Deception

I have been a member & user here for 11yesrs, but haven't been active in a long time. I awoke this morning & God spoke to me. Very simply, he said, every human being has some degree of error in what they believe. "Truth is everything as God sees it." ~ Jesse Penn Lewis. No truer statement has ever been spoken. As I lay in my bed thinking on this thought, a verse came to mind. ""But the time is coming””indeed it’s here now””when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way.”
”­”­John”¬ ”­4:23”¬ ”­NLT”¬”¬

I lay there and pondered the difficulty of changing one's mind in realizing that something you have been believing, is in fact, a lie. Webster defines the word "lie" this way, "something that misleads or deceives". It is so important that we, as humans, realize the importance of remaining humble & understanding that all Truth is God's Truth. Facts are sometimes deceptive.
I was once very upset about a deceptive thing my husband had done. I began to search for the truth about what had happened. As I was digging through phone records & searching for truth, the Lord stopped me by asking me, "What are you looking for?" I said, "The truth." He said, Do you want the "truth"? Or do you want the Truth?" I said, "Well, I suppose I want the Truth. He said, "Then cut to the chase! Just imagine the worst case scenario, and forgive that!!!" It was at that moment that I understood the deception of seeking facts above seeking Truth!

Sister this is a strong word and much needed in today's times.
Very encouraging to hear you found the "Truth":)

Great to hear from you again and thanks for sharing the "Truth".

I was speaking with two Jehovah's Witnesses yesterday and today I was pondering the difficulty of convincing someone that they have been deceived. Then I thought about areas where I might be believing a lie and not clinging to the Truth. As you say, it is important to remain humble and open before God.

In Christ,

by Spitfire
I began to search for the truth about what had happened. As I was digging through phone records & searching for truth, the Lord stopped me by asking me, "What are you looking for?" I said, "The truth." He said, Do you want the "truth"? Or do you want the Truth?" I said, "Well, I suppose I want the Truth. He said, "Then cut to the chase! Just imagine the worst case scenario, and forgive that!!!" It was at that moment that I understood the deception of seeking facts above seeking Truth!

It's so good to hear from you on this matter.

Years ago, I left a church over the pastor lying to me, not one but 3 times! And a year later I was STILL complaining about it to the Lord and while driving He spoke to me clear as a bell also and said, "I don't know what you're getting so upset about, you lie to your mother all the time."

I asked how I lied to her and He showed me that I lied to her about the time I would pick up my boys from her, all because I didn't want to her "sigh" or complain. After that, when I told the truth to her, her response was never near as bad as I feared.

What the Lord spoke to me helped my relationship with my mom and with HIM!! God, give us ears to hear what the Spirit says to us and to the Churches.

Thank you for sharing what God spoke to you.

God bless you
Lisa

1Co 12:7
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit;
To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

Discernings of Spirits:
di-zurn'-inz, (diakriseis pneumaton, "judicial estimation," "through judgment or separation"): Occurs in 1Co 12:10 as being one of the gifts of the Spirit. The Greek word occurs in Heb 5:14; and Ro 14:1: "But him that is weak in faith receive ye, yet not for decision of scruples." This translation scarcely expresses the meaning, which Thayer has freely rendered, "not for the purpose of passing judgment on opinions, as to which one is to be preferred as the more correct." Taking these three passages together it is evident that the Greek term which is rendered "discerning" means a distinguishing or discriminating between things that are under consideration; hence, the one who possessed the gift of "discernings of spirits" was able to make distinction between the one who spoke by the Spirit of God and the one who was moved by a false spirit. This gift seems to have been exercised chiefly upon those who assumed the role of teachers, and it was especially important in those days, because there were many false teachers abroad (see 2Joh 1:7; Ac 20:29,30).

I mention the above to draw a point that The Lord has made provision for us through the giftings of The Holy Spirit. The pursuit of... Jhn 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
All Truth leads to the Father through Jesus Christ and Truth serves to liberate us it carries with it "life", sets us free from anger, fear bitterness unforgiveness, etc...The revelation of our dear sister is to me a most remarkable thing and serves to show the great care and consistency of our God and how He deals with us ...His children, on grounds of scripture and than makes it consistent with His Word made personal to us individually. That was a wonderful testimony with an excellent teaching in it. God Bless

So true, Greg.

Here is another quote from Jessie Penn-Lewis:

"Deceived. How the word repels us, and how involuntarily every human being resents it when it is applied to himself. We do not realize that this very resentment is the work of the deceiver for the purpose of keeping the deceived ones from knowing the truth and being set free from deception".

"Anyone who believes that he cannot be deceived is deceived already." ~Derek Prince

Powerful. That was the Lord speaking to you and to us.