"Be well balanced , be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring, seeking someone to seize upon and devour." 1 Pet 5:8
I was sitting down thinking of how easily it is for people to accept things to be true. To be hoaxed and drawn into something that is not real. I reflected on the response I got to a devotional sent out some time back about the urban legend regarding the name of GAP clothing !!! Am sure you could think of a few urban legends yourself!!
..Then there are the email hoaxes. Bill Gates or AOL sending you money, or the YOUVEBEENHAD.exe file which sits on your machine and eventually wipes your hard drive, or if you don't love Jesus and send this email on your machine will freeze.. all this kind of junk that you get (am sure) on a weekly basis!! (Advice - Press delete)
Many years ago I remember sitting down and watching a program where the the magician David Copperfield claimed to walk through the Great Wall of China. Many years later I watched David Blaine perform his street magic and encase himself in a block of ice!!! People question - Could this be real? Could his levitation be actual?
What is my point? Well Urban Legends, Email Hoaxes, Money Scams, Magicians all serve to show how easily we can sometimes be drawn into believing something that is not real. The good point here is that these issues are not spiritual but what happens when someone tries to bring " a new gospel" as Jesus warned in Matthew 24, contrary to what the Bible and the Holy Spirit have taught you.
In a world where entertainment media seems to be an endless menu of crime, violence, demonic fantasy, gratuitous sex, spiritualism our senses sometimes seem to be deadened!!!...but God has not left us without a way out. Through the scriptures he says "whatever is pure, true, honest, lovely if there be any virtue or any praise, think on these things"(Phil 4:8). Pause on this for a moment.......
Father God, help us to be careful what we let into our minds. Help us to find solace, comfort and awareness in your word and through your Spirit, we ask in Jesus name. Amen
I was sitting down thinking of how easily it is for people to accept things to be true. To be hoaxed and drawn into something that is not real. I reflected on the response I got to a devotional sent out some time back about the urban legend regarding the name of GAP clothing !!! Am sure you could think of a few urban legends yourself!!
..Then there are the email hoaxes. Bill Gates or AOL sending you money, or the YOUVEBEENHAD.exe file which sits on your machine and eventually wipes your hard drive, or if you don't love Jesus and send this email on your machine will freeze.. all this kind of junk that you get (am sure) on a weekly basis!! (Advice - Press delete)
Many years ago I remember sitting down and watching a program where the the magician David Copperfield claimed to walk through the Great Wall of China. Many years later I watched David Blaine perform his street magic and encase himself in a block of ice!!! People question - Could this be real? Could his levitation be actual?
What is my point? Well Urban Legends, Email Hoaxes, Money Scams, Magicians all serve to show how easily we can sometimes be drawn into believing something that is not real. The good point here is that these issues are not spiritual but what happens when someone tries to bring " a new gospel" as Jesus warned in Matthew 24, contrary to what the Bible and the Holy Spirit have taught you.
In a world where entertainment media seems to be an endless menu of crime, violence, demonic fantasy, gratuitous sex, spiritualism our senses sometimes seem to be deadened!!!...but God has not left us without a way out. Through the scriptures he says "whatever is pure, true, honest, lovely if there be any virtue or any praise, think on these things"(Phil 4:8). Pause on this for a moment.......
Father God, help us to be careful what we let into our minds. Help us to find solace, comfort and awareness in your word and through your Spirit, we ask in Jesus name. Amen
God bless you.
