Category Archives: Deception

Allies, Battles, Deceit, Deception, Devil, Enemies, Falsehoods, Satan, Scripture

SPIES AMONG US

GALATIANS 2:4

“Yet it was a concern because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy on our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us.”

I love a good spy movie. Now, there are two kinds of spy movies. You have one where the good guy is the spy trying to stop the evil intentions of someone. The other kind is when the spy is the enemy who has infiltrated the good guys with the intent to dismantle their efforts. Which one do you pull for? Of course, you said the good guy, right?

Well, in today’s verse, Paul reveals there were spies among them. He called them “false brothers secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy on our freedom.” Sounds pretty sinister to me. One definition of the Greek word used for “spy” is to “intently look at, especially to inflict harm (damage); to observe something secretly, i.e. with covered (evil) motives.” That word is only used here in Gal 2:4.

APPLICATION

Our takeaway from this verse should be that we need to be aware of those around us who are pretending to be something they are not. The disciple John warns us in 1 John 2:19 about this. “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be evident that they all are not of us.”

The enemy loves to infiltrate the camp of God to try and sabotage His work. He will use anyone or anything to do that. He sets boobytraps and landmines. He explodes families. He especially loves to attack the lives of Christian leaders. 1 Peter 5:8 is another reminder of his intent. “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”

It’s enough to make you pull the covers up and stay in bed, right? No!!! We have to get up and strap on the armor of God each day. We have to listen for God’s orders and then go on the offensive. We have to take the fight to the enemy. There are literally billions of people on their way to the enemy’s camp of destruction. We have our orders. Let’s march.

Lord, help us drive out the spies among us and storm the strongholds.

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Accursed, Bible, Deceit, Deception, Enemies, Falsehoods, Gospel, Scripture, Truth

UNRELIABLE PEOPLE

GALATIANS 1:8

“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!”

I’ve known people who were flip-floppers. What does that mean? It means they would change their minds or views on a subject to go along with others. They would stick their finger in the wind and go in that direction. They were not reliable, therefore, for anything important. And they soon proved to be unreliable as a friend or confidant.

In today’s verse, Paul addresses the threat of a changing gospel. He gets pretty forceful by saying even if they hear he, other apostles or even an angel was preaching gospel different than what he preached earlier (only Jesus was required for salvation), let them be accursed. The Greek word for “accursed” is anathema. It means “excommunicated thing, cursed.” That person should be totally disregarded.

APPLICATION

Albert Barnes says this about today’s verse: “It follows from this:

(1) That any other doctrine than what is proclaimed in the Bible on the subject of justification is to be rejected and treated with abhorrence, no matter what the rank, talent, or eloquence of him who defends it. (2) that we are not to patronize or countenance such preachers. No matter what their zeal or their apparent sincerity, or their apparent sanctity, or their apparent success, or their real boldness in rebuking vice, we are to withdraw from them.”

In other words, believers, be careful who you follow. There are so many wolves in sheep clothing out there. The Lord said in Matthew 7:15-16a, “’15 Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits.’”

Paul warns us, also, in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”

You’ve been warned. There is no excuse. You have to protect your ears by staying in the Word, listening to His voice, spending time in prayer. Listen to the Holy Spirit always and compare what preachers and teachers are saying with God’s Word. Ask the Lord to show you if what they are teaching is true. He will. He wants you to follow only those who know Him.

Father, show me very clearly who is following You and not themselves or our enemy.

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Allegiance, Belief, Betrayal, Bible, Deceit, Deception, Evil, Scripture, Worship

FALSE RELIGIONS

ZECHARIAH 5:11

“Then he said to me, ‘To build a temple for her in the land of Shinar; and when it is prepared, she will be set there on her own pedestal.’”

We live in a world of false religions. They are all around us, and I’m not talking about the ones we can see. Some people make their careers their gods. Others put all their faith and trust in sports teams and live and die whether they win or not. It’s all deception. It’s all an attempt to fill that “God hole” in their hearts. But nothing will – except Him.

When Zechariah asked the question of the angel in the previous verse, he received this answer. They (the two winged women) were carrying her (wickedness) to Shinar to set her on a pedestal to be worshipped. Shinar was a well-known place. Does it sound familiar? Genesis 11:2 tells us, “And it came about, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.” This was the place of the tower of Babel, man’s first attempt at a world empire against God. Here in this vision, the Lord is showing Zechariah that it would happen again.

APPLICATION

Before you start throwing stones, let me ask you something. What are you building for God? Are you so focused on yourself that you have no need for Him? We certainly don’t call it empire building, do we? Oh no! We are just trying to be successful. Do you know how God measures success? Joshua 1:8 speaks it clearly. “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will achieve success.”

Success is about building God’s empire. It’s about knowing and living His Word. If you want to be successful and build something, then build on that. That pedestal holding wickedness will one day come tumbling down, along with all those who worship her. Just like the tower of Babel, it is a false tower, a tower built on evil.

You are probably thinking Carl has gone off the deep end. What is he talking about? Listen friends, one day we will all be judged according to who we have followed down here. I am in the camp with Jesus. How about you? The only place I have to look is up. He’s right there. He is there for you, too. Let’s build this together.

No matter where evil builds their tower, Lord, I will be focused only on building Your kingdom.

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Appearance, Battles, Bible, Confession, Deception, Evil, Forgiveness, Judgment, Salvation, Scripture, Sin

THE APPEARANCE OF EVIL

ZECHARIAH 5:6

“And I said, ‘What is it?’ Then he said, ‘This is the ephah going forth.’ Again he said, ‘This is their appearance in all the land.’”

Let me begin this blog by saying that I cannot get the picture of our world right now as it relates to this verse out of my mind. Every day when I walk around our city, I see the appearance of evil. Maybe the Lord has just given me spiritual eyes right now. I do not want to sound judgmental. Believe me, I know my sins stink just as bad. But there just seems to be a flaunting of sin all around us.

God, through the angel, is showing Zechariah the ephah, the measuring basket, that is full of the people’s sins. They had been unrepentant. Their sins were rampant. They had reached a full measure demanding justice. Some scholars equate the use of the ephah with their sin of stealing mentioned earlier since they would use it falsely for measuring grain to sell.

APPLICATION

I recall my late brother-in-law telling me that the older he got, the more he saw how sinful he was. The light exposes sin, and the closer we get to it, the more we see it. Look at the words of Paul in Ephesians 5:11-13. “11 Do not participate in the useless deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; 12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.”

Our sins will be exposed one day. As a matter of fact, they are exposed now to God. He knows everything we do. I love verse 8 in Psalm 90 which says, “You have placed our guilty deeds before You, our hidden sins in the light of Your presence.” Actually, I don’t really love that verse, but you know what I mean.

Don’t let your sins fill the ephah. Empty them out every day. Confess them to the Lord and seek His forgiveness. If you are not a believer in Jesus, come to Him now and receive forgiveness and eternal life. If you are a believer, purify your heart and walk in holiness today.

Cleanse me, Father, and let me walk hand in hand with You today.

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Bible, Deception, Devil, Satan, Scripture, Seeing, Truth, Understanding

STILL A LITTLE GROGGY

ZECHARIAH 4:5

“So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ And I said, ‘No, my lord.’”

Do you know what groggy means? According to the Oxford Dictionary it means “dazed, weak, or unsteady, especially from illness, intoxication, sleep, or a blow.” Have you ever felt that way? I have been taking allergy pills this Spring. This pollen is killing me. These pills can have that effect on me. I hate that feeling.

Zechariah seems to be a little groggy. Now, I am not being unkind. Remember, the angel woke him back in verse 1 of this chapter. Perhaps Zechariah is still a little fuzzy-brained. This new vision wasn’t sinking in. The angel wasn’t being rude to him when he questioned his understanding. And I love the fact that Zechariah openly admitted he did not know. We could learn a lesson from that.

APPLICATION

But for our application today, I would like to focus on that picture of being “groggy.” Before Christ, we are walking around in that state of mind. We may think we are thinking clearly, but we are not. Satan has our minds blinded to the truth. 2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us that. “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

Spiritual blindness is a result of people simply refusing to hear the truth. In John 9:39-41, Jesus explains this. “Jesus said, ‘For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.’ Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, ‘Are we also blind?’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, “We see,” your guilt remains.’”

Those Pharisees thought they saw the truth but were blind to THE Truth right before their eyes. They refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah because they knew better. Do you know better than Jesus? Do you think you can walk life’s journey without Him? Let Jesus open your eyes today. Get rid of that groggy feeling, that fuzzy-brain. See clearly through Jesus.

Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth Thou hast for me.

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Accountability, Accused, Advice, Bible, Blasphemy, Deception, Defiled, Elders, Following, Leading, Scripture

NOT GOOD DESCRIPTERS

ZEPHANIAH 3:4

“Her prophets are insolent, treacherous men; her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the Law.”

When I read this verse, my mind instantly went to the stories of the preachers who buy their multi-million dollar jets. They have mansions and are covered with fine clothes and jewelry. Many of them have been caught stealing from the churches they are supposed to serve. They are wolves in sheep clothing.

The same held true for the priests in Jerusalem. Zephaniah describes them as insolent, treacherous, profane and violent. Not a good way to be described. I am sure Zephaniah put himself in danger saying these words. These men who he is prophesying against would not take kindly to being called those names. But truth must be told.

APPLICATION

This behavior was nothing new. We see it in 1 Samuel concerning the sins of the sons of Eli. In 2:17 it says, “And so the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for the men treated the offering of the LORD disrespectfully.” The saying goes that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Men who hold positions of power have to be careful how they use that power.

And we must be aware of who we sit up under as our spiritual leaders. We must check what they say and do against Scripture. Only the Word is the complete truth. Our spiritual life is too important to be held captive by someone who corrupts the Word and leads falsely. This is a Biblical concept found in Acts 17:11 when the Bereans checked out Paul and Silas. “Now these people were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” 

I am not saying all preachers are bad. Far from that. Most of these men are humble servants who only want to love their people. Follow these men. They are men who heed to the words in 1 Peter 5:1-3. “1 Therefore, I urge elders among you, as your fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and one who is also a fellow partaker of the glory that is to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not with greed but with eagerness; 3 nor yet as domineering over those assigned to your care, but by proving to be examples to the flock.” These are men worth following.

Lord, protect Your servants from the schemes of the devil. Keep their eyes clearly focused on You.

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Accountability, Belief, Bible, Blind, Consequences, Deception, Following, Judgment, Scripture

BLIND LEADING THE BLIND

ZEPHANIAH 1:17

“I will bring distress on mankind so that they will walk like those who are blind, because they have sinned against the LORD; and their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.”

You’ve heard that expression, “the blind leading the blind.” It portrays a pretty, sad picture. I am not using this as a demeaning statement against the blind. Rather, I mean to imply the picture of the uninformed or willfully ignorant person leading others who follow them without verifying what they say. Thus, the statement.

The Lord tells us in today’s verse that those who do not follow Him are like that. They walk about aimlessly as a blind person who has no one to lead them. We know that can be dangerous. They could fall over obstacles. They could injure themselves seriously. Those who choose to walk blindly without the Lord will face judgment.

APPLICATION

Oh, friends, listen! Don’t walk blindly in this dark and dangerous world. Ask the Lord to open your eyes with the truths of His Word. Ask Him to show you the path He wants you to travel. Ask Him to send others into your life who can hold your hand when necessary to traverse those dangerous spots. Open your eyes.

We are all blind before Christ. None of us can see due to the sin that is born in us through the fall of Adam. But just like the scales that fell off of Paul’s eyes when he came to Christ, ask the Lord to remove those things that blind you to truth. God wants to open your eyes. Psalm 119:18 says, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your Law.”

Most days I walk with my eyes open. But other days, I close my eyes to what I know is true just because I want to have my way. I bet you’ve never done that, right? My prayer for you and myself is that we will allow the Lord to open our eyes.

Open my eyes that I may see glimpses of truth thou hast for me.

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Bible, Deceit, Deception, Scripture, Truth

SUPERSTITION

ZEPHANIAH 1:9

“‘And on that day I will punish all who leap on the temple threshold, who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit.’”

Are you superstitious? Do you cross yourself if a black cat crosses in front of you? Do you eat greens on New Years? People have all sorts of superstitions. Most of these were handed down through parents or family members. Sadly, none of these superstitions are true. None of them can affect you. So, why do we do them?

It is believed that Zephaniah was referring to the superstition of not treading on the temple threshold which came from Ashdod when the people would not walk on the threshold of the temple of Dagon. Isn’t it funny how things get passed down? These same people, it is said, fills the Lord’s house with violence and deceit.

APPLICATION

Superstitions are not based on truth, only fables or old wives’ tales. As believers in Christ, we should not have any part of these beliefs. Our hope is only in Christ. He is the one who shows us all truth because He is truth. Anything that points to anything else is not proper for us.

Now, you may think I am nitpicking. Maybe I am, but if we believe these superstitions, it opens the door to other unbeliefs. We are susceptible to falsehoods disguised as meaningless superstitions. All we need to know can be found in His Word. It is the only source of truth and the only thing we can rely on.

Jesus tells us that the truth shall set us free. Do you want to be free from all those manmade superstitions you have believed for so long? Let His truth set you free. Allow His truth to cleanse your mind and purify your heart. Then you can walk in freedom.

I will believe only in Your truth, O God. All else is falsehood.

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Bible, Deceit, Deception, Lies, Salvation, Scripture, Truth

FULL OF LIES

NAHUM 3:1

“Woe to the bloody city, completely full of lies and pillage; her prey does not leave.”

I have talked about lying before in one or two of my blogs, but this verse today brings us right back to it. Our world is so full of lies. It lies about what a family is. It lies about how a person should see themselves. It lies about what success really is. The world will not tell you the truth. Don’t look to it to guide you.

Albert Barnes says this about lying. “‘Lie’ includes all falsehood, in word or act, denial of God, hypocrisy; toward man, it speaks of treachery, treacherous dealing, in contrast with open violence or rapine. The whole being of the wicked is one lie, toward God and man; deceiving and deceived; leaving no place for God who is the Truth; seeking through falsehood things which fail.” That pretty much summarizes what Nahum was saying about Nineveh.

APPLICATION

You know it is so easy not to lie. You just tell the truth. But what do you do when everyone around you is not telling the truth by either what they say or how they live? You keep telling the truth. You keep living the truth. You keep pointing to The Truth – Jesus Christ.

Jesus said in John 14:6 that He was the way, and the truth, and the life. If He called Himself the truth that means all other “ways” to God are lies. Don’t believe the lie that we all go to heaven. That’s not how it works. There is only one way – through Jesus.

I am sure you have people in your lives who deny that truth. They truly believe they are okay. They believe as long as they are good to others and really try hard, they will go to heaven when they die. If you care about them, do not let them get by with that. They may get upset if you keep pointing them to Jesus. That’s okay. Better mad and the possibility of them getting saved than not mad and headed straight to hell. Just tell the truth, my friends.

I am so glad that I can live in the truth rather than hide in the lies.

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Accountability, Bible, Blameless, Choices, Consequences, Contentment, Deception, Disciplemaking, Discipline, Modeling, Scripture

THE RIGHT WEIGHT

MICAH 6:11

“‘Can I justify dishonest balances, and a bag of fraudulent weights?’”

I have this little hand-held baggage scale. You simply wrap the strap around the baggage handle, pick it up and you get the weight. That is necessary when you are flying somewhere because they have restrictions on how much weight you can have in that bag. Too much, and it costs you more. You cannot cheat the scale.

God watches our actions just as closely. He will not tolerate our deceitfulness. The people would try to cheat others in the market by having those fraudulent weight and scales. He had warned the people about this in Leviticus 19:35-36 where it says, “‘You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight, or volume. You shall have accurate balances, accurate weights, an accurate ephah, and an accurate hin;’”

APPLICATION

I am reminded of a verse in Job when he was vehemently denying any sin in his life that had caused his suffering. Job 31:6 says, “Let Him weigh me with accurate scales, and let God know my integrity.” Can you say that? I sure cannot most days.

I want my life to be weighed and found not lacking. I want my deeds and words to be always just right on God’s scales. I trust His scales to be accurate and true. If He says I am lacking, I am lacking. If He says I am okay, I am okay. He sees me as righteous because of His Son. Jesus has tipped the scales in my favor.

We have a bathroom scale in our home. Most mornings I weigh myself. It is interesting, though. I can weigh myself and then go to the doctor and weigh five more pounds. I think they set their scales five pounds heavier so they can tell us to lose some weight, lol. Truth is my scales are off five pounds. What really matters is my spiritual weight. With Jesus, I will always weigh correctly spiritually. Is that true for you today?

I am forever grateful for the blood that washed away the weight of my sin and made me righteous in Your eyes, Lord.

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