Masters of Illusion

Deception (noun) - the act of causing one to accept as truth, that which is not true.

The other day, I was taking a shower and sometimes in this quiet time, I pray and/or think.  This day, the topic of "deception" was on my mind and it went a little something this:  Sometimes, deception can be pretty obvious when it presents itself, but most of the times, it shows up unannounced and with very little fanfare. The reality is that deception rarely shows up like a lady in a red dress where it is readily identifiable.

Think of it like this.  When a magician performs a trick, the idea is to cause one to focus on one thing as the trick, while the trick is really "out of focus" from the act itself.  However, because you have been focusing your attention on the original presentation, you miss what really happened.  As long as a magician's secrets are not discovered, they can keep convincing people to come marvel at their illusions. The moment they can no longer trick the audience, their act is over.

As followers of Christ, we should be alert and aware all the time.  There will be false teachers and other people anxious to show us their full deck of cards, while they hide aces up their sleeve ready to work acts of deceit. The Word of God warns us of deception and its effects, but if we can never recognize it, where does that leave us?  The only way to recognize spiritual deception is to...

1. ...know who God (Yahweh) is;
2. ...have a true relationship with Yeshua the Christ and;
3. ...allow the indwelling Holy Spirit to guide us in discernment.

 I believe that John sums things up very well in 1 John 2:18-20 when he says,

(18) Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. (19) They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. (20) But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. (21) I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

Know this - purposeful deceit is dishonesty and a lie can never be the truth.  Keep your eyes open as deception will continue to get worst in the days ahead.

Until next time, be easy folks.

Antoine