Do Not Be Deceived

Saints! Some of you will recoil at this message. It may seem harsh; it may not apply to you; it may not register in your thinking or your belief system. You may not believe the content at all, so I invite you to read, check out what I've said. If there is error, please let me know. I’m willing to adjust my thinking along the lines of scripture and the leading of the Holy Spirit. However, if you see truth, you may want to adjust your thinking by seeking more truth from our only teacher and
counselor, The Holy Spirit.

James 1: 16 - 18 NKJV
(16) "Do not be deceived, my brethren. (17) Every good gift and
every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the
Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or

shadow of turning. 
(18)    Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be the first fruits of His creatures."

Make no mistake about it. God, Jesus came to bring abundant life; to heal the sick; to bring sight to the blind; to set the captives free. But, "the devil comes to kill, steal, and destroy." Jesus draws the contrast between Himself and the adversary, and makes it clear here, and every other place in the Gospels that the Father is good, and He loves us, based on who He is. Faith is the key to it all. The Kingdom of God is the place where peace and joy abounds. And, Jesus says that the only way you can get to the Father, to the Kingdom of God, is through Him.

When calamity or trials come into our lives, the human (sin nature ruled) side wants to find someone or something to blame, (except us) after all WE could never be at fault!! And, of course, we as Christians are good people, and we know that we don't listen to satan. We have NOT allowed the devil any foothold in our lives, because we go to church, we pray, we do this and do that, and so on....  Since it wasn't "me" or "us" or satan (we refuse to believe that he could influence us), then it must be God. Who better to blame than God, after all everything is under His control, right? He can do whatever He wants whenever He wants, anytime He wants, to anyone He wants, right? Maybe there is another answer.

Some church leaders would have us believe that God is waiting and watching us, looking for ways to teach us lessons; waiting for the right time to bring hardships and trials, and all sorts of “tests” (contrary to His goodness) to see if we will slip up, so that we can learn various lessons.

This kind of behavior puts God in the same category as satan, meaning that God uses deceit or deception to trap us so that He can then “teach us a lesson”. That kind of thinking is from a mind that has already been deceived by the adversary. Harsh? Indeed! If this is true, then Jesus came to save us, but at the same time, put us into a place where God and the adversary bring trouble and sickness, and all sorts of afflictions to us. To follow this line of thinking, it would bring us to the conclusion that now, with Jesus, we're in more bondage than before He arrived. We're not free at all, but now trapped between God and satan. Less freedom, more bondage, and now “way” out!

Since God knows the human heart and mind, He understands that you will get in trouble, because your thinking is not perfect like HIS! He also knows that we have an adversary whose agenda is set against us in every way.

John 14:6

6) Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.

So He provides a way out of every situation that is not of Him. That is His great love for us. Not to test you, but to offer you a better way through the Lord Jesus Christ, "Delivering you in the time of trouble." And, I add trouble from the one who "comes to kill, steal, and destroy", and he does it through every means possible,
even through the deception of "blaming God" for our problems.

God has given us a Name that is above every name. All the power and authority that Jesus had, is invested in that Name.

John 14: 13-14 (NKJV)

13) And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

John 15: 16

16) You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

We are to use it against trials and difficulties in our daily lives, calling on Him by Name to deliver us. If we have the right to use the Name of Jesus, and we use it in the time of trials (which some blame God for bringing), then we're going against God by using the Name of His Son who came to deliver us from the hand of satan. Confusing? You bet, and to think that God brings trouble into our lives means that Jesus, James, Paul, and John are all liars? I choose to believe that God is the God of Love, not of trouble; The God of Peace, not calamity; The God of eternal life, not damnation!!! The God of Love, not hate!!

The God of abundance, not lack!

I pray that the God of Love, who is Love, will open your spiritual eyes that you may see the truth of who He really is. That your heart will venture into His shelter of loving-kindness, where despair is replaced by hope; where doubt is replaced by faith; where all things are possible; where goodness and mercy follows you; where the blessings of the Lord overtakes you, and you live the life He has destined for you.

Do not be deceived by the glitter and glamor of the “world”. If it is of the devil (the father of lies: deception) then there is no truth in it, only the consequences of the law of sin and death.