DON’T BE DECEIVED
“Whenever the evil spirits saw Him, they fell down before Him and cried out, ‘You are the Son of God.’ But He gave them strict orders not to tell who He was.” Mark 3:11,12 (NIV).
Although the demons knew who Jesus was, and blurted out the truth in His presence, their avowed intent was to lie, deceive and pervert the truth to as many people as they could, to discredit Him so that people would not believe Him. They could not help but admit in His presence that they knew who He was. But their real nature, liars like their master, the devil, comes out when they speak to people. Their purpose is to deceive people into believing that God is not loving, and that sin is nice and will not have any consequences.
Because human beings are frail and transient, (Psalm 103) we are easily deceived by demons. If we are not convinced for ourselves who Jesus is, we will believe their lies because we are ignorant and gullible.
The people ran after Jesus from all over Israel and the surrounding territories because of what He could do for them. Everyone wanted a piece of the pie, but they were not willing to become a part of the kingdom of God. That would mean giving up their right to control their own lives and do as they liked and follow Jesus and become like Him. He was unselfish and self-sacrificing. That is a high price to pay when we enjoy our sinful lives. Only when we run into trouble, do we run to Jesus for help.
John warns (in 1 John 2:15-17) that the world and its concerns are as short-lived as humans are. If we attach ourselves too closely to the world and what it stands for, we are in danger of being swept away with it when it finally disappears. Our only guarantee of being part of the everlasting realm where God is, is to attach ourselves to Him and to shelter in Him where we cannot be lured away by deception (Psalm 91:1).
How do we do that in practice? By learning to become one with God in what He desires. The domain where we experience oneness with God is in our thinking which ultimately influences our deciding, choosing, and doing. When we begin to think like God, we begin to take shelter in Him and dwell in His protective shadow by faith in the truth.
If we are vulnerable to deception, then we can also be influenced by the truth and, when we believe the truth, our lives are secure in God who is from everlasting to everlasting. Our thoughts of truth bind us to the truth. If we think what is true, we are secure in God; we dwell in God and He dwells in us, and we are part of His eternal kingdom that cannot be destroyed.
Jesus promised us that if we follow Him, we shall know the truth and the truth will set us free.