Genesis 3:4 – “But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.”  ESV

I often call Genesis the “Seed Book of the Bible” because, in the first twelve Chapters, you find the foundation for virtually everything taught in the remainder of the Bible.  If one were to get a good handle on those Chapters, I am confident that much of the deception that has and does take place would be thwarted, and we would see vast new doors of understanding opened to the Body of Christ.

Deception did not begin in the Garden of Eden. It started when Lucifer convinced one-third of the angelic hosts to rebel against God.  It was through deception that this transpired.  His work in the Garden is just a continuation of his very nature and character, and sadly, Adam & Eve bought what he was selling and were deceived. 

Their deception not only cost them but also the human race.  Had the Father not been willing to allow Jesus to come to earth and go to the Cross, we would still be in the clutches of the devil.  Deception has a consequence because it results in actions that, as Paul equates in Galatians, as “sowing,” which produces a “harvest” that has to be reaped whether we want to or not.

Deception comes when we fail to keep our hearts open to the Word and the Spirit of God.  It comes when we neglect our study of God’s Word and our prayer life.  It comes when we allow the flesh to rule over the spirit.  It comes when we allow the lust or carnal desires to override the spiritual directives of the Spirit and Word of God.  It comes when we become “self-centered” and dethrone God while elevating ourselves to the Center of our Universe as Adam & Eve did. 

In a sense, Adam and Eve voted God out and voted themselves in, and as one of my friends described it, “They were born again backward.”  They opted to believe The LIE rather than GOD, who is TRUTH.  They opted to follow their own carnal desires and wisdom (so-called) rather than be obedient.  The fruit could have been a bridge over a stream that God said, “Don’t cross.”  It did not matter. It was a matter of obedience, and they disobeyed because they were deceived.

I doubt that there has been a week in my Christian experience that I have not met and talked to someone who is in some deception in some area.  That is probably applicable to me as well. As the Holy Spirit reveals to me any place of deception in my life, I Immediately repent and begin diligent study to correct the error and become rightly aligned with the Word of God.  

Do I have all the truth?  NO!  Do I have all my doctrine right?  I Would say not likely!  I would like to think I do, but from time to time, I find that something I believe is not entirely accurate, and I have to allow my doctrine to be modified to accommodate what God says, not what I want God to say. 

I do not want to be like a preacher. I once heard, “I’ve been in the ministry for 30 years, and I have not changed my doctrine or message.”  I thought, I have! I would think that someone in that condition would rapidly become a Pharisee, and I was one once and never want to return to that place of legalism.  I want to be like a piece of clay in the hands of the potter to be molded and shaped into whatever He desires for my life. 

That has been an ongoing process, and what and where I am today has evolved dramatically in some areas and remained pretty consistent in others.  I know in part and have a limited perspective, but God sees everything from the beginning to the end, whereas we see things from the end to the beginning.  There is an enormous difference!  One is foresight, and the other is hindsight.

So, as you go through the day, allow the Holy Spirit to guide your footsteps and keep your heart and mind open to an expansion of truth in your life that God chooses to bring to you.  

Blessings as you go through your day!