Jesus speaking: “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand." Matthew 24:23-25 (NKJ) Over the years, this passage has brought me to consider carefully the potential of anyone to be deceived by the craftiness of the evil ones - craftiness that's been highly honed over the preceding millenia up to this point in time. To underestimate it or stand unguarded against it could leave one suffering undesirable consequence. What would it take to deceive the elect - the ones who should know to be on their guard - the ones who should know where to find the truth? Just how powerful would that kind of deception have to be? And are we in any way deceived already about anything relating to our God or about ourselves? How do we know? I think the answers to those questions depend on a ...
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments ." Exodus 20:4-6 (NKJ) (Bold emphasis mine) I found myself pondering my unworthiness recently - a trap that I lay for myself without forethought, intention or plan. It has no profit but to remind me of God's immeasurable grace to myself and to all in spite of the depth of unworthiness to be found among every one of us - if the past trail of our lineage and history were still held against us. In my own case our God has shown me a full measure of grace to cover a wealth of shortcomings and regrets over a number of hard years. The thi...