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None of us are exempt of falling into deception, because one of Satan’s main tactics is to get saints to believe his lies.  So let us…

“Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [[f]in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour.” (1 Peter 5:8, Amp.)

Here is a list of things we need to watch out for:

1. Satan (the father of lies) – Gen 3:13; John 8:44; Rev 12:13
2. Antichrist – 2 Thes 2:1-12; 1 Tim 4:1-5; 1 John 2:22
3. False Prophets – Deut 13:1-3; 18:20; Jer 23:9-40; 29:21; Mic 3:5-7; Mat 7:15,22; 24:11,24; Mark 13:22; Acts 13:6; 2 Pet 2:1; 1 John 4:1; Rev 2:20
4. False Teachers – 2 Pet 2:1-22
5. False Apostles – 2 Cor 11:5,13; 12:11; Rev 2:2
6. False Christs – Mat 24:5, 23-24; Mark 13:22
7. False Miracles – Deut 13:1-2; Mat 7:22; 24:24; Mark 13:22; 2 Thes 2:9
8. False Gods (idols) – Isa 44:14-20; Deut 11:13-17; Eze 14:3-11
9. False Worshipers – Eze 14:7-11 (cf. John 4:21-24)
10. False Brethren – Gal 2:4; 2 Cor 11:26
11. False Witnesses – Exo 20:16; 23:1-3; Deut 5:20; Prov 6:19; 19:28; Psa 27:12; Jer 7:9
12. Hypocrites – Mat 6:2,5,16; 7:5; 15:7-8; 22:18; 23:13-15, 23, 25, 27, 29; Mark 7:6; 12:15; Luke 6:42; 12:56; 13:15; Gal 2:13
13. Divisive Persons – Tit 3:9-11; Rom 16:17-20
14. False Reasoning (Philosophy) – 2 Cor 10:5; Col 2:1-10
15. False Teaching (Heresies) – 2 Pet 2:1-3; Gal 5:20; Eph 4:14; Tit 1:11; Mat 15:9; 16:12; Mark 7:7
16. Myths and Fables – 1 Tim 1:4; 4:7; 2 Tim 4:4; Tit 1:14; 2 Pet 1:16
17. False Wisdom – Gen 3:6; Exo 1:10; Job 5:13; Prov 3:7; 26:12; 28:11; Isa 5:21; 10:13; 29:14; 44:25; Jer 8:8-9; 9:23; Rom 12:16; 1 Cor 1:17, 19, 22; 3:19; James 3:15
18. Futility – Job 15:31
19. Empty Talk – Eph 5:6; James 1:26
20. Sin – Rom 7:7-12; Heb 3:13
21. Sinners (those who continue to sin) – 1 John 3:4-9
22. Denial of Sin – 1 John 1:8-10
23. The Wicked – Psa 10:3-7; 35:20; 36:3; 52:4; 119:10; Jer 9:8; Rom 3:13
24. Wicked Customs – Deut 18:9-14
25. Evil Company – Exo 23:33; 1 Cor 15:29-34
26. The Heart – (Its Motives and Desires) – Deut 11:13-17; Jer 17:9; Mat 15:19
27. Love of Riches, Greed, Covetousness – Deut 11:13-17; Mat 13:22; Mark 4:18-19; 1 Cor 6:1-11; 1 Tim 6:9; 2 Pet 2:3
28. Pride, High-Mindedness – Gal 6:1-10; James 1:26; Jer 49:15-16; Oba 1:3,7
29. Hearing but not doing the Word – Rom 12:9; James 1:21-25; 1 John 2:4
30. Hatred of Brethren – 1 John 4:20
31. Wrath of Man – James 1:19-20

So, let us be diligent!!

“A wise teacher’s words spur students to action and emphasize important truths. The collected sayings of the wise are like guidance from a shepherd. But, my child, be warned: There is no end of opinions ready to be expressed. Studying them can go on forever and become very exhausting!” (Ecc. 12:11-12, NLT)

It reminded me of the time some of us spent recently, with the bunch of Atheists I mentioned about.  We counted it a real privilege to start with, to be able to share our faith. These people wanted to know what we believed. So we shared… and shared … and shared… and debated… and debated … and debated…

Their reasoning was SO different to ours. They did not seem to want to accept the fact that God could be real. As we discovered there, “There is no end of opinions ready to be expressed.” It did become very exhausting… there was NO END to it. I felt like I was on a merry-go-round. I was giddy and I wanted to get off. So I did, and just left them going round in circles… and they’re STILL at it. I go back and visit from time to time, just to observe! They don’t seem to get anywhere!!

I’m praying that the seed that we’ve sown, will germinate in some fertile soil, and that the Lord will bring them to the TRUTH!!

Anyhow, going back to the Scripture passage, Solomon finishes off:

“Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.” (Ecc. 12:13-14, NLT)

Those atheists can sure wear a person out with their never-ending debates. And me, not having ever been one for debates, I’ve felt rather stretched of the past few weeks. It’s been good though, in the sense that it has caused me to stop and consider how to give a clear answer, not using the normal jargon and pat answers. It’s taught me to express spiritual things in my own words.

Anyhow, back to my sit-and-do-nothing day!! I decided I needed something to read.

Ahhhh!! “The Spiritual Man” by Watchman Nee, I thought. So I went to get it. But do you think I could find it?? No way!! But I did really want it.

Anyhow, instead, I picked up the huge volume of CS Lewis… his selected books. (Only 12 different books in it… just a bit of light reading!!) Though I still had an urge for Watchman Nee. I asked my sister-in-law (who live with us) if she’d seen it. She hadn’t, but she said I could borrow hers.

So, here I am on my sit-and-do-nothing day, with these two large volumes. I thought I was in heaven!! (Now, do you really think, or did I really think I was going to do nothing?)

So, first off, I pick up “The Spiritual Man”, and flicked through. I found a chapter on faith. He was comparing faith and feelings.

Here’s what he says:

“The life of faith is not only totally different from, but also diametrically opposite to, a life of feeling. He who lives by sensation can follow God’s will or seek the things above purely at the time of excitement; should his blissful feeling cease, every activity terminates. Not so with one who walks by faith. Faith is anchored in the One Whom he believes rather than in the one who exercises the believing, that is, himself. Faith looks not al what happens to him but at Him Whom he believes. Though he may completely change, yet the One in Whom he trusts never does – and so he can proceed without letting up….”

I kept reading that section of the chapter, and he finishes by saying: “What is the life of faith? It is one lived contrary to a life of feeling because it disregards feeling altogether. If Christians desire to live by this principle they should not alter their demeanor or bitterly cry as though bereft of their spiritual life whenever they feel cold, dry, empty, or pained. We live by faith and not by joy.”

Well, I thought that was enough to chew on from Watchman!! Great words!!

So then, for a change, I flicked through the Lewis volume. I came to “Mere Christianity”. For some reason, I’ve had trouble getting into CS Lewis’s writings, but I thought I’d give it another try. Would you believe I found it easy this time.

I read the first chapter, which is about the Law of (Human) Nature, and how we humans have this natural instinct of right and wrong. He summarizes…

“These, then, are the two points I want to make. First, the human beings, all over the earth, have the curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it. Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the Law of Nature; they break it. These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in.”

WOW!!! I liked that!! I wanted to chew on that one for a while too. Now to do “nothing”!!

But, before I put the book down, I started flicking pages again. I came to Book 2 of “Mere Christianity”. Now this book I’m reading has twelve of Lewis’s books, and one of them is “Mere Christianity”, which itself is divided up into 4 books.

Book 1 – RIGHT AND WRONG AS A CLUE TO THE MEANING OF THE UNIVERSE
Book 2 – WHAT CHRISTIANS BELIEVE
Book 3 – CHRISTIAN BEHAVIOUR
Book 4 – BEYOND PERSONALITY: OR FIRST STEPS IN THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY.

Well, I opened to the first chapter of book 2, “The Rival Conceptions of God”. I read this:

“If you are a Christian you do not have to believe that all the other religions are simply wrong all through. If you are an atheist you do have to believe that the main point in all the religions of the whole world is simply on huge mistake. If you are a Christian, you are free to think that all those religions, even the queerest ones, contain at least some hint of the truth. When I was an atheist I had to try to persuade myself that most of the human race have always been wrong about the question that mattered to them most; when I became a Christian I was able to take a more liberal view. But, of course, being a Christian does mean thinking that where Christianity differs from other religions, Christianity is right and they are wrong. As in arithmetic – there is only one right answer to the sum, and all other answers are wrong; but some of the wrong answers are much nearer being right than others.”

So that’s how far I got with my sit-and-do-nothing day!!

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. (Proverbs 1:7, NLT)

A Dad’s Wise Advice

My child, listen when your father corrects you. Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction. What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.

My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them!
They may say, “Come and join us. Let’s hide and kill someone! Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent! Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave; let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death. Think of the great things we’ll get! We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take. Come, throw in your lot with us; we’ll all share the loot.”

My child, don’t go along with them! Stay far away from their paths. They rush to commit evil deeds. They hurry to commit murder. If a bird sees a trap being set, it knows to stay away. But these people set an ambush for themselves; they are trying to get themselves killed. Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life.

Wisdom Shouts Out

Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square. She calls to the crowds along the main street, to those gathered in front of the city gate: “How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge?

Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise. “I called you so often, but you wouldn’t come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention. You ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered.

So I will laugh when you are in trouble! I will mock you when disaster overtakes you— when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster engulfs you like a cyclone, and anguish and distress overwhelm you.

“When they cry for help, I will not answer. Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me. For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the Lord. They rejected my advice and paid no attention when I corrected them. Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes.

For simpletons turn away from me—to death. Fools are destroyed by their own complacency.

That’s not my words, but words King Solomon wrote and found in the Bible in Proverbs (1:8-32, NLT). And the Apostle Paul said something similar.

For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. (Romans 1:20-21, NLT)

But here’s what Paul says to those who are wise, and who know the One Who knows:

For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons.
For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), being in readiness to punish every [insubordinate for his] disobedience, when your own submission and obedience [as a church] are fully secured and complete. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5, Amp)

And a warning not to slip back to the old way of thinking:

Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? (Galatians 4:8-9, NLT)

Now look at what the NEW Testament says:

We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. (Colossians 1:9-14, NLT)

But you have been anointed by [you hold a sacred appointment from, you have been given an unction from] the Holy One, and you all know [the Truth] or you know all things.
I write to you not because you are ignorant and do not perceive and know the Truth, but because you do perceive and know it, and [know positively] that nothing false (no deception, no lie) is of the Truth. (1 John 2:20-21)

Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, “If you abide in My word [hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them], you are truly My disciples. And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32, Amp)

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.” (John 16:13-15, NLT)

Jesus prayed, “And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.” (John 17:3, NLT)

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” (John 14:6-7, NLT)

And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. (1 John 2:3-5, NLT)

We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.
And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.
Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. (1 John 5:18-21, NLT)

I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. (Ephesians 3:14-19, NLT)

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! (Philippians 3:7-11, NLT)

I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen. (2 Peter 3:17-18, NLT)

Here’s some Old Testament scriptures for today:

“The people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” (Daniel 11:32b, NKJ)

This is what the Lord says:
“Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches.
But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone:
that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things.
I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Jeremiah 9:23-24, NLT)

“I will watch over and care for them, and I will bring them back here again. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them hearts that recognize me as the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.” (Jeremiah 24:6-7, NLT)

“And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” (Jeremiah 31:34, NLT)

“Come, let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us.
He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds.
In just a short time he will restore us, so that we may live in his presence.
Oh, that we might know the Lord!
Let us press on to know him.
He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.” (Hosea 6:1-3, NLT)

“I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices.
I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6, NLT)

“If it is true that you look favorably on me, let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy your favor. And remember that this nation is your very own people.”
The Lord replied, “I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you.”

And tomorrow, some New Testament passages about knowing the One Who knows….