“And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. And Jesus said to them, ‘Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, ‘He said that because we did not bring any bread.’ But Jesus, aware of this, said, ‘You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up? Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up? How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:5-12 NASB1995)
Do you ever find yourself thinking more on a surface level and
ending up missing what is really going on entirely? You think materially,
rather than spiritually, and you judge by outward appearances rather than
looking deeper into what is really happening? You assume that what you are
seeing or hearing is the truth, when it may not be the truth at all? Because
you assume that the people speaking are actually who they say that they are,
and that they really believe what they are saying that they believe?
We have to be very careful that we don’t judge by outward
appearances only, either against or in favor of someone or something. For not
everything or everyone is what or who they appear to be outwardly. Many liars
and deceivers and charlatans and wolves in sheep’s clothing are among us
pretending to be who they are not, pretending to believe what they do not
believe and to do what they do not put into practice in their lives. They are
showmen and women whose whole purpose it is to deceive with their lies.
Now we must be careful that we don’t see a snake everywhere
we look, and that we don’t go around suspecting everyone of telling us lies to
the point of paranoia. But we must also not be fully trusting of everyone,
assuming that everyone is who they say that they are, doing what they are
saying that they are doing, with the motives that they are claiming for their
actions. For we live in an age of massive deception. And many fake their Christianity
in order to get Christians to fall into their webs of deceit, to believe the
lies.
And what is the leaven being spoken of here? It is a
spreading influence of evil. It is the spreading influence of sin and of false
teachings and lies which are now permeating so much of what are called “churches”
and the lives of those who profess faith in Jesus Christ. This is happening big
time here in the USA. And this isn’t coming just through the gatherings of what
are called “the church,” but through television, radio, the internet, social
media, music lyrics, and the news media, et al. And this is happening around
the clock.
When I was growing up in the 1950s and 1960s we did have a
television most of the time, I think, although it didn’t always work. And I am
certain that we were influenced by it unknowingly. But what could be viewed on
television was then very controlled. And we did have radios where we could
listen to music and to some people speaking, and so we were influenced by those
forms of media, I am certain, although most of us were probably not aware of
how much we were being influenced by these media sources.
Now it is bizarre and unfathomable what you can watch on TV
or on the internet or listen to on the radio or on other media sources today. I
am certain that I have very limited knowledge as to what all can be accessed
via these forms of media in our world today, but I do know that they provide a
whole world of evil at people’s fingertips in the privacy of their own homes or
in the corner of a room where no one else can see what they are viewing. And
lies, lies, lies, abound just about everywhere you look these days.
So we can’t just evaluate people or situations or what we
think we are seeing or hearing or reading on a surface level only. Too many
liars exist, and they are all over these media sources laying traps for us to
fall into. And everyone is not like this, but we should not assume that
everyone is on the “up and up,” either. They may sound very sincere. But it
could be a trap. It may sound like truth, but it could be loaded with lies and
deception. It may sound good to our ears but be filled with poison as coming
from a viper.
So we need to be people of discernment who do not take
everything and everyone at face value, for deceivers and wolves in sheep’s
clothing abound! And traps are being laid for us on the internet, for certain,
hoping that we will fall into them. And not everything is going to be obvious
on a surface level. But this isn’t just happening on the internet, or via other
media sources, but this is happening in the gatherings of some “churches” where
people are being lied to via false teachings on a weekly basis.
Testing the spirits: [Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; John 10:1-15; Romans 16:17-19; 2
Corinthians 11:3,13-15; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 3:2; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1
Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 1
John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25]
Pray, Pray, Pray
Based off Various Scriptures
An Original Work / September 6, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Pray that eyes may
enlightened be,
So they may know
Christ.
Pray that they may
Him better know,
Strengthened by His
pow’r.
Pray that they may
grasp
How wide and long
And high and deep
Is Christ’s love.
Pray that they may
be filled
To the fullness of
God’s love.
Pray with
thanksgiving.
Pray for an open
door for me,
So I may share
Christ.
Pray when the gospel
is proclaimed –
Shared with clarity.
Pray words are given
me so
I declare the gospel
fearlessly.
I pray for you to be
active
Sharing your faith,
too.
Pray continually.
We oft not know for
what to pray,
So we ask for help.
The Spirit
intercedes for us –
Words cannot
express.
Just keep on praying
for the saints
With all kinds of
requests to God.
Pray they may have
faith to
Please their God in
ev’ry way.
Pray with
joyfulness.
Be Aware of Deception
An Original Work / June 27, 2025
Christ’s Free
Servant, Sue J Love
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