Don't Be Deceived

In Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, Jesus shares the signs of the End Times and warns to "Watch out that no one deceives you." In the midst of the darkness that is enveloping this world, this is a warning we need to heed. Jesus tells us in ‭Mark‬ ‭13:22‭-‬23‬,

"false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. Watch out! I have warned you about this ahead of time!"

Jesus teaches us how to recognize those who are false teachers in ‭Matthew‬ ‭7:15‭-‬20,
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit... Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."

Apostle Paul also dealt with false teachers attempting to deceive God's people as we see in Galatians‬ ‭1:6‭-‬7,
"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ."

How do we guard ourselves from being deceived, swayed or thrown into confusion?

First, we must love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind as Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37. We do this by placing the Lord first in our lives, glorifying Him and giving Him thanks for everything... giving him the credit for all that we are and all that we have and all that we will become.

King David, a man after God's own heart, placed the Lord first and gave Him all the glory. Let us read David's words in ‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭29:11‭-‬13‬,

"Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name."

What a wonderful example of giving all honor, glory and thanks to our Lord!

Second, we must retain the knowledge of God by reading His word daily. By keeping His truth in the forefront of our mind, we are able to recognize false teachings and differentiate between the good and the evil and between truth and lies.

Apostle Paul teaches in ‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3:16‬,
"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right."

And Jesus tells us in ‭‭John‬ ‭8:31‭-32,
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Through the knowledge of His word, we can recognize what is against God, what is contrary to His word, what is not of God, what is truth and what is a lie.

Lastly, we must always seek God's guidance through prayer.

In ‭Matthew‬ ‭7:7‭, Jesus tells us:
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

We need to pause daily, turn off the noise of this world and sit with God. He promises to teach us and reveal his truth to us through His word. But we have to ask through our prayers for that wisdom and knowledge. When we do, the Holy Spirit will guide us through the Scriptures and lead us to what we seek.

Jesus tells us about this guidance from the Holy Spirit in John‬ ‭14:26‬,

"the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

What a wonderful gift that Jesus left us after he ascended into heaven! He provided us with a built-in teacher who is with us at all times.

In 1 John‬ ‭2, Apostle John warns about the end times and the anti-christ and urges the people to remain faithful to what they have been taught. He continues in verses 26-27,

"I am writing these things to warn you about those who want to lead you astray. But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie."

So let us heed the advice of Jesus who warns us to watch out, to be on guard that no one deceives us. Let us not give any opportunity to deception and lies. We can keep that door of falsehood closed by loving God and putting Him first in our lives, remaining in the word to keep it in the forefront of our minds and praying for wisdom, knowledge and guidance through the Holy Spirit daily. If we remain diligent in this way, we will not be deceived.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The mission of Daily God Gems is to share God's word and be a source of encouragement, peace, love and unity in Messiah. Visit us at www.facebook.com/dailygodgems and www.dailygodgems.com