- because the Lord looked down from heaven and could see both the town and the tower. Therefore, in order to avoid putting our hard work towards a project that the Lord won’t support, we should seek the Lord first, waiting until we are sure we have received the “go ahead.”

Be Careful Of Empty Promises

Putting hope in words written by devotional authors without checking to be sure they are accurate is a recipe for disaster. At best our plans may be profitable, but there will remain an emptiness in our soul. At worst, God will allow the enemy to destroy all we have worked so hard to accomplish.

Back to the main point of the blog post. We must know the Word of God so we can discern if the hope we are receiving in a devotional is actually a hope based on God’s Truth or simply an empty promise.

Be careful. Satan is prowling around seeking people to deceive and destroy.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”(1 Peter 5:8)

God has wonderful plans for all of us, plans that will give us hope, a bright future and prosper us. Let’s encourage each other to go to the Lord in deep study of His Word to find out how to proceed in our lives!

“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

The first command to humanity was to be fruitful and multiply, which will allow His glorious teachings to live on. Therefore, we can be assured that parents who live life His way, and teach their children to do the same, are engaged in their first ministry. Eventually, by continuing to fight the good fight of faith- putting up with attacks from Satan (spiritual warfare), the Lord will lead us to a ministry beyond the four walls of our homes if we desire it. God won’t make us do anything we don’t desire. He has given us free will and has told us to “go” in other words to partake in the Great Commission. If we obey, we will be blessed and the Kingdom of heaven will grow. However one thing we can all do as Christians- we can choose to follow the teachings in the Bible and show others the love of God.

THE GREAT COMMISSION:“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”(Matt 28:18-20)

Food For Thought,

Lisa

This is a link to my favorite Bible with excellent teaching points. Click here.