“Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about
like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith…” – I
Peter 5:8, 9
In the Garden of
Eden, God gave specific instructions to Adam and Eve even to what they could
eat. Satan, God’s enemy, came to Eve and
through deception caused her to doubt the meaning of God’s instructions. Adam and Eve chose to disbelieve what God
said, and instead chose to believe Satan’s lies.
It is important
to understand that Satan continues to deceive people today by using the same
rationale as he did in the Garden of Eden: justification—God
does not mean what He says. Every time
we do not put into practice what is found in Scripture, we are rationalizing
contrary to truth and are being deceived.
God’s Word is truth, and by believing anything that is contrary to the
Word of God, we are allowing ourselves to be deceived.
Our hearts bear witness to the truth. Learning to hear Him begins with filling our
hearts with His written Word. When we
hear something that does not agree with what is written in His Word, it is
deception. 1 John 4: 1-3 tells us how to
hear God, know our enemy and avoid deception, “Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has
come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus
Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.”
Prayer—Lord, thank You for giving me
guidelines how to hear You, know my enemy and to avoid deception. Thank You for Your Word it is life to me, in
Jesus Name. Amen.
