Hello friends. Sometimes we can over look deception in our communication with others because of who they are in our lives. More times than not, we can get into conversations that embody gossip, slander, false accusations, etc… It can seem harmless, but consequently, we can find ourselves responding in ways that can lead us down a sinful and deadly path.
friends, we need to pay attention, and guard our ears, and hearts against the tactics satan can use to deceive us in our personal lives through our relationships with others.
Pay attention, and question….
When people come to you saying he said, she said, ask them “What did you say?”
When people come to you about who did them wrong, ask them, “What did you do right?”
When people come to you with gossip about others, ask them, “How do you know it’s true?”
When someone slanders another person in your presence, Do you sit and listen, do you cower in the opportunity to defend them against the lies being spoken of them, when you have the knowledge of what is true?
When someone comes to you in confidence about someone else, Do you investigate what has been spoken in your ear, do you indulge, or do you conclude that your confider must be telling you what is true?
My friends, be careful who whispers in your ear, family, friend, or stranger. Satan has many tactics, and this is one of the most common tactics he uses to cause bitterness, offense, and unforgiveness, and cause meaningful relationships to crumble. Test every conversation brought to you, and every conversation you carry to others. Know that with every conversation, comes an opportunity to be deceived. Therefore, be on guard at all times. Because, before you know it, you will be caught up in a web that is not as easy getting out of, as it was to get in. Once satan entraps you in his snares, he will bind and blind you.
Unfortunately, many Bible believing people have fallen into this trap, and they do not even realize it. When engaging in conversations, it is important to try the spirit with the Spirit. When people come to you bearing news, do not be gullible because of your relationship with them. Instead; test the spirit with the Spirit. Spirits carry fruit (behaviors), and as scripture confirms, “You will know them by their fruits.” (See Matthew 7:15-20). The fruit of a person’s character will never lie.
Know what fruit is good, and what fruit is bad. Because, if you bite into that bad fruit (deception), know that there will be consequences. The things people say and do speaks volumes about their character and who they truly are. Gossip, slander, false accusations against others, do not represent the good fruit scripture admonishes us to have. People who manifest bad behaviors, are bad fruit. A Godly character produces good fruit, the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. (See Galatians 5:22). These fruit are how you know and can set a part the type of person you are dealing with. Their lifestyle and words they use are evident.
Satan loves to use people with impure motives, disguised as family and friend, to bring deception into your life. While these people may indeed be close to you, it does not mean that they mean you well, or are mature enough to be completely honest, and emotionally intelligent. Deception sounds good, looks good, tastes good, smells good and feels good. It is appealing to all your natural senses. It will never appear to be what it truly is. Herein, it is called ‘deception’. You must be wise and discerning enough to see it for what it is and be bold enough to stop it in its tracks, no matter through whom it is coming from. Do not come into agreement with it.
Remember how satan deceived Eve by twisting the truth of what God said about not eating from the tree of good and evil? He told her what was appealing to her flesh, but at the same time it would be an act of disobedience to God’s command. Satan whispered in her ear and convinced her that if she ate the fruit, she would know good and evil, and that she would not surely die. Because it sounded so convincing, and close to the truth, she believed him and made the choice of bitting into that forbidden fruit. She also convinced her husband to do the same. So what seemed to be an innocent conversation, brought deception over the WHOLE WORLD.
Lucifer/Satan/ that fallen angel is crafty, cunning, and the MASTER OF DECEIT. He twisted the truth, whispered a lie into one person’s ear and it began a domino effect of this sinful nature we now find ourselves in. Satan’s most powerful tool is DECEPTION, and he will use people you love to deceive you and cause you to continue in this way of deceiving and being deceived.
Through deception, satan can get you to wrongly judge and hate others because of what you ‘HEARD’ about them. The lies and whispers of others, about others, can cause you to fall for his tactics. When you come into agreement with gossip, slander, false accusations, etc…., he can now easily get you to believe a narrative that can snare you and cause you to walk in disobedience to the word of God.
If you are spiritually weak and not submitted to God’s word, you are easy prey. So arm your mind and tongue with the word of God, STAY ALERT so you can see what is coming at you even before it gets to you. Keep in mind, that satan has been deceiving the human race for thousands of years, we have only been here a few. He knows exactly what to do to deceive you…….child of God.
His deception through the mouths of others will lead you down the same road he is going. The broad road. The road to the lake of fire. God does not want this for you. Child of and God, if you follow satan’s way, you will be held accountable and receive the same fate as he will. God is going to judge each of us by the things we say and do while we are here in this world. So, take gossip, slander, false accusations against others very seriously. Do not play around with where you will spend eternity. DO NOT allow satan, through others, to steal and seal your faith/fate and cause you eternal damnation. Sharpen your discernment through prayer and fasting so you can recognize his tactics against you.
SQUASH his deception with Love and obedience to God’s word. Love everyone according to the scriptures. The scriptures define what love is and how we should deal with offenses, and treat one another (see Matthew 18:15 & 1 Corinthians 13:13). Love does not engage nor tolerate wrong doing. Love corrects wrong doing. Do not twist what the love of God is to satisfy sinful behaviors and entertain the deception of the enemy, cloaked in what is believed to be true. It may feel good to your flesh for a time, but know God will hold you accountable. Do not be afraid to speak the truth, in love, and bring correction to those who come to you with deceitful intentions no matter who they are. In doing this, you will keep yourself in obedience to God’s word , and free from being polluted and biased.
Friends, it is a very dangerous way to live when you come into agreement with lies. So protect your ear gates and guard your heart against evil whispers. Do not be an Eve. Think about the domino effect. Scripture says, Woe to those who cause offense (see Matthew 18:6-7). So friends, If you have been carelessly entertaining conversations without fact checking and capturing other people’s offenses, just ask God for forgiveness and allow Him to open your eyes and ears to truth. Work on developing the fruit of His Spirit so that you do not fall prey to satan’s deceptions. God will help you, and protect you.
Peace and Love
