Deception To The Core

For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. Romans 7: 11

Have you been able to answer the question, why are believers still being deceived by sin? For myself, a believer and disciple, I confess with utter shame that I know my pride, self-righteousness, ignorance and arrogance, keep me from seeing myself as who I really am, a sinner of unbelievable proportions.

Our Holy Spirit has been showing me myself in every dastardly and totally evil act I hear about and I cannot but surrender my sinful self to Jesus. When I hear about people, some whom I even know, cursing and behaving in some garrulous manner, I shudder and cringe. The first thing I want to do, is pray for that person, simply because I see me as better than he or she. There is no way I will ever see myself in such despicably low light. But am I any different? God, and His Ways, is our Judge, not carnal minds. Only when I hear the Spirit, as He exposes and reveals, am I taken from my reality and brought to His truth about me.

Where are you in all of this? What are you receiving from the Holy Spirit? How do you view yourself in relation to others, for whom you are seeking change?

Holy Spirit, save us from our self-righteousness and pride, that we may not live deceived lives. Amen!

As I continue to listen and heed all that I am being shown and told about myself, can any of this be apportioned and applied to you? The Holy Spirit tells me that I am looking at a perfect picture of myself, before God. However, I am no different. Then He asked me this question. Which is worse, cursing and swearing the Name of God in public, or calling His Name all the time, with pious, humble, penitent voice, letting people see my outward holy actions? People look at me and listen to me and think I am different, but inside of me, my true bosom companions are fear, worry, doubts and anxiety.

I talk what is of God, but live what is of the devil. I talk of the Holy Spirit abiding in me, yet I bear pure fruit of the deceiver. My life does not evidence evil in how I publicly behave, but it sure does evidence that my true bosom companions are certainly not faith, trust and belief in the Living Word of God.

And it gets much worse to know that because I am living with my head buried in the sand, about my deceived life, I also deceive others and make them worse than they are. This is so precisely because they think that I truly am abiding in Jesus and He in me. You see, no one will ever see the man or woman cursing and behaving in an ungodly manner and look to such a one for an example of God. The cursing one is not putting up himself or herself as an example or pattern of the Spirit-filled, Spirit-abiding life. They are not deceived about their lives for they know that they are down-right sinners. We do not see ourselves as they do for we hold ourselves as examples, as witnesses of Jesus, The Way and the Truth and the Life. Is this not true?

For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me.

Sin truly deceived me!