Recently I was listening to someone preach. They mentioned in their preaching the reasons why - according to them - Jesus had to come to this earth and die. To my astonishment, among the few reasons they stated, sin was nowhere to be found!!! I know they were not being purposefully deceitful, but it shows how much blindness has come upon the church these days. If there is one thing we should never forget, it is from what utter helplessness and misery the Lord rescued us! The sin of mankind is THE reason why Jesus came into this world and died.
Learning Discernment
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.
(1 John 4:1)
The Lord Jesus told us that he would be coming back soon. Do you know how soon? It is clear in God's Word that we cannot know the exact day or the exact time. However, looking at what is currently happening in the world today and the signs that God gave us to watch out for, we can confidently say that the time is very near...
We are living in the last days. Things are being put in place around us more and more rapidly that show us that it is time for us to be awake, prayerfully watch and be prepared (Matthew 24:42). The enemy knows that he has but a little time left and Jesus warned us that he will try to deceive us (Matthew 24:4-5).
WARNING! God's people perish for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6) and we do not want to be of those who were led astray because 'we did not know!' Let us not ignore the tactics of the enemy to be ensnared by them. But let us be aware of the Truth of God's Word that will enable us to defeat the strategies of the enemy.
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
(Romans 10:13)
"There is no salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
(Acts 4:12)
There is only one name given by God to save people, and this name is Jesus Christ. There is no other name today, there was no other name yesterday and there will never be any other name tomorrow, anywhere, that can save mankind. No Buddha, no Allah, no Krishna, no Guru of any kind, no one else...
Today, the television has become a normal daily part of most families' lives, especially in the west. Most people have at least one TV sitting proudly in their living room, while many others have TVs in bedrooms, kitchens and other rooms... When not in school, children can sit in front of the telly for hours on end, spoilt for choice with the huge variety of programs offered to them. For many of them, switching the TV on has become automatic as soon as they get up or when they come back from school each day.
According to the dictionary, deception is the art of making someone believe something that is not true. So, when you are deceived, you believe a lie.
The thing about deception is that when you are deceived, you don’t know you are being deceived. Deceived people think they are believing the truth, but in fact they have been sold a lie. You see, deception always has an element of truth in it. If it was a total lie, no one would believe it. So it is usually truth mixed with error. And deception looks good and attractive. It appeals to the senses. It is what people want to hear. It tickles their ears.