Do Not Be Deceived - Day 1

Day 1: If Possible, Even the Elect

Devotional

Some verses make you stop and ask how that could possibly be true. Matthew 24:24 is one of them. False christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Even the elect? Even people who know the Scriptures and have studied them?

There is good news and bad news in that verse. The good news is in the word if. We don't have to be deceived, because we are fully equipped to know the truth and to stand in it. The other side of that coin is what the verse suggests: there are going to be people who once knew the truth and now are deceived.

Never before in human history have we had so much information available so quickly and so easily. You can study the Bible on your phone and listen to preachers from around the world, and much of the time that is a wonderful thing. But along with it comes an enormous amount of misinformation. Everybody has an opinion. Everybody has an interpretation. Everyone seems to have discovered something no one else knows.

And we can be a lot like kids in the cereal aisle, buying the box because of the bright colors on the package. When someone speaks with confidence, quotes a few verses and tells a compelling story, before long we begin accepting what they said without ever discovering if it's true.

So slow down today. What have you accepted lately simply because it was presented well?

Bible Verse

"Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." - Matthew 24:23-24 (New King James Version (NKJV))

Reflection Question

Which voices have the most access to your attention right now, and when did you last check what they say against God's Word?

Quote

"What concerns me this morning is how easily something can be made to sound credible because it's presented convincingly." - Pastor John Pool

Prayer

Lord, thank You that I don't have to be deceived. Show me where I have accepted something just because it sounded good, and give me a heart that wants what is true. Amen.