ULTIMATE DECEPTION
1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Although it's looking like anything but spring or summer here in Michigan this week, often I'm looking at several different hunting blinds to order for the fall. I've been in the market for four or five pop-up style blinds to be used for bowhunting in some areas that didn't have trees big enough for tree stands.
All of the blinds list their size, window dimensions, construction materials etc... and in the list of attributes is listed the ability for concealment. All of the blinds that I've viewed are produced with camouflaged material to deceive the wildlife that you're hunting.
In the past years I was always preparing already for Michigan, Colorado and South Dakota seasons that runs from late September until late December. All the blinds put out a week or two before season should be able to deceive the eyes of the deer all through the season.
While we have seasons for hunting we need to realize that Satan has no current restrictions on when he can attempt to deceive people. He and his demons are working 24 hours a day, 365 days a year trying to bring as many people as possible with him to hell. One of the names that he has been called is the "ultimate deceiver".
Being an ultimate deceiver defines Satan for what he truly is.... A lier. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and according to John 8:44 "the father of lies". From the very first time Satan appears in the Bible in Genesis 3, he proves this is true. The first words on his lips are planting the seeds of deceit. He asked, "Did God really say, You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?". And the second words spoken were an outright lie, "surely you will not die". In John 8:44 John writes that Satan "has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. We are dealing with the very essence of deception.
When we look around today and think to ourselves, "how can people be believing the lies being told"? We need to realize that those that are being deceived have no basis for the real truth. Remember, Satan is the god of this world right now and being the ultimate deceiver, he has people following him like kids after the ice cream truck on a hot July day. They are looking for something sweet and instantly gratifying... and when they get it they won't be satisfied so they keep coming back for more.
Even those seeking the real truth are susceptible to Satan's lies. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 11:13–15, "Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is not strange if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.
So, Satan has servants who profess enough that the church welcomes them in, and from inside they teach what Paul calls "doctrines of demons" Jesus says in Matthew, they will be like "wolves in sheep's clothing" . Acts 20:30 says they will not spare the flock, but will draw people away to destruction. Without God's gift of discernment, our own brothers and sisters will be drawn in and fooled into believing the lies.
Be careful because we know that Satan is on the hunt to deceive and destroy as many lives as possible. He knows that his time is short and he will take as many down as possible. Make no mistake, Satan is prowling looking for all those that he can devour. (1 Peter 5;8).
Be on high alert.
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