Don’t Deceive Yourself

James 1:22 (KJV)
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
When Linda started attending church services, she was very lucky to be attending a church assembly where the sincere word of God was preached and taught. Because of this, she understood that the way she was living her life was contrary to the will of God, but she continued to live that way and console herself with words like ‘no one is perfect, we are all saved by grace and not our works’. She told herself words like these while she continued to live like an unbeliever.

She didn’t know that it was only herself she was deceiving and not God. She assumed she had a relationship with God, but did not know that she was still an unbeliever. Believers are known by their fruits (character) and not by their confessions alone (see Matt 7:16).

It was when she got very sick, was about to die and had an out-of-body experience that she realized she was only deceiving herself all these years. She saw that she was going straight to hell, but her mother’s intercession brought her back.

One of the worst forms of deceit is self-deceit. This happens when a person has come to sincerely believe a lie. This is bound to happen to those who hear the word of God but continue in their own ways contrary to the will of God revealed by His word. Like Linda, they would only end up deceiving themselves, thinking they are near to God while they are very far from Him. The devil who is the master deceiver loves these forms of self-deceit and can even orchestrate events to help facilitate it.

Go into today remembering that God is not mocked and His standard remains unchanged; let everyone who names the name of God depart from iniquity (see Galatians 6:7, 2 Timothy 2:19).

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help me to be a doer of your word and not a hearer only. Deliver me from all forms of self-deceit, in Jesus name. Amen.

Source: Devotional

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