Tag: strong delusion

34.g. “See that you are not led astray”

 

Matthew 24:23  Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

 Deuteronomy 13:1-3   “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder,  and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’  you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

 Luke 21:8   And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.

 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11   The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,  and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,

If someone has spiritual power, signs, or wonders, those are not enough to prove they are from God. Satan can perform his own powerful works, either through deception or through his own resources of power. The deception can only take root in those who do not receive the love of the truth. These people are ready for the deception of the Antichrist because they want a lie, and God will send them a strong delusion. This isn’t just any lie, but the lie, the lie that has enthralled the human race since Adam. There are many lies that satan promotes and tempts all people with; God is not God, God does not exist, Creation is not real, Believing in God is believing in a fairytale, Sin against God is not real, Heaven is not real, Eternal life is not real, Eternal torment and Hell are not real, The need for forgiveness is not real, Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and redemption are not real, The wrath of God is not real, The Word of God is made up stories, Self-worth is enlightenment, Self-reliance is power, God is not All-Powerful, God is not All-Knowing, God is not All-Present, All man can have is what the world has to offer, Repentance is not needed, You are good enough by your good deeds to deserve Heaven and eternal life, etc………… They are endless as the minds that intentionally choose to succumb to them. As God gives rebellious man the lie he desires, it isn’t out of His generosity. Instead, it shows God’s judgment on those who reject the truth. In judgment, God may give a man up to the depravity of his heart, to his pleasure in unrighteousness. These acts of denial, rejection, and defiance are the very vehicle of their judgment and punishment. 

Corruption of doctrine, true worship, and faith come in by degrees and was gradual. Discernment is needed to see through the fog of these false proclamations. Those that fall into belief in these lies are intentionally willing subjects to them and include those who flat out deny the existence of God and the need for forgiveness and those who neglect and become complacent with the Word of God. How are we to hear the quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit when our hearts and minds prefer things of this world over things of God? We do well to repent of neglect and complacency and seek and desire things of God so that we might more fully honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do.

32.x. ““Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not”

 

Matthew 13:13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ‘“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’” But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

 Deuteronomy 29:3-4    the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders.  But to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.

 Isaiah 44:18    They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.

 Jeremiah 5:21   “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not.

 Ezekiel 12:2    “Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house.

 2 Corinthians 4:3-4   And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

 Zechariah 7:11   But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.

 Hebrews 5:11    About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11  and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,

The way Jesus used parables prompted the disciples to ask this. Apparently, Jesus’ use of parables wasn’t as easy as simple illustrations of spiritual truth. Jesus explained that He used parables so that the hearts of those rejecting would not be hardened further. In this sense, the parables of Jesus were not illustrations making difficult things clear to all. They presented God’s message so the spiritually sensitive could understand, but the hardened would merely hear a story without heaping up additional condemnation for rejecting God’s Word. The same sun that softens the wax hardens the clay, and so the very same gospel message that humbles the honest heart and leads to repentance may also harden the heart of the dishonest listener and confirm that one in their path of disobedience. (Guzik)

“The parable conceals the truth from those who are either too lazy to think or too blinded by prejudice to see. It puts the responsibility fairly and squarely on the individual. It reveals truth to him who desires truth; it conceals truth from him who does not wish to see the truth.” (Barclay)

 The idea is that for those who are open and sensitive to spiritual truth more will be given. Yet to those who are not open – who do not have, these ones will end up in an even worse condition. We are always gaining or losing the love, purpose, and application of God’s Word in our lives.  Weakness, like strength, is ever increasing in our lives. Neglect and complacency to God’s Word in our lives – stagnation- will result in weakness of God’s Word and the power, strength, courage, hope, and purpose it should give us to face every day. We become weaker and weaker to things of God.  The quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit into our lives to light our path for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ is snuffed out. Spending little to no time in His Word and giving no thought to it weakens our resolve and purpose. It will result in eyes that no longer see or ears that hear. In this deafness and blindness to things of God, we will be influenced by things of this world that have no honor and glory for or to Jesus Christ. 

Obviously, there are Scriptures in God’s Word that are hard to understand. Not everything is understood immediately when we are born again. That is in agreement with God’s Word in Isaiah – For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little. The problem is when we stop reading and searching God’s Word – when we stop hungering and thirsting for it. Intentionally choose to commit to spending time in His Word – think about it – seek to understand and apply it – talk about it – allow it a place in your mind and daily lives – feed on it – drink it in – allow the things of this world to become dimmer and dimmer and the things of God to become brighter and brighter. You will be blessed as your life’s purpose ever increases its honor and glory to Jesus Christ.

18.t. “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel”

John 16:2  They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.

 Matthew 10:28     And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

 Romans 10:2-3    For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

 2 Corinthians 4:3-6   And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12     and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,  in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Wicked deception, established their own, did not submit, blinded, refused truth, perishing, and strong delusion are all Words used to speak of those who have the desire and find purpose fulfilling their worldly and selfish desires. All of us displayed some of these characteristics to some extent in our lives.  We were selfish, blind, deaf, and perishing in our sin, and yet, in God’s grace, mercy, and love He pulled us out of this pit of destruction.  I have no earthly idea of how this is accomplished.  In my own life, I was very selfish and worldly.  I gave very little or absolutely no thought about God.  I can’t even say for sure if I gave any thought about heaven or hell.  I am pretty sure I was void, blind, and deaf to anything of God.  Through an accident though God broke through.  I was not seeking Him.  I was not wanting to know Him.  I was not wanting to honor Him.  I was not wanting to obey Him.  And yet, He broke through, showed, and allowed me to understand sin, my sin.  He allowed me to understand the need for Jesus Christ as redeemer and savior for the forgiveness of my sin. He gave me an understanding of heaven and hell. He gave me an understanding of truly being forgiven.  

While I was yet a sinner, blind, and deaf to things of God, Christ died for my sin.  He rescued me from the depths of hell while I was not even looking to be rescued.  I can’t imagine how anyone could have been given this understanding of Christ and the need for redemption and salvation, and reject it or turn their back to it.  While I was yet a sinner, God opened my heart and mind to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He opened my understanding of the need for repentance, forgiveness, belief, faith, and trust. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.”  

I do not understand how a person’s heart and mind can be opened by God to the need of Jesus Christ and reject it.  Yet, it happens millions of times each day.  Hebrews 3:15  “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.  I don’t see how it is possible, but people continue to harden their hearts and minds to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.   Eternity awaits us all.  The path to eternal life is through Jesus Christ alone.  The path to eternal torment is to reject and deny the need for Jesus Christ.

10.v. “Leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”

Micah 2:10  Arise and go, for this is no place to rest, because of uncleanness that destroys with a grievous destruction. If a man should go about and utter wind and lies, saying, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be the preacher for this people!

1 Kings 22:21-23     Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, saying, ‘I will entice him.’  And the LORD said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’  Now therefore behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has declared disaster for you.”

Jeremiah 14:14    And the LORD said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.

2 Peter 2:1-3     But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.  And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.  And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

2 Thessalonians 2:11   Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,

Isaiah 30:10-11   who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions,  leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”

Jeremiah 5:31    the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?

The Old and New Testament is ripe with examples of Kings, Preachers, and Prophets speaking falsely.  The worst part of them speaking lies to the people is that most of the people want it this way.  They don’t want to hear that they need to stop being neglectful and complacent and repent.  They have become confident in their soft undisciplined lives.  Their itching ears for lukewarm preaching about what they can get from Jesus Christ if they would just ask, without having their hearts, minds, and souls fully committed to honoring, glorifying, following, obeying, listening, trusting, and relying on Him.  They itch for an easy gospel of peace, rest, prosperity, and ease of life preached to them.  They do not want to hear about sin, repentance, and the need for forgiveness.  They wallow in self-centered wants and self-reliance for their shallow Christian lives.  This ought not to be so.  Our lives ought to be hungering and thirsting for truth and desiring to have Jesus Christ show us our wickedness and wayward thoughts with a heart deep seeking to honor and glorify Him in all we think, do, and say.  This ought to be our want for every day not just for times of crisis, trials, and troubles.  When our first thought is to dig into His Word for truth, guidance, and knowledge we are at the beginning of maturing in Jesus Christ.  We can not continue to listen to watered-down preaching.  It will zap our souls of sound doctrine, God-honoring, and glorifying lives.  If sin is not preached how is it we will examine our lives for it?  If sin is not preached how are we going to see a need to confess it?  If Sin is not preached how are we going to search The Word of God to lead us toward godly lives?  Ask God to show you your heart and if there is anything in it that is contrary to that which will honor and glorify Him.

115. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false

1 Samuel 26:6   Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother Abishai the son of Zeruiah, “Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.” But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless?” And David said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul’s head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them.

Isaiah 29:10     For the LORD has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes (the prophets), and covered your heads (the seers).

Isaiah 44:18     They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.

2 Corinthians 4:4    In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12     The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,  and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,  in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Acts 28:26-27     “‘Go to this people, and say, “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”  For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed;

We have many examples of God causing the eyes of man to be closed for a heavy sleep or so that they have no perception, understanding, or knowledge.  We also have examples of satan sending false delusions and blinds those from seeing the light of the Gospel.  In any case, those who are blinded have previously chosen to refuse to believe.  In their heart, soul, and mind they have rejected God of heaven and chosen to believe the lies of the god of this world.

Spurgeon –  The practice of blinding men is a horrible process, too horrible for us to say another word about it; but there is also spiritual blindness which comes on some men. These are, to begin with, unbelievers. The god of this world does not blind believers, but he blinds the minds of those who do not believe. It is, therefore, a very dangerous thing not to believe in the Son of God. The penalty of unbelief is death and condemnation; and that penalty begins to fall on men when, as a result of their unbelief, their foolish heart is darkened, their intellect loses the power to perceive spiritual objects, and the god of this world blinds their mental vision. Ah, my hearers, how anxious Satan is to secure your destruction, since, rather than that you should see the saving light, he takes the trouble to blind your eyes!

A man may be a very keen politician; he may be a first-rate man of business; he may be an eminent scientist, a profound thinker, and yet he may be blinded concerning spiritual truths. How often is it true, “You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them to babes!” As an old writer says, “Poor, ignorant men often find the door to heaven, and enter in, while the learned are looking for the latch.” Yes, a man may have clear eyes for worldly things; he may be very keen as for his insight into the problems of life, and yet the God of this world may have blinded his eyes.

 What is even more remarkable, a man may have much scriptural knowledge; he may understand, in the letter, the things of the kingdom of God; he may be very orthodox in his beliefs, and may be able to give an answer to those who ask him what he believes, and why he believes; but still he may have no spiritual perception of the reality of these things. A person may know something of botany from books, and he may even understand the Linnaean system of classifying plants; but he may never, after all, have seen the primrose by the river’s bank, nor have gathered a single flower out of the garden. He is a poor botanist, is he not? He who has studied natural history in his own room, but has never seen a living animal, knows very little about the subject after all. We have many all around us, who can talk about heaven and hell, and sin and salvation, and Christ and the Holy Spirit, who nevertheless have never had one true perception of the meaning of any of these words. They see, but do not perceive; they hear, but do not understand; they are unbelievers, and the god of this world has blinded their minds.

Calvin – In what sense God is said to blind men, and to “give them up to a reprobate mind,” (Romans 1:28,) is evident from various passages of Scripture; that is, when he takes away the light of his Spirit, and gives a loose rein to the lust of men, so that no reasoning can restrain them. He likewise arms Satan with the efficiency of error, so that they who have refused to obey the truth do not guard against his snares, and are liable to be deceived by his impostures. What then can be left in us but the thickest darkness and gross ignorance, so that this tyrant, the father of lies and of darkness, ravages at his pleasure both within and without? for there will not be found in us any spark of light to dispel the clouds of error, but, impelled by a spirit of giddiness with which God strikes the reprobate, (2 Thessalonians 2:11,) we shall be driven about in a strange manner at the will of Satan.

58. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,

Deuteronomy 29:4     But to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.

Proverbs 20:12    The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the LORD has made them both.

Isaiah 6:9-10    And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’  Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Isaiah 63:17   O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart, so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants

Matthew 13:11-15     And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.  This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

  For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’

John 8:43    Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.

2 Corinthians 3:15    Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.

Ephesians 4:18    They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12     and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,  in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

James 1:13-17     Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.  But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.  Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.

2 Timothy 2:25    correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,

Ezekiel 36:26   And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

There is quite a bit said in these verses that show the heart of man.  God knows the heart, mind, and soul of each person.  He knows those who do/will and do not/will not desire and seek Him.  He knows those who will believe and those who will not.  He knows. It appears to say that God will send a delusion and a hardening of the heart, ears, and eyes to those whose heart and mind and soul are dull to things of God.  It also says that God will give a new heart and new spirit to those who truly seek and desire Him.

I get a bit lost in how these two outcomes are applied to people.  If I were to look at my conversion and what it took to bring me to my knees before Jesus Christ, it was only by the grace and mercy of God that my eyes, heart, ears, and mind were opened to understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the need for forgiveness and repentance.  I would easily have been one who’s heart was like that of stone, whose eyes and ears were shut to things of God.  Yet God opened them and gave me a new heart.  He gave me understanding and pulled the veil from my eyes.  He opened my deaf ears.  He softened my heart of stone.  He put a new spirit within me.

I know I deserved to be alienated and left in my ignorance for I was living in the pleasure of my sin giving no thought about God.  “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

It is the time to recognize neglect of His word and that complacency that has filled our hearts.   Confess, repent, seek, desire, and run to Him for the time is short for us to serve, honor, glorify, follow, and obey Jesus, the author, creator, awesome, mighty, powerful, loving, and steadfast redeemer of our soul.

51. Unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 

Deuteronomy 13:3   For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him

Psalms 66:10    For you, O God, have tested us

Matthew 24:24    For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

2 Thessalonians 2:11     Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,

1 John 4:4    Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

2 Corinthians 13:5-7     Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!  I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.  But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed.

God’s testing is a gift from Him to us.  We can experience new areas of faith as we grow through these testings.  It is possible for us to see our heart’s “faith” status in and through these testings?  The answer to this is yes if we have determined (Faith) that God is sovereign, in control of everything, has power over everything, and sees and knows everything before it happens.  The answer is no if we have determined (lukewarm or nonexistent Faith)  that God is not in control, He is not powerful enough, and He does not know or see my troubles.

When we have faith in God all things are possible.  We can run to Him in our testing trials and tell Him our anxious worrisome thoughts and seek His refuge, strength, courage, and power to carry us through.

When we don’t have faith in a loving, all powerful, all knowing God we go it alone.  We worry. We complain. We have a pity party. We get angry. We feel alone. We seek self-solutions. We doubt God. We lose hope. We lose peace. We have no rest.

I recently read a commentary that said “God tests our hearts. He wants to know, to find out, to see for Himself, through the circumstances that He creates or allows to occur, what our reaction will be. He does not assume; He does not presume that He already knows. God tests and He is watching.”  This is “SO WRONG”.  God does know. It is because of His steadfast love that He is giving us the opportunity to see our heart faith, so we can confess, repent, and turn away from unbelief.

God tests us to show us the faith status of our heart, the commitment status of our soul, and to allow us joy, peace, rest, comfort, and hope when we seek refuge in Him and place the burden of the test into His hands.

When you are walking through a time of testing rejoice!  Because if in this time of testing you seek and desire God’s refuge you will experience and see how awesome God is, you will witness His power, you will grow in faith, and worship, honor, and glorify Him in new and deeper ways.

Fill your heart, mind and soul

“and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,  in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Psalms 25:12  Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose. His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant. My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

Proverbs 1:7   The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 2:5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

Proverbs 15:33   The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 16:6   By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD one turns away from evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:13   The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

Isaiah 50:10    Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.

Acts 10:22    And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man,

Acts 13:26    “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation.

Psalms 31:19  Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!

Proverbs 1:33  but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”

Proverbs 19:23   The fear of the LORD leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.

Matthew 11:28-29  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Psalms 32:8  I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Psalms 37:23  The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;

John 3:20-21   For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

John 8:31-32  So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,  and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

The whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments. “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”  Are peoples lives, who have respect and reverence for God, different than those who do not?  What would be seen in the lives of people who respect and have reverence (fear) of God?  Would they read God’s word more? Would they give thanks more? Would they be more forgiving? Would they pray more? Are they more gentle and kind? Are they encouraging? Do they give more? Do they help more?  Do they speak words of hope, love, grace and mercy?  Do they have more inner peace?  Are they more humble?  Do they acknowledge God and His leading in their life?  Do they reach out to the unsaved? Do they talk of what God is doing in their immediate lives?  There is not a day when reading God’s word I do not see something new.  Sometimes it teaches me more about who God is, or His promises, or convicts me of an area of my life that needs to change.  Without His word I think our soul easily drifts and falls away from being able to hear His quiet voice speaking to our heart.  Think about oxygen and the importance of it on every breath.  If it were given to your lungs at the same frequency of being in God’s word  would your life be hanging on by a thread or would you be declared dead?  God’s word feeds our soul and in it we find know and understanding of God, peace, hope, help, strength, love, mercy, grace, faith….