There is a magnificent quote from Alvin Toffler that I ran into, roughly, a year or two ago. Toffler, a futurist, ex-editor for Fortune magazine has had a big impact on eastern economic psychology. His quote about learning, unlearning, and relearning rings accurate with Bible teaching, albeit he wasn’t Christian.
Romans 12:2“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
It is amusing to me watching God work in my life. Amusing, because I cannot physically see God in the natural, sometimes in visions in the supernatural, but so often God pitches up in ways rendering it impossible to deny His Presence. Like this morning, August 19, 2024.
Here I am feasting on my morning coffee that I nailed perfectly (sometimes I am heavy handed and it is like petrol) getting into God’s Word to feast on His Bread, and God shows up, humorously, reminding me why I love Him. Granted, my love is peanuts compared to Jesus, but as much as I have love I try pour it out towards God. My biggest prayer is always, “God, please help me to love You more.”
I have been stuck on Matthew 4 for over a month. To say that the Holy Spirit is taking me on a deep dive is a flippant. God is working stuff in me that needs greater self-awareness to hand over things to God so that He can guide me to deeper surrender. It is here, Matthew 4, through the study guide, ‘Enduring Word’, David Guzik, that God inspires this blog- ‘Illiterate and Deceived’.
Point ii, “He fought satan with the fresh bread He fed on.” As my eyes read this I cackled. God has set me up, AGAIN. I cannot tell you how many times Jesus does this to me. I will take up the prompt of the Holy Spirit and exactly what I am going through God parallels that exact moment in Scripture. Today, it was me feasting on God’s bread in my home that God found for me with furniture that God has blessed me with through gifts from others, and God opens up the Scripture of Jesus feasting on God’s Word in a world created through Himself.
God makes me laugh.
Guzik, ‘Enduring Word’, Matthew 4, draws our attention to some profound thoughts:
- Satan’s mode of attack: lies and deception.
- those who live in light of the cross, deception is his only tool, because demonic powers were disarmed at the cross of their “real” weapons and power (Colossians 2:15).
- Jesus showed the only effective counter to deception: God’s truth, not man’s wisdom.
- we must always build ourselves up in the truth, and have it in our heart.
Mulling over these powerful statements, the Holy Spirit prompts me to ask, “How do we get deceived?”
Psychology Today has a sensational read on deception. There is too much to quote but the link is supplied for further reading. To quote, “Deception refers to the act—big or small, cruel or kind—of encouraging people to believe information that is not true. Lying is a common form of deception—stating something known to be untrue with the intent to deceive. Trust is the bedrock of social life at all levels, from romance and parenting to national government. Deception always undermines it. A large body of research identifies three major reasons why people lie: to get something they want, so-called instrumental reasons; to protect or promote themselves; and to harm others. Avoiding punishment may be the main motivation for both children and adults.” – https://www.psychologytoday.com/za/basics/deception?amp
With the context of deception we see that the devils ploy to try deceive Jesus was for his delusion of grandeur to be manifested by making God submit to him. Isn’t that the root of deception- one party trying to force another party to its agenda?
2 Corinthians 3:14 alludes to the fact that humanity lives under a veil of deception.- “But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.” To move away from deception, as quoted earlier, Romans 12:2 teaches us to have our minds renewed by feasting on God’s Bread- His Word- through which we can track, measure and walk away from deception.
Stepping away from being deceived starts with Step One of the Twelve Steps of Recovery– stop being in denialism. A litmus test of our denialism is, “Do I tell lies sometimes?” If so, and it is definitely so, we acknowledge that we know deception. Considering that ALL effects have a cause, then deception comes from a deceiver. The Holy Bible tells us who that deceiver is. John 8:44, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
EVERY HUMAN ON EARTH THAT EVER EXISTED, EXISTS, OR WILL EVER EXIST (bar Jesus) LIVES UNDER THE OPPRESSION OF A WORLD OF DECEIT.
We, automatically, have a bias ingrained in us bent to deceit. However, as Guzik points out in the study guide of Matthew 4, JESUS WON. We do not have to keep choosing deception because (as Guzik points out), “demonic powers were disarmed at the cross of their “real” weapons and power (Colossians 2:15).”
As the quote, Olivia, states, “It’s not a shame to be deceived, but it is to stay IN the deception.” Guzik reminds us that Jesus set the example by feasting on God’s Bread and using that bread to counter deception and the hideous father of deception. We MUST follow suit. Maya Angelou makes a profound statement, confirming Guzik’s point that Jesus didn’t use man’s wisdom but God’s Wisdom. Angelou, reminds us that human knowledge, often isn’t wisdom at all.
We don’t need to be very informed to see the nonsense coming out of woke college culture to know that some professors are truly deceived by the father of deception.
With all said and done, it seems appropriate to share Toffler’s quote again.
As God has pulled this blog out of me, funnily enough on my first day back to my studies for my Masters, after a long spell of being unable to write a blog, I cannot unnotice the fact that God has geared my brain up to focus on school by getting me write this blog. You see, I have been in process. Still am. I decided that I want to know what God says I should know. That decision has been bringing me to the formal learning I am doing. The formal learning through Trinity Bible College and Graduate School is heavily focused on unlearning and relearning, aka Romans 12:2.
PRAYER:
Father God,
Please allow the Holy Spirit to reveal deception in me. Open my eyes to see how I participate in deception. Help me to follow Jesus by feasting on Your Bread and using Your Word to help me overcome deception.
In Your Holy Name Messiah King Jesus.
AMEN.
#Hayibo 