What is Deception?
According to a Christian definition about deception, (Job 13:4) The definition of deception includes manufacturing in the eyes of someone that something is of value when it has no value.
As to my experiences and observation, "it is a false representation of what is bad."
In our world today, most of us are victims of deception. Have you not wonder why our lives seems to get worst everyday? Its because of deception! Sad to say but most people do not highly put their trust on God, they do rely on themselves that's why they based their decisions to what they think is right, unfortunately most of what we think of are false representations.
Crimes are unstoppable and is increasing in a rapid rate. But if you ask those criminals for some reasons why they did a certain crime, they do not have any answer and it seems that they are confused. Same thing with corrupt politicians, people with vices, school dropouts,early pregnant ladies, addicts, broken families etc.
Whether you like it or not, the reason why our situation gets worst is because of our wrong actions that we did based from our wrong perceptions. Believe me, everything that's happening are just the effects of false representation of what should be right thing.
The truth is, we are all deceived. In John 10:10, it says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." What normally happens is that we are destroyed and that we did not have life to the full. Why? Its because we do really on ourselves, not on God that's why we are deceived repeatedly.
Always Remember:
According to one of my favorite verse Proverbs 3:7 "Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the LORD and turn away from evil." It is very clearly stated that we should not be wise for ourselves. We have limited knowledge about what is better for us.
Do not under estimate deception because its been ruining peoples lives.
By: Edwin Joseph
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Uniquely You
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Labels: Bible Devotionals, Christian Lifestyles, Daily Devotions, Daily Spiritual Encouragement, Instant Daily Devotion, Reality of Faith, Spiritual Encouragement, Youth Devotionals
Labels: Bible Devotionals, Christian Lifestyles, Daily Devotions, Daily Spiritual Encouragement, Instant Daily Devotion, Reality of Faith, Spiritual Encouragement, Youth Devotionals
“He gave…to each according to his ability.”
Matthew 25:15 NKJV
Da Vinci painted one Mona Lisa. Beethoven composed one Fifth Symphony. And God made one version of you. He custom designed you for a one-of-a-kind assignment. Mine like a gold digger the unique-to-you nuggets from your life…
When God gives an assignment, he also gives the skill. Study your skills, then, to reveal your assignment.
Look at you. Your uncanny ease with numbers. Your quenchless curiosity about chemistry. Others stare at blueprints and yawn; you read them and drool. “I was made to do this,” you say.
Our Maker gives assignments to people, “to each according to each one’s unique ability.” As he calls, he equips. Look back over your life. What have you consistently done well? What have you loved to do? Stand at the intersection of your affections and successes and find your uniqueness.
From: Max Lucado
Matthew 25:15 NKJV
Da Vinci painted one Mona Lisa. Beethoven composed one Fifth Symphony. And God made one version of you. He custom designed you for a one-of-a-kind assignment. Mine like a gold digger the unique-to-you nuggets from your life…
When God gives an assignment, he also gives the skill. Study your skills, then, to reveal your assignment.
Look at you. Your uncanny ease with numbers. Your quenchless curiosity about chemistry. Others stare at blueprints and yawn; you read them and drool. “I was made to do this,” you say.
Our Maker gives assignments to people, “to each according to each one’s unique ability.” As he calls, he equips. Look back over your life. What have you consistently done well? What have you loved to do? Stand at the intersection of your affections and successes and find your uniqueness.
From: Max Lucado
When Satan Attacks
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Labels: Bible Devotionals, Christian Lifestyles, Daily Devotions, Daily Spiritual Encouragement, Instant Daily Devotion, Reality of Faith, Spiritual Reminder, Youth Devotionals
Labels: Bible Devotionals, Christian Lifestyles, Daily Devotions, Daily Spiritual Encouragement, Instant Daily Devotion, Reality of Faith, Spiritual Reminder, Youth Devotionals
Ephesians 6:11 - 12
Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
As we humans tend to do or to believe everything to one extreme or another, I am going to divide us into 2 groups. 1 - Those who blame Satan for everything bad in their lives. 2 - Those that pretend Satan does not exist. Which one are you? Hopefully, by the end of this, you may lean more toward the middle somewhere.
You cannot read these verses without coming to an understanding that Satan is indeed real and that we - as Christians - are at war with him and his hordes of demons. However, these verses do not remove the fact that we are pretty good at sinning on our own (ref. Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ). Nor do they remove the fact that our God tests us and disciplines us in order to grow us into the Christians He wants us to be. I think it is good to stop here and meditate on this:
James 1:12 - 15
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
So what does a satanic attack look like and how can we stand against them? I wish I had the one perfect answer for you, but I do not. However, what I can offer are my own personal struggles and how I deal with them.
There are many things that happen in my life that are bad that are simply results from the sins in my life that come from being a sinner such as debt, weight gain, snapping at my kids, laughing at my wife when she runs into an exercise bike because she didn't turn on the light - not that this ever happened (and I made sure she was ok first). I do not go around giving Satan credit for these. I beat myself up about them. I ask God to change me and strengthen me to make be better. I discipline myself to overcome these.
So, from where do the satanic attacks come? For me, I find that satanic attacks are more frequently mental attacks. I say "for me" because "for Job" they were definitely physical attacks. But in my case, they are mental. Small things will happen around me (things that are everyday type things), and I will begin having thoughts that make the small situation into something it is not - and was never going to be. These thoughts could be classified as lustful, power-hungry, greedy, selfish, etc. I believe that these are real satanic attacks on me to get me to follow through with decisions that will be divisive or hurtful to those close to me. I cannot describe them much more than that. I finish by saying I have come to recognize them as attacks because try as I may, I am unable to simply dismiss them and start thinking of something new. The barrage continues.
There are only 2 things that I have found that help me during these times. Prayer and the Bible! I talk to God about what is happening. I voice my concerns. And I read His Word searching for answers to what I am dealing with.
I feel as if I have typed a bunch of rubbish above. I hope that is not the case. I hope that in these words, you have found some kind of truth or hope that can help you continue in your Christian walk.
From: Delve Into Jesus - Donald Buttram
Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
As we humans tend to do or to believe everything to one extreme or another, I am going to divide us into 2 groups. 1 - Those who blame Satan for everything bad in their lives. 2 - Those that pretend Satan does not exist. Which one are you? Hopefully, by the end of this, you may lean more toward the middle somewhere.
You cannot read these verses without coming to an understanding that Satan is indeed real and that we - as Christians - are at war with him and his hordes of demons. However, these verses do not remove the fact that we are pretty good at sinning on our own (ref. Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ). Nor do they remove the fact that our God tests us and disciplines us in order to grow us into the Christians He wants us to be. I think it is good to stop here and meditate on this:
James 1:12 - 15
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
So what does a satanic attack look like and how can we stand against them? I wish I had the one perfect answer for you, but I do not. However, what I can offer are my own personal struggles and how I deal with them.
There are many things that happen in my life that are bad that are simply results from the sins in my life that come from being a sinner such as debt, weight gain, snapping at my kids, laughing at my wife when she runs into an exercise bike because she didn't turn on the light - not that this ever happened (and I made sure she was ok first). I do not go around giving Satan credit for these. I beat myself up about them. I ask God to change me and strengthen me to make be better. I discipline myself to overcome these.
So, from where do the satanic attacks come? For me, I find that satanic attacks are more frequently mental attacks. I say "for me" because "for Job" they were definitely physical attacks. But in my case, they are mental. Small things will happen around me (things that are everyday type things), and I will begin having thoughts that make the small situation into something it is not - and was never going to be. These thoughts could be classified as lustful, power-hungry, greedy, selfish, etc. I believe that these are real satanic attacks on me to get me to follow through with decisions that will be divisive or hurtful to those close to me. I cannot describe them much more than that. I finish by saying I have come to recognize them as attacks because try as I may, I am unable to simply dismiss them and start thinking of something new. The barrage continues.
There are only 2 things that I have found that help me during these times. Prayer and the Bible! I talk to God about what is happening. I voice my concerns. And I read His Word searching for answers to what I am dealing with.
I feel as if I have typed a bunch of rubbish above. I hope that is not the case. I hope that in these words, you have found some kind of truth or hope that can help you continue in your Christian walk.
From: Delve Into Jesus - Donald Buttram
The Assigning of the Call
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Labels: Bible Devotionals, Daily Devotions, Daily Spiritual Encouragement, Instant Daily Devotion, RBC, Reality of Faith, Spiritual Reminder, Utmost For His Highest, Youth Devotionals
Labels: Bible Devotionals, Daily Devotions, Daily Spiritual Encouragement, Instant Daily Devotion, RBC, Reality of Faith, Spiritual Reminder, Utmost For His Highest, Youth Devotionals
I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church . . . — Colossians 1:24
We take our own spiritual consecration and try to make it into a call of God, but when we get right with Him He brushes all this aside. Then He gives us a tremendous, riveting pain to fasten our attention on something that we never even dreamed could be His call for us. And for one radiant, flashing moment we see His purpose, and we say, "Here am I! Send me" ( Isaiah 6:8 ).
This call has nothing to do with personal sanctification, but with being made broken bread and poured-out wine. Yet God can never make us into wine if we object to the fingers He chooses to use to crush us. We say, "If God would only use His own fingers, and make me broken bread and poured-out wine in a special way, then I wouldn’t object!" But when He uses someone we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we said we would never submit, to crush us, then we object. Yet we must never try to choose the place of our own martyrdom. If we are ever going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed— you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed.
I wonder what finger and thumb God has been using to squeeze you? Have you been as hard as a marble and escaped? If you are not ripe yet, and if God had squeezed you anyway, the wine produced would have been remarkably bitter. To be a holy person means that the elements of our natural life experience the very presence of God as they are providentially broken in His service. We have to be placed into God and brought into agreement with Him before we can be broken bread in His hands. Stay right with God and let Him do as He likes, and you will find that He is producing the kind of bread and wine that will benefit His other children.
From: RBC - Utmost For His Highest
We take our own spiritual consecration and try to make it into a call of God, but when we get right with Him He brushes all this aside. Then He gives us a tremendous, riveting pain to fasten our attention on something that we never even dreamed could be His call for us. And for one radiant, flashing moment we see His purpose, and we say, "Here am I! Send me" ( Isaiah 6:8 ).
This call has nothing to do with personal sanctification, but with being made broken bread and poured-out wine. Yet God can never make us into wine if we object to the fingers He chooses to use to crush us. We say, "If God would only use His own fingers, and make me broken bread and poured-out wine in a special way, then I wouldn’t object!" But when He uses someone we dislike, or some set of circumstances to which we said we would never submit, to crush us, then we object. Yet we must never try to choose the place of our own martyrdom. If we are ever going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed— you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed.
I wonder what finger and thumb God has been using to squeeze you? Have you been as hard as a marble and escaped? If you are not ripe yet, and if God had squeezed you anyway, the wine produced would have been remarkably bitter. To be a holy person means that the elements of our natural life experience the very presence of God as they are providentially broken in His service. We have to be placed into God and brought into agreement with Him before we can be broken bread in His hands. Stay right with God and let Him do as He likes, and you will find that He is producing the kind of bread and wine that will benefit His other children.
From: RBC - Utmost For His Highest
Time management
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Labels: Bible Devotionals, Crosswalk Devotionals, Daily Devotions, Daily Spiritual Encouragement, Instant Daily Devotion, Reality of Faith, Spiritual Encouragement, Youth Devotionals
Labels: Bible Devotionals, Crosswalk Devotionals, Daily Devotions, Daily Spiritual Encouragement, Instant Daily Devotion, Reality of Faith, Spiritual Encouragement, Youth Devotionals
James 4:14-15: “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that’” (NASB).
God wants our eyes to be fixed on Him. The world offers many distractions, and we may substitute our obedience for earthly indulgence. The more we do this, the more we learn to settle for less. John Piper, from his book A Hunger for God, notes, “If we don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because we have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because we have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Our soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.”
Our children listen to us say we want to do God’s will, and they watch us to see how it is done. Let your example be that of a deep relationship with Christ that satisfies and compels you to seek His will over your own.
Approach the banquet of God’s fullness, and bring your children with you!
From: CrossWalk Devotionals
God wants our eyes to be fixed on Him. The world offers many distractions, and we may substitute our obedience for earthly indulgence. The more we do this, the more we learn to settle for less. John Piper, from his book A Hunger for God, notes, “If we don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because we have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because we have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Our soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.”
Our children listen to us say we want to do God’s will, and they watch us to see how it is done. Let your example be that of a deep relationship with Christ that satisfies and compels you to seek His will over your own.
Approach the banquet of God’s fullness, and bring your children with you!
From: CrossWalk Devotionals
The Little Children
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Labels: Bible Devotionals, Christian Lifestyles, Daily Devotions, Daily Spiritual Encouragement, Instant Daily Devotion, Spiritual Reminder, UpperRoom Devotionals, Youth Devotionals
Labels: Bible Devotionals, Christian Lifestyles, Daily Devotions, Daily Spiritual Encouragement, Instant Daily Devotion, Spiritual Reminder, UpperRoom Devotionals, Youth Devotionals
We are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
-2 Corinthians 5:20 (NRSV)
OUR Bible-study group gathered with nine girls around the long, cafeteria-style table in their dorm area as they watched us closely. These children aged 11-17 had been ordered by the court to stay in this facility short-term. We were there to celebrate anyone who had a birthday that month, bringing along cupcakes, games, and small gifts, including Bibles.
The girls, wary at first, quickly warmed to the celebration as we played games, ate, and just talked with them. We also listened. Although we couldn't legally ask them why they were there, their prayer requests spoke volumes: "I want my mom to stop using drugs." "To change my life around." "To find a good foster home." "For my brother, who is missing." These children, caught in the midst of challenging circumstances, were all searching for love and acceptance.
The world can be a terrifying, cruel place, but we have the message of hope. The children at the detention center gave us a priceless gift that day, reminding us that there are opportunities to share God's love and acceptance with God's children the world over, including those in our own backyards.
Prayer
Lord, help us always to be good examples of your loving grace to those around us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
From: UpperRoom Devotionals - Beth Mathison
-2 Corinthians 5:20 (NRSV)
OUR Bible-study group gathered with nine girls around the long, cafeteria-style table in their dorm area as they watched us closely. These children aged 11-17 had been ordered by the court to stay in this facility short-term. We were there to celebrate anyone who had a birthday that month, bringing along cupcakes, games, and small gifts, including Bibles.
The girls, wary at first, quickly warmed to the celebration as we played games, ate, and just talked with them. We also listened. Although we couldn't legally ask them why they were there, their prayer requests spoke volumes: "I want my mom to stop using drugs." "To change my life around." "To find a good foster home." "For my brother, who is missing." These children, caught in the midst of challenging circumstances, were all searching for love and acceptance.
The world can be a terrifying, cruel place, but we have the message of hope. The children at the detention center gave us a priceless gift that day, reminding us that there are opportunities to share God's love and acceptance with God's children the world over, including those in our own backyards.
Prayer
Lord, help us always to be good examples of your loving grace to those around us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
From: UpperRoom Devotionals - Beth Mathison
A SONG IN THE NIGHT
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Labels: Bible Devotionals, Christian Lifestyles, Daily Devotions, Daily Spiritual Encouragement, Instant Daily Devotion, Literature International Ministries, Spiritual Encouragement, Youth Devotionals
Labels: Bible Devotionals, Christian Lifestyles, Daily Devotions, Daily Spiritual Encouragement, Instant Daily Devotion, Literature International Ministries, Spiritual Encouragement, Youth Devotionals
"I call to remembrance my song in the night...." “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many shall see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.” Psalm 77:6, 40:3
“A song in the night".... what does that mean? David said, “He heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet upon a rock and gave me a firm place to stand He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God” (Psalm 40:1-3). David reflects his thanksgiving to God for redeeming him from the depths of sin. He now rejoices in all God has done, instilling in his heart the song of deliverance, liberty, and freedom. It’s a new song…one he had never experienced before, because now he is reconciled to God, brought into an intimate relationship with Him, and now rejoices in communicating in blessed fellowship with Him.
Many other followers of Christ knew this “song in the night” that resulted from God’s presence and power manifested within them. Paul and Silas were unjustly imprisoned, beaten with many lashes, chained to stocks, and guarded by hostile guards in the darkness of night. Instead of complaining about their devastating conditions, we read…“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God.” Their eyes were fixed on Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of their faith. God gave them a “song in the night” that overcame all that men could place upon them. God can give us a “song in the night” when humanly speaking, there is no song to sing.
I had this experience in 1944 when fighting in W.W.II in Germany. Cold, wet, and snowing, the Germans began an artillery barrage on our position. Suddenly a shell exploded in a tree above me, and I was critically wounded. Both of my forearms and right leg were almost blown off. A piece of shrapnel pierced the back of my neck just missing my spine a quarter of an inch. BUT HE WAS THERE! They pulled me out of my muddy foxhole and laid me across the hood of a jeep, and we started back to the medical tent just behind the front line. God gave me a “song in the night” and I started singing “Only trust Him, only trust Him, He will save you, He will save you now.” Thinking I would not make it to the first-aid station, I was going to sing my way right into the presence of the Lord!
God puts within the hearts of His own a child-like faith that “dares to trust Him” regardless of circumstances…an unwavering confidence in His providential care that finds an inner peace only God can give. This is God’s doing and “it is marvelous in His sight."
Let me ask you. Do you know this wonderful Lord that can take the brokenness of our lives and make something beautiful out of them? Have you this intimate personal relationship that comes by placing your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior? You can as you DARE TO BELIEVE and entrust your all to the ONE who can lift you out of the miry pit, set your feet upon the rock Christ Jesus, and put a new song in your mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. He will give you a “song in the night" in the midst of the darkness of life! Let HIM be the Lord of your life and live His life through you.
From: Literature International Ministry - Ed Powell
“A song in the night".... what does that mean? David said, “He heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet upon a rock and gave me a firm place to stand He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God” (Psalm 40:1-3). David reflects his thanksgiving to God for redeeming him from the depths of sin. He now rejoices in all God has done, instilling in his heart the song of deliverance, liberty, and freedom. It’s a new song…one he had never experienced before, because now he is reconciled to God, brought into an intimate relationship with Him, and now rejoices in communicating in blessed fellowship with Him.
Many other followers of Christ knew this “song in the night” that resulted from God’s presence and power manifested within them. Paul and Silas were unjustly imprisoned, beaten with many lashes, chained to stocks, and guarded by hostile guards in the darkness of night. Instead of complaining about their devastating conditions, we read…“And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God.” Their eyes were fixed on Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of their faith. God gave them a “song in the night” that overcame all that men could place upon them. God can give us a “song in the night” when humanly speaking, there is no song to sing.
I had this experience in 1944 when fighting in W.W.II in Germany. Cold, wet, and snowing, the Germans began an artillery barrage on our position. Suddenly a shell exploded in a tree above me, and I was critically wounded. Both of my forearms and right leg were almost blown off. A piece of shrapnel pierced the back of my neck just missing my spine a quarter of an inch. BUT HE WAS THERE! They pulled me out of my muddy foxhole and laid me across the hood of a jeep, and we started back to the medical tent just behind the front line. God gave me a “song in the night” and I started singing “Only trust Him, only trust Him, He will save you, He will save you now.” Thinking I would not make it to the first-aid station, I was going to sing my way right into the presence of the Lord!
God puts within the hearts of His own a child-like faith that “dares to trust Him” regardless of circumstances…an unwavering confidence in His providential care that finds an inner peace only God can give. This is God’s doing and “it is marvelous in His sight."
Let me ask you. Do you know this wonderful Lord that can take the brokenness of our lives and make something beautiful out of them? Have you this intimate personal relationship that comes by placing your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior? You can as you DARE TO BELIEVE and entrust your all to the ONE who can lift you out of the miry pit, set your feet upon the rock Christ Jesus, and put a new song in your mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. He will give you a “song in the night" in the midst of the darkness of life! Let HIM be the Lord of your life and live His life through you.
From: Literature International Ministry - Ed Powell
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