Don’t Be Duped By Deceivers!

​Who likes to be deceived? No one that I know……but sadly, many today are deceived.
According to Webster, deceive means to ensnare, to be false, to cheat, to cause to accept as true and valid that which is false and invalid. Synonyms: mislead, delude, beguile, misguide, misinform, defraud, trick, hoodwink and underhandness for the purpose of leading astray.
Wow! Sound familiar? Webster hits the nail on the proverbial head. Deception is all of the above.    
Deception has been around as long as the Garden of Eden. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, were duped by the serpent (devil) and bought into his deception. Result: unceremoniously booted out of Paradise.  Adam and Eve lost it all because they listened to a deceiver!
In II Timothy 4:3-4, Paul, who is facing imminent death (verse 5), instructs his ministry protégé Timothy to be faithful to fulfill his ministry like Paul has (verses 1-2, 5-8). He warns about false teachers, deceivers, who will not teach sound doctrine. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
The elder tells the younger that you will preach the Word of truth, but there are those who will deceive people to believe falsehood and lies instead.
Note he said people with “itching ears” (KJV) will ditch sound doctrine, abandoning truth for myths.  Why? Because they want teachers (deceivers) to tickle their itching ears, to tell them what they want to hear. Sound familiar? Guess what? There is no shortage of deceivers (dupers) who will sign up for that job, then and now.
 Deceivers and deceived people will always be with us. Misguided, non-thinking, gullible people flock to the deceiver’s den.
The “time” Paul is speaking of is here and now. 2020. The spirit of deception is well entrenched in our nation. Throughout religion, politics, education, business, media and relationships there is a deceiver standing on every corner of society, positioned and poised to dupe the next vulnerable victim.  
Deceived people deceive people.
Deceivers are manipulators. They want you and me to believe what they want you to believe, and behave the way they want you to behave. Deception is not about you. It is about the deceiver. In our nation, deceivers abound, whose purpose is keep or draw people from truth.
You, me and our families must be on guard against deceivers. We must be vigilant to not be duped by whatever form of political/cultural correctness is out there.
Discerning And Dealing With Deception

• Recognize that deception is real. Unfortunately, deceivers are alive and well, peddling deception to anyone who can be deceived.
• Ask God for discernment and wisdom.  All of us can be deceived if we are not careful. The Holy Spirit will show you what is true or false if you ask Him.
• Question everything that does not line up with the Word of God found in the Bible. Test it with scripture. Even deceivers can quote the Word, use the Word to justify their deception. Be wary of context violators. Be leery of those who proof text and twist truth to their advantage.
• Check the credibility of the source. Certify. Verify. Just because a person is popular, a You-Tube sensation, or their comments have gone viral, doesn’t necessarily mean they are credible. Don’t be drawn into something you know you can’t support.
• I am sorry to inform some social media junkies that Facebook posts, Instagram and Twitter tweets are not the Word of God. Social media can be very deceiving. Just because something is posted on the internet for the whole wide world to see, doesn’t make it true. Be smart. Refused to be sucked into the abyss of deception.
• Breaking New reports are not always what they appear to be. “First on the scene” or “Only seen on this station” doesn’t mean you are getting all the facts. Many, if not most,  initial reports, are revised after the emotional sensationalism and frantic scrambling to interview eye witnesses dies down.  
• All media outlets have an agenda. They are biased in some way. Ratings, viewership,  sponsors, financial profit, and power brokers drive the media machine. Be careful what you believe and buy into just because a Breaking News Bulletin arrests your attention.

My friends, you and I are living in increasingly dangerous times. Our day is an age of rampant deception. I am amazed at how so many of our citizens, professing Christians included, get duped by the powers that be.
Don’t be so blind that you don’t see the deception surrounding you and your loved ones.
Be wise. Don’t be duped by deceivers. Instead receive, believe and live your life according to the Word of God. The Lord will never dupe anybody.   
“And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads (deceives) you.” Mark 13:5
“Let no man in any way deceive you…..” II Thessalonians 2:3a
“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be shrewd (wise) as serpents, and innocent (harmless) as doves. ” Matthew 10:16
 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”                                                                                                                                         Galatians 6:9
A Word For Your Week: To not be duped by deceivers, stay close to Jesus.