Distraction to Deception
No
one plans on deception happening to them. Deception
is something that people “fall” into. It
is not something that you would allow to happen if you
knew it was happening. So when Jesus said, “Forgive
them Father for they know not what they do”, it
was a statement of forgiveness and fact. The fact is
that those who crucified Him would not have done so
if they had known that He was the Lord of Glory. To
be deceived is to believe a lie. Believing a lie ensnares
a person. It is a trap. Believing a lie is also precursor
to committing sin and walking contrary to the will of
God. This is why it is so important to “see with
our eyes” and to “hear with our ears”.
If we see clearly we will not fall into a pit. If we
hear the words of God faith will grow in our hearts,
seeds of life will sprout within us – growing
up within our hearts to fruitfulness and fulfillment
of God’s desires and purposes. How can we see
clearer?
How can we hear?
Undivided
Attention
Growing up in school it was common for the teacher to
ask and command the class for their “undivided
attention”. This is a good phrase to use in speaking
about hearing the words of God. If our attention is
divided between two different worlds then we will be
distracted and consequently not able to carry out the
tasks that the Lord has designed for our lives. It does
not usually take much to distract most people. A fly
can be a distraction. As scripture states, satan is
lord of the flies. This is a good way to look at the
devil, a fly. This minimizes him to a level where we
can deal with him easily. For surely God can convince
us that we have enough authority in Christ to swat a
fly. Now the issue is really not whether we “can”
swat a fly that distracts us – the question is
“will” we swat the fly that is a distraction
to our consecration to the things of God. Jesus clearly
states that we cannot serve two masters – we will
love one and despise the other. So the issue of idolatry
must be dealt with. These idols (gods) are those things
that divide our hearts from whole-hearted commitment
to the Lord and what He desires. So we could say that
distraction leads to deception.
Eve
in the Garden
Going
to the garden we see that Eve was distracted by the
voice of the serpent. What was she doing hanging around
that old serpent anyway? Maybe could say that God allowed
it, just as he allows all of us to be tested giving
us freedom to make our choices. So Eve could have prevented
the deception by cutting off the communication with
slew foot at the get go, but didn't. (note: Eve was
the one deceived – Adam was seduced) We can choose
a quick cut-off route to clear communal – communication
in the Presence of God by removing the distractions
– making them obedient to Christ. Taking this
option will save us much and many problems.What can
happen is we try to operate in two totally different
worlds which clutters communication with the Father.
We need undivided hearts with pure motives pursuing
His heart that we may know and walk in His ways.
Another
Vantage Point
We
can look at this from another vantage point as well
– sinful nature vs. divine nature. These two natures
are two different worlds within us. Scripture teaches
that if we are mature we will know the difference between
these two natures, flesh and spirit. I’m definitely
a proponent of keeping things as simple as possible
Jesus really desires all to understand the things of
God. So thankfully He has given us His Word, which is
the sharpest spiritual weapon to the dividing of the
soulish nature and the spirit of man. So when we look
to define and understand these two worlds within us
we can simply go to His Word and receive the Spirit
of Truth’s guidance to bring it alive as revelation
and life. Deception moves us away from simplicity of
devotion to Christ. Works, religiosity and the natural
mind of man set in to begin to frame another way of
doing things apart from the Father. Religion makes things
very complex with many hoops, hops, skips, jumps, dos
and don’ts without a smidge of intimacy, love,
simple trust and faith. Which in turn makes men very
hard-hearted, without tenderness, humility and godly
affections.
The
Cure
The
Cure is the cross of Jesus that brings healing and restoration
to the Father. The blood of the cross is central and
is the ransom paid that we might have access into intimacy
with our God and Father. Simple trust in the cross,
His righteousness, His love for us and the Way He made
for us is what enables us to enter into the rest created
for us in Him before the foundation of the world.
Prayers
to Pray: Open my eyes to see things from Your perspective . .
.
Declarations to Make: I open my heart to receive Your truth and living revelation
. . .
Action to Take:Meditate
on Psalm 119:2
Ps
119:2
Blessed are those who keep His testimonies,
Who seek Him with the whole heart!
