Deception Warning

I wrote a Tidbit yesterday on deception and how changes take place so subtly that you don’t even notice what is taking place and how it is affecting you spiritually, psychologically, emotionally and also in other ways.  When people are told right out that a change is taking place within them and will affect them in these ways, they can put up a defensive wall and prepare themselves for change, but if the change is real gradual you hardly think about it and that is how deception works.  If you see things clearly and fully understand what is taking place then it is much harder for someone to deceive you, but when you least expect it you can easily be deceived.

Think about radon in your house; you can’t smell it or detect it unless you have a device that tells you that it is present in the room, without that device it will eventually kill you.  Here is another example; years ago when miners were working in a mine, there may have been gas leaking down in the mine with them which had the capacity to kill them but it couldn’t be detected so they would take a bird down with them in a cage which would serve as a warning that there was gas in the mine.  This is how it worked, the bird would sing and move around throughout the day but if the bird suddenly fell over dead it was a warning for them to get out in a hurry because of the gas that was present that could kill them if they didn’t act promptly.

People are being deceived, young and old alike, every day because of repetition; seeing and hearing the same things over and over, again and again.  People sit in front of TV’s, video games or computers for hours and listen and observe violence of every kind until it lulls them to sleep, so to speak, and they grow immune to what they see and many lose a sense of reality.  Much of this is being done by those that call themselves believers and they are being deceived and also deceiving themselves.  We hear about doing things in moderation, but how many of us live according to that rule?  Controlling ourselves and having a balance is a big problem for most of us.  You can tell that by just looking around or listening to advertisements for diets and gym memberships and what about people that are workaholics and others that don’t work near hard enough and alcoholics in general; there are so many other things that could be mentioned.  Just writing these things down and thinking about them shows us how easy we deceive ourselves and how easily we can be deceived.

Doing this Tidbit I was reminded about how Joshua and the Israelites were tricked, deceived and beguiled by the inhabitants of Gibeon when they heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai in Joshua 9, if you want to read it for yourself.  Read what it says in verses 6-16, “And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, ‘We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us.’

Then the men of Israel said to the Hivites, ‘Perhaps you dwell among us; so how can we make a covenant with you?’

But they said to Joshua, ‘We are your servants.’

And Joshua said to them, ‘Who are you, and where do you come from?’

So they said to him: ‘From a very far country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God; for we have heard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt, and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan—to Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth. Therefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take provisions with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants; now therefore, make a covenant with us.’ This bread of ours we took hot for our provision from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look, it is dry and moldy. And these wineskins which we filled were new, and see, they are torn; and these our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey.’

Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the Lord. So Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them.

And it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them.”

If Joshua would have consulted his God, he would have avoided that deception.   In many cases deception happens so subtly we don’t even know it is happening until by the grace of God we are shaken to the core by the conviction of the Holy Spirit and then we are given a chance to repent, praise the Lord!!  I am afraid there are many being lulled to sleep today that are allowing things to take place in their lives that are causing a separation between them and the Lord and they are wondering where He is and why their prayers are not being answered and why they are struggling so hard.  This may be the answer; could it be you have left your first love?  Examine yourself and see if you have allowed things to occupy the place you once reserved for the Lord.  If you have, repent and confess it to the Lord then take steps to remove them from your life.  Something to think about!

P.S.  Did you ever think about how frogs are deceived?  They are put in a pot of water, which to them is fine.  Then you turn on the stove, which they are unaware of, and while they are swimming around having fun they don’t have any idea that they are going to be someone’s lunch, because if they did, they would jump out.  They are totally deceived, they swim until they are boiled to death because they have no one to warn them, aren’t you glad you have someone to warn you?

Please don’t take this Tidbit lightly, the enemy would love that, act on it if this message is speaking to you.  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a blessed day!!