A daily, Bible-based message of hope and encouragement.
 A daily, Bible-based message of hope, encouragement and exhortation. Click here to support our ministry.The online Bible teaching ministry of Stephen & Brooksyne Weber. <Previous Message · Archive edition Tuesday, March 19, 2013  Esopus Meadows lighthouse on the Hudson River in New York Photo by Greg Schneider  Listen to this message on your audio player."On Being Deceived" "Watch out that you are not deceived" (Luke 21:8). "The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie" (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11). Yesterday I received an email expressing a political perspective that I agreed with but the original messenger used very bad math to make the point. It weakened the impact of an otherwise interesting analogy. Now I don't know whether the initial writer was intentionally trying to deceive or just had bad math skills. Since it was one of those forwarded type emails I wonder how many read it looking for the "Wow" response rather than carefully scanning for accuracy and truth.  Years ago while living in New England a sales flier for Lechmere's, a large department store, printed this huge headline "YOU PAY NOTHING"! The sub-title stated "NO hitches, NO glitches, NO kidding!" I read the small print and found that they weren't kidding, just plain lying! Yet many are deceived by lies like this every day and marketers know it works since there is little fall-out from their deceptive tactics. We have become so accustomed to lies in the marketplace that many of us have learned to listen or read with skepticism.If our eyes are open we see that we are being lied to on a regular basis and we need to heed our Lord's solemn words in our first daily text, "Watch out that you are not deceived." But of far greater danger is the spiritual deception that blinds the unbeliever from the Truth and seeks to get the believer off the right course. After the Triumphal Entry and just before Jesus went to the Cross He shared two lengthy teachings recorded in our Bibles. All three synoptic Gospels record a teaching our first daily verse comes from, known as the Olivet Discourse, that was likely given on Wednesday of Holy Week. The Olivet Discourse is so named because the Lord shared this as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives. The other lengthy teaching is found in John's Gospel which records our Lord's close personal instruction to the disciples in the Upper Room (John 13-17). This most likely took place on Thursday of Holy Week. The Olivet Discourse is a long message that has a lot to say about the Church Age and the end times. However Jesus begins with a solemn warning: "Watch out that you are not deceived." Yet deception still abounds in our world today. Actually it was first introduced in the Garden of Eden when Satan planted doubt in Eve's heart causing her to question God's ruling regarding the forbidden fruit. Several years ago I read a letter to the editor written by an avowed secularist who asserted that a person holding a Bible-based outlook on life such as myself was being deceived. Indeed from his perspective and belief system (worldview) he felt that he was right and anyone holding a contrary view was deceived. Of course I would assert that it is the other way around, he is the one who is being deceived! Since Christ gave His loving and instructive caution to the disciples many forms of deception have appeared all through the ages of the Church. And this is still true today. This may be a self-proclaimed individual or a belief system contrary to revealed Biblical truth. In my own lifetime false christs and false teachings have come and gone and surely more will be coming, culminating with the antichrist. * Today we need to not only listen but heed the words of the one and only genuine Christ. We have in the Holy Scriptures a most certain and dependable record of His life and call to each of us. This is a grave word of caution that believers all through the church age should solemnly heed throughout our lifetime: "Watch out that you are not deceived." Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber  Daily prayer: Father, we are confronted with deception on many fronts every day, so much so, that we can be deceived without even realizing it. Would You help us to watch out and be on our guard so that we are not deceived by man's words, no matter how convincing or how charming their personality, nor how cunning their craft. Help us not to fall for Satan's deceptive tactics that have brought down believers throughout the church age. We seek You for strength and discipline and search the Scriptures for discernment and the true revelation of who Jesus, the Son of the Living God, is. It is in His name that we pray, Amen.* "The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie" (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11). We did not have the space to adequately comment on this powerful portion of Scripture but encourage our readers to give careful consideration to this passage in regard to guarding against deception. Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources |
 Stephen and Brooksyne Weber (Click on photo to enlarge) "We want to encourage you daily in your walk with Christ!" Personal Ministry Update (Revised 12/31/12)  Are our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? Each weekday morning Brooksyne and I prepare these messages and distribute them at no cost to you and many others all over the world. We ask you to consider an offering to Daily Encouragement Net so that we can continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this ministry. Gifts are tax deductible. Click here to donate online.2013 YTD financial offerings to Daily Encouragement Net as of 3/18/13: $4,063.00. We express thanks to all who support our ministry! SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION  Were you forwarded this edition of Daily Encouragement Net? If you desire you can receive your own free! To receive these "Daily Encouragement" devotionals each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe to our email list. These messages are never sent by us unsolicited. It was sent to you because you either signed up to receive it OR it was forwarded it to you. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or as an email subscription through Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.)Cancel: We respect and value your time and privacy. If you no longer desire to receive these messages you can remove your address from the list by merely using the link automatically inserted by the mailing list software at the very bottom of each email message. (To change addresses cancel your old address and then join again using your new address.) Weekly Version: The weekly version is intended for those who may not check their email regularly or who may desire less frequent mailings. It is Friday's message with a link to previous messages. To receive the free weekly version, send a blank email to this address. Daily Encouragement on Facebook and Twitter:  The daily message and prayer on Facebook. The daily message and prayer on Twitter.Reader Survey: Please take a few minutes to assist us in improving our ministry effectiveness by filling out this online reader survey. To take the survey click here. Please feel free to pass these messages on! Our other blogs: "A Daily Prayer" - A blog simply posting the daily prayer. We keep this up each day since it's merely the prayer from the Daily Encouragement Net message! "A Little Foolishness" - Humor/satire blog (a great outlet for non-serious writing but at times with a subtle message!) (Note: This material is satire!) "Clear Minded" - Longer, periodic articles on specific issues impacting the faithful believer and church. (Actually this is my intent but I haven't done much with it!) "Hymns of Hope" - Brooksyne along with two friends made a CD using classic hymns. Brooksyne tells the background story of the 11 hymns. All of these songs are also available for download on the site. Personal Mission Statement "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."  How to become a child of God Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version. Other versions are also occasionally used. © Copyright 2013 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net Stephen & Brooksyne Weber 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 Contact us  Endorsed chaplain "Living securely today anchored in God's solid foundation" www.dailyencouragement.net |
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