{"id":5666,"date":"2014-10-10T01:15:11","date_gmt":"2014-10-10T01:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=5666"},"modified":"2014-11-04T04:55:29","modified_gmt":"2014-11-04T04:55:29","slug":"james-116-do-not-be-deceived","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=5666","title":{"rendered":"James 1:16\u2014Do not be deceived"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.<\/em> James 1:16<\/p>\n

I once read that Abraham Lincoln said, \u201cFool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.\u201d According to James, the responsibility to see to it that you\u2019re<\/em> not deceived belongs to you and to you alone.<\/p>\n

Eve told the Lord, \u201cThe serpent deceived me, and I ate<\/em>\u201d (see Genesis 3:13), obviously blaming the devil for tricking her and causing her to sin. However, God did not buy into her assertion that she was clear of blame. He held her accountable despite the fact that she had been deceived; you can read about her consequences in Genesis 3.<\/p>\n

God is a bottom line God, and the bottom line is this: Each one of us is accountable for what we believe and don\u2019t believe. If you hear twisted, distorted information or teaching, you<\/em> are responsible to discern truth from error. You don\u2019t have to fend for yourself in this, however; the Holy Spirit continually prompts and directs you into all the truth (see John 16:13), and the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart (see Hebrews 4:12). Judge everything\u2014even the \u201cgood stuff\u201d you hear\u2014by the Word. On top of all that, Jesus said this: \u201cI am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life<\/em>\u201d (see John 8:12). When you pursue Jesus with all your heart, He leads you away from the darkness of error and into the light of His truth.<\/p>\n

Because of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and Jesus Himself, you are armed and dangerous to the deceptions that abound. When you put first things first, you more clearly see through the lies intended to deceive you.<\/p>\n

Several years ago I was counting the offering at church and noticed a twenty dollar bill that seemed odd. It was the right shape, size, color, and had the correct design and mug shot of Andrew Jackson. But something just wasn\u2019t right. I felt the bill, scrutinized it, smelled it, and put it up to the light. And then I knew\u2014I was holding a counterfeit! We called in an associate pastor, and he called in one of the local police officers on security duty for the church, and sure enough\u2014we had received a counterfeit twenty dollar bill. When the officer asked me how I knew it was\u00a0a fake, I smiled and said, \u201cI\u2019m very <\/em>familiar with the real!\u201d<\/p>\n

What does it take to spot a counterfeit in the spiritual<\/em> realm? Just be very familiar with the real\u2014the Word of God, the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and maintaining an authentic relationship with the Light of the world, Jesus Christ!<\/p>\n

Two big truths about God<\/em><\/p>\n

When James wrote, do not be deceived<\/em>, however, he sandwiched this warning between two great big truths about God. This indicates that we must<\/em> maintain a particularly high truth quotient in reference to what we believe about the Father.<\/p>\n

Belief #1<\/span>: God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He ever tempt you.<\/strong> Do not be deceived. When you are tempted, it is due to your own lust. You can\u2019t pin it on God<\/em>; you can\u2019t even pin it on the devil and say God let him do it. As long as you are blaming temptation on God\u2014or on God letting the devil tempt you so He can test you\u2014you will never overcome.<\/p>\n

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.<\/em> (James 1:17)<\/p>\n

Belief #2<\/span>:<\/p>\n

Hold fast to these truths about the Father:<\/p>\n