This morning, I was talking with the Lord about the fact that we are living in such a time of great “deception”…
We’ve got people screaming over here that they have “the truth” and we’ve got people over there screaming that they have “the truth”…. but how can we really know when we are being deceived?
We are living in the midst of a spiritual storm that is raging all around us…
Right now, there is an urgency for the people of God to turn and look into His eyes, to listen closely for His heart, to hear His voice….
Because the battle is intense…this storm is raging.
And He reminded me this morning, that the “wolves” have their “sheep’s” clothing on…
And what is the goal of our enemy?
What does his “fruit” look like?
It looks like this…
To knock us to and fro in attempt to confuse and disorient us,
to deceive and distract us from what truly matters to God…
to cause us to go the wrong way, to go off the path, lead us astray...
to cause us to go ahead and shut ourselves, our God-given voices, down…
to cause us to become bitter in disappointment,
to cause our hearts to grow cold toward one another, leading us into a hatred that is sure to lead to blindness…
to cause deep discouragement, that we might lose hope in our God, in His Word…
to lead us into fear that paralyzes us from moving with our God…
a fear that leads us into hiding…
…the enemy wants to cause us to remove our eyes from OUR GOD…
Our God simply wants us to turn to Him first, to seek Him, first and foremost for all that we need to know… after all…. our God knows ALL THINGS!
He is the One who KNOWS ALL THINGS!
He knows all of the things that have ever happened, all the things that are happening now, and He knows all of the things that will play out in the rest of the story that is to come!
And His Spirit lives within us when we receive Him!
He empowers us, He teaches us, He guides us, He leads us into truth.
He shows us what we need to know.
He’s a Father who knows best.
God knew that it wouldn’t be good for Adam and Eve to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil… look at what the serpent said to them, and look at what “the fruit of it” resulted in….
There will be times when we don’t get to have all of the knowledge or understanding that we’d like to have, but we can trust and know that Jesus is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE.
And He is leading us in the way of truth, even if there are many things we do not yet understand…
When we keep our eyes on Jesus, when we wholeheartedly seek our God, He will help us to see through the things we need to see through.
But we must keep our eyes on Him, because our eyes can deceive us.
The lies that come from wolves who appear in sheep’s clothing can deceive us…
“And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you…”—Matthew 24:4,5,11,24,25
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.”—1 John 4:1
“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.” —2 Cor. 11:14-15
“…They come disguised as lambs, appearing to be genuine, but on the inside they are like wild, ravenous wolves!16 You can spot them by their actions, for the fruits of their character will be obvious. You won’t find sweet grapes hanging on a thorn bush, and you’ll never pick good fruit from a tumbleweed. 17–19 So if the tree is good, it will produce good fruit; but if the tree is bad, it will bear only rotten fruit and it deserves to be cut down and burned. 20 Look at the obvious fruit of their lives and ministries, and then you’ll know whether they are true or false.”—Matthew 7:15-20
We must each look to Him.
And as we seek His way, and with eyes locked on His, Jesus teaches us how to “look at the fruit”….
And as our relationship flourishes with Him, He begins to sharpen our vision.
Eyes that can see into and through…
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth…” —John 16:13
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.”—Psalm 32:8
In the midst of all of this madness that surrounds us in the world…
May we remember to seek our God FIRST, for all that we need.
For the steps that we are to take…
May we learn, even through this “storm”… as we make our way through these dark, murky waters…
That we can go straight to the ONE who KNOWS ALL THINGS!
It’s His way…
That we would walk with our Heavenly Father in the garden, and that we would eat from the Tree of Life!
Life…
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.“—John 10:10
And what does the fruit of the Spirit look like?
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law…”—Galatians 5:22-26
Jesus, thank You for making a Way for us. And thank You for teaching us how we can put our trust in You, that we’ll not be deceived. You teach us, even through our mistakes and slip-ups… You remind us to always turn and look straight to YOU.
You remind us to lock eyes with Yours—not to bother looking at the storm, not to worry or fret over all that is swirling around… but to simply look at the ONE who controls and calms the storm.
Thank You, Lord. ? How beautifully You teach us. How beautifully You take care of our hearts. ?☀️ How beautifully You restore our peace, our freedom, as You lead us into truth.
-Heather ?