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"For God so loved the world that He gave His onlyh begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
(John 3:16 - NKJV)
"For God so loved the world that He gave His onlyh begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
(John 3:16 - NKJV)
SPIRIT BREAD WEEKLY
THE LAST DECEPTION
By Jerry D. Ousley
By Jerry D. Ousley
The Last Deception
By Jerry D. Ousley
How does it make you feel when you have been deceived? We bought a used car a year ago. It seemed like a nice vehicle but after we drove it a day or so, it began “kicking” when you put it in reverse, or turned the wheels a hard turn. Buyer beware right? We had it checked out and it was going to be nearly a $3000.00 repair! We contacted the lot where we bought it and basically got the “you bought it, your problem” treatment. The thing was, this was a condition that the lot had to know about. When we traded, they had their mechanic go over our vehicle to make sure it didn’t have any major defects and so I knew that someone in their organization knew the problem this car had. But now it was our problem. Fortunately for us we were able to make a trade at another car lot and got a better vehicle. But the deception from the first lot was embarrassing, humbling, scary and very frustrating.
In the days of Jesus, the Jewish leaders felt that they had been deceived by Jesus. At that time there were many who would claim to be the “ONE” to deliver their nation from Roman suppression. It always ended in tragedy and they felt Jesus was just another deceiver. Funny, how they refused to see the difference in His teaching and miracles. While everyone else was talking war, He was talking transformation and bringing healing to the sick, deliverance to the demon possessed and even raising some from the dead. Yet, they proclaimed Him a deceiver.
When they finally succeeded in having Jesus crucified, and Joseph of Arimathea, along with Nicodemus, had placed Him in the tomb, they remember that He had said that He would arise from the dead after three days and asked Pilate to seal the tomb and set a guard in order to keep His disciples from stealing the body away and claiming that He had risen. We read in Matthew 27:63-64, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”
Ironically, they prophesied of their own deception. By proclaiming Jesus a deceiver, they deceived themselves by refusing to believe in the long-prophesied Messiah. It cost them a very painful and tragic future for they had answered Pilate, “His blood be on us and on our children.” (Matthew 27:25). What a tragic deception!
It reminds me of the deception of today. It is becoming increasingly popular to deny the Bible or possibly worse yet, to try to humanize the Bible. By that I mean that many in the Christian world are now attempting to marry the secular, human teachings of the world with the Bible. In past articles we have established that the Bible always agrees with true science. But the popular belief today is that the theories of evolution and origin of the world are science. There is no real proof of that unless based on the unproven theories. It becomes a deception.
There are those who say there is no God. They claim that He is made up, a myth, or a crutch that those who believe cling to in order to get through life. We are all leaning on something, even if it is the belief that God is not real. They choose to not accept the plan of salvation. But what a deception! It is a deception on which they hinge eternity. They believe that when we die there is nothing more. We are merely animals. Let me ask you, do you really want to take that chance? Do you really want to risk eternal punishment on that crutch?
If you do, then your last deception will be, decidedly worse than the first. Your deception will decide your eternal fate. Don’t believe it? Think I’m kidding? Live in that deceit and the end will be nothing short of tragic. The choice is yours and yours alone. But I’m begging you, please reconsider. You’re right … It is your choice. It may not be any of my business. But it really is. It is my responsibility to tell you the truth. The choice belongs to you, but I am duty bound to tell you the truth. Don’t let your last deception leave you regretting your eternal decision.
By Jerry D. Ousley
How does it make you feel when you have been deceived? We bought a used car a year ago. It seemed like a nice vehicle but after we drove it a day or so, it began “kicking” when you put it in reverse, or turned the wheels a hard turn. Buyer beware right? We had it checked out and it was going to be nearly a $3000.00 repair! We contacted the lot where we bought it and basically got the “you bought it, your problem” treatment. The thing was, this was a condition that the lot had to know about. When we traded, they had their mechanic go over our vehicle to make sure it didn’t have any major defects and so I knew that someone in their organization knew the problem this car had. But now it was our problem. Fortunately for us we were able to make a trade at another car lot and got a better vehicle. But the deception from the first lot was embarrassing, humbling, scary and very frustrating.
In the days of Jesus, the Jewish leaders felt that they had been deceived by Jesus. At that time there were many who would claim to be the “ONE” to deliver their nation from Roman suppression. It always ended in tragedy and they felt Jesus was just another deceiver. Funny, how they refused to see the difference in His teaching and miracles. While everyone else was talking war, He was talking transformation and bringing healing to the sick, deliverance to the demon possessed and even raising some from the dead. Yet, they proclaimed Him a deceiver.
When they finally succeeded in having Jesus crucified, and Joseph of Arimathea, along with Nicodemus, had placed Him in the tomb, they remember that He had said that He would arise from the dead after three days and asked Pilate to seal the tomb and set a guard in order to keep His disciples from stealing the body away and claiming that He had risen. We read in Matthew 27:63-64, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”
Ironically, they prophesied of their own deception. By proclaiming Jesus a deceiver, they deceived themselves by refusing to believe in the long-prophesied Messiah. It cost them a very painful and tragic future for they had answered Pilate, “His blood be on us and on our children.” (Matthew 27:25). What a tragic deception!
It reminds me of the deception of today. It is becoming increasingly popular to deny the Bible or possibly worse yet, to try to humanize the Bible. By that I mean that many in the Christian world are now attempting to marry the secular, human teachings of the world with the Bible. In past articles we have established that the Bible always agrees with true science. But the popular belief today is that the theories of evolution and origin of the world are science. There is no real proof of that unless based on the unproven theories. It becomes a deception.
There are those who say there is no God. They claim that He is made up, a myth, or a crutch that those who believe cling to in order to get through life. We are all leaning on something, even if it is the belief that God is not real. They choose to not accept the plan of salvation. But what a deception! It is a deception on which they hinge eternity. They believe that when we die there is nothing more. We are merely animals. Let me ask you, do you really want to take that chance? Do you really want to risk eternal punishment on that crutch?
If you do, then your last deception will be, decidedly worse than the first. Your deception will decide your eternal fate. Don’t believe it? Think I’m kidding? Live in that deceit and the end will be nothing short of tragic. The choice is yours and yours alone. But I’m begging you, please reconsider. You’re right … It is your choice. It may not be any of my business. But it really is. It is my responsibility to tell you the truth. The choice belongs to you, but I am duty bound to tell you the truth. Don’t let your last deception leave you regretting your eternal decision.