Prayer
– Lord, guard my heart and my mind. Don’t let me be deceived. I’ll carefully
obey all Your commands because I love You with all my heart, soul, mind and
strength—no other gods for me!
If
you carefully obey all the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the
LORD your God and serve him with all your heart and soul, then he will send the
rains in their proper seasons—the early and late rains—so you can bring in your
harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil. He will give you lush pastureland
for your livestock, and you yourselves will have all you want to eat. But be
careful. Don't let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the
LORD and serve and worship other gods. If you do, the LORD's anger will burn
against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the rain, and the ground
will fail to produce its harvests. Then you will quickly die in that good land
the LORD is giving you. Deuteronomy
11:13-17 (Underlined for emphasis.)
Meditate.
Consider Old Testament and New Testament teachings.
Have you
ever been deceived? Maybe it was a broken promise from your folks or a friend.
Kids are picky and deceptive in power struggles that lead themselves and others
astray. I think of friendships when I was in grade school—how there were
cliques that we all wanted to be part of—but weren’t. I’ve seen the same thing
happen in a youth group at a church my grands attend. You’d think that would be
a “safe” friendly place—but not so. It is easy to be deceived by the kids in
power struggles.
The first
time that we see deception in the Bible is in the Garden of Eden when that wryly
serpent tells Eve that the forbidden fruit is “good” even though God had
specifically told Adam NOT to eat it. Choices-choices! 
The serpent and the fruit in The Garden
Then the LORD God asked the woman,
"What have you done?"
"The serpent deceived
me," she replied. "That's why I ate it." Genesis 3:13
Take a
look at the last time we see “deceived” at the end of the Bible. Who is the
ultimate deceiver and his punishment?
Then the devil, who had deceived
them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and
the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Revelation 20:10
Don’t be
deceived. Critically and intentionally look at God’s word for He has given us
the best guidance all beforehand. We simply have to search, study, and apply
His words to our lives. Here’s a couple of verses to hang onto.
If you think you are standing
strong, be careful not to fall. 1
Corinthians 10:12
So be careful how you live. Don't
live like fools, but like those who are wise. Ephesians 5:15
Be
careful how you choose to live day by day…moment by moment.
Verses
of Salvation ~ This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know
more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you.
They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was
talking about when he told them in advance about Christ's suffering and his
great glory afterward.
1 Peter 1:10-11
© 2024 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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