Philippians 2:14-16 “Do everything without grumbling or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the Word of Life…”
I find this verse remarkably encouraging in these days.. We are living in days where evil is very prevalent. Men are full of deception and wrong is exalted above right. These are precisely the times Paul was referring to in the above passage. The encouraging thing to me is that Christians can shine like bright stars in the middle of such deception. As the days get darker, our light will be brighter.
It seems as though deception is the rule these days. We can’t even trust any news sources. Even “conservative” news sources have an agenda and are presented with some sort of slant to get people to come to their side. It is hard to remember when we could simply sit down and watch the news to be informed rather than persuaded. Perhaps Huntley and Brinkley in their early years? Walter Cronkite? Those are names that anyone younger than the boomer generation may not remember. With so many years of slanted news, is it any wonder our culture is so deceived.
Jesus told us things would be this way. Deception is a frequent topic in Scripture. It began in the garden of Eden (Gen. 3:13) and is referred to at the end of the Bible in Revelation 20:10. Satan started his deceptive mission only three chapters into the Bible and is actively pursuing it right up to the end of the Bible. As David Jeremiah said, “From Eden to the end, he’s spinning webs of deception and smothering our world.”
I have been reading the Olivet Discourse preparing to preach a couple of messages on it soon. It is Jesus’ answer to the question by four of His disciples about the signs of end times events. Jesus began His response by saying, “Take heed that no one deceives you.” (Matt. 24:4)
I’m excited about how we can light up a dark world by remaining true and faithful to Jesus and His Word! It can be done and Jesus will be glorified!
Standing in the Gap 