emotions can deceive you

Your emotions can help Satan deceive you with false teaching. If you are deceived, your deception is likely to hurt those around you. Even if you’re seeking the mind of God, your own stubborn will and emotions can make you susceptible to deception. Which emotions? Feeling sorry for yourself. Anger. Fear. Bitterness. Fear of missing out. Wanting to be important. Religious pride. Wanting to prove yourself right, better, or more understanding than others. Covetousness. Envy. Wanting people to like you. Those aren’t the only possible emotions that could cause problems. Many emotions can make it hard for you to know the difference between God’s voice and your own voice. If you are deceived, your deception is likely to hurt those around you. Even if you’re seeking the mind of God, your own stubborn will and emotions can make you susceptible to deception. Which emotions? Feeling sorry for yourself. Anger. Fear. Bitterness. Fear of missing out. Wanting to be important. Religious pride. Wanting to prove yourself right, better, or more understanding than others. Covetousness. Envy. Wanting people to like you. Those aren’t the only possible emotions that could cause problems. Many emotions can make it hard for you to know the difference between God’s voice and your own voice.

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Living in a World of Christian Rationalism, Naturalism, and Materialism

I confess that I suffered from cognitive dissonance as God was speaking to me about many truths. I grew up in a world of religion without the kind of power God shows you in Scripture. I grew up in a world of Christian Rationalism, Naturalism, and Materialism. As God peeled back the layers, each layer was difficult for me to accept. I kept asking, “Could this be true?” I didn’t just balk at one thing. I balked at many things God showed me. I just had trouble believing any of it. Fortunately, God didn’t unload everything on me at once. He spoon-fed me a little at a time. He was patient with my unbelief.

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CHOOSE TRUTH OR DECEPTION

A calculator is a wonderful tool, but it calculates nothing until someone punches in some numbers. If the numbers are right, you get the right answer. The same goes for a spreadsheet. Artificial intelligence is a fancy and complex calculator that uses data that someone put into it or goes out to websites to get whatever someone wrote on those websites. It has not capacity to tell the difference between truth and make-believe but must take the word of the persons who write on those websites.

Many of those people write things that are not true in the sense of absolute truth. The same with your mind. It can’t self-generate truth. It can calculate. It can make up stuff. It can get information from books, media, websites, movies, etc. It can also do something no calculator, spreadsheet, or artificial intelligence can do. It can receive revelation of the truth from the only Source of all truth, Jesus Christ.

I asked ChatGPT about this. Here’s what ChatGPT answered. “I don’t have direct access to reality. I work with patterns in data humans produced. That means I can reflect errors, biases, satire, fiction, or misinformation right along with solid facts. AI is more like a very advanced pattern processor than a truth-detector.”

The choice before you is truth or deception. Truth is absolute by definition. Relative truth is at best just an opinion or at worst an outright lie. Reasoning based on anything less than truth is deception.

So, you know all truth and wisdom are hidden in Christ. And you know He is the secret key to knowing the truth. Now, you need some answers. How do you apply this to your life in a meaningful way? How do you discern Christ’s voice from all others? How do you grow up in Christ? How do you mature so it’s easier to walk in truth than to be deceived?

Just keep walking with Him. Maturity will give you more discernment. You start by turning your mind’s attention toward Jesus. Speak to Him out loud. Praise and worship Him. Glorify Him in your heart, and allow His Spirit, His glory to flow through you. Quiet your mind and listen. What does He speak into your mind? You can even write it down. But you must spend some time with Him. Then, as you go about your day, look to Him for wisdom. Give Him the glory for any knowledge of wisdom you receive. Realize that your carnal mind can’t self-generate any wisdom or knowledge or truth.

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God’s plan has phases

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse. ~ Romans 1:18-20 Berean Study Bible

Other translations say God revealed it, made it evident, showed it, or manifested it to them. God reveals reality through the things He has created. And God also speaks other ways. However, He never contradicts Himself. For instance, we’ve already mentioned no true divine revelation of any kind will ever contradict the Bible since God knows all things and can’t lie. God doesn’t get confused or make mistakes. He knows the end from the beginning and doesn’t need to change His mind or change His plan.

However, you must keep in mind that God’s plan has phases. For instance, God worked differently before Christ died and rose again than He worked after Christ died on the cross. That’s because some parts of the Old Covenant are fulfilled in Christ. God fulfilled some through the cross. God is now fulfilling some in you. For instance, the blood of animal sacrifices was a symbol that looked forward to the real sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for your sins. God fulfilled that sacrifice in Christ. God used circumcision and all the rituals of purification as symbols. They looked forward to the real removal of the flesh and purification of our hearts in this age. God is fulfilling that purification in you. God is removing your fleshly nature. And yet, Jesus said until heaven and earth shall pass away, not even one iota nor one stroke of a letter shall pass away from the law until everything is fulfilled.

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God’s Many Ways of Speaking to You

God speaks through Scripture and every means of divine revelation mentioned in Scripture. He speaks through those who yield to the Holy Spirit, and you see that written here:

You know that when you were pagans, you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I inform you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. ~ 1 Corinthians 12:2-3 Berean Study Bible

The idols were mute. They couldn’t talk. But God speaks through those who yield themselves to His Spirit. And God also speaks through the things He has created. In the first chapter of Romans, God tells you about how He reveals Himself to every person, believer and unbeliever alike, through the things He has created.

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God Speaks to You

Divine revelation is within reach for every person without exception. Whenever you hear someone reading the Bible, God is speaking to you. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re listening or responding to God. Listening is up to you. You may be trying to fit the Bible into your preconceived ideas of theology. You can read the Bible and filter it through your preconceived ideas so you never hear God’s voice. God speaks through Scripture. He also speaks through the methods of divine revelation mentioned in Scripture.

A word of warning! It does no good to seek Jesus Christ if you expect Him to confirm your preconceived ideas. He isn’t here to cater to your fleshly thoughts and learned philosophies or theologies. He doesn’t encourage your fleshly, carnal desires. He’s here to shatter every error and replace it with the truth. You need to come to Him in humility and ask Him to forgive you, correct you, and fundamentally change you. You need a fundamental change to your spirit, mind, and body. You need to allow Him to transfigure your entire three-part being: spirit, mind\soul, and body. You have a problem if you think your own preconceived ideas are the right preconceived ideas and better than the preconceived ideas of others. An attitude like that makes it difficult for the Holy Spirit to get through to you as you read Scripture or hear a brother or sister who is speaking by the Holy Spirit.

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Maturity in Christ

Over time, you become more mature in Christ if you listen to His voice and yield to His Spirit rather than doing your own will. You’re transformed into the image and likeness of Christ. Christ is fully formed in you, and the fleshly nature disappears. That’s the promise. That’s the certain hope.

You’re somewhere on that Pathway to maturity. So am I. With maturity comes discernment.

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He’s the Pathway on which you walk. He’s the Truth that lights your Pathway so you can see where you’re going. And He’s the Life you’re approaching.

Since you’re on this Pathway, you aren’t staying in one place. You’re moving forward in Christ and changing as you go.

It’s possible to go backward but not if you desire God and Truth. If you’re sincere in following Christ, you cannot fail because your success doesn’t depend on you. Christ is the Captain.

That doesn’t remove your free will. You still choose to yield to Him or resist Him. He won’t force you.

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PARDON AND CLEANSING AND LIFE IN JESUS

Jesus said He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He’s the Pathway. He’s the Truth that lights the Pathway. And He’s the Life that’s the destination of the Pathway. You need to stay on the Pathway. If you leave the Pathway, you can either slip off the Pathway or step off the Pathway. In either case, God has a solution.

You sometimes may get off the Pathway. You might either slip or step off. In either case, you miss the way if you disconnect from Christ. You’re in a war. Satan is working to deceive you. If you step off the Pathway, God corrects you, forgives you, and brings you back on the Pathway provided you admit you’re wrong. You must confess your sins.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ~ 1 John 1:9 Berean Study Bible

He doesn’t just promise to pardon you. He promises to cleanse you, to make you clean. He wants to change your sinful nature and purge out your natural tendency toward unrighteousness.

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KNOWING JESUS

It’s possible to know something absolutely but not completely. You know Jesus Christ if you have a relationship with Him. And yet, you don’t know Him as you ought to know Him. Your relationship grows over time. You mature in Christ. You don’t know Him completely. And yet, you know Christ absolutely. Your relationship with Him is absolute. It’s undeniable.

Scripture tells me if I think I know a matter I don’t know it as I ought to know it. If I think there’s something I understand well, God needs to show me what I don’t understand about it. That doesn’t mean I don’t know anything. I know some things. I’m certain about them. And yet, God is going to give me a better understanding of those things as I walk with Him and listen to His voice. The same goes for you.

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Only Jesus explains the Bible.

Jesus shows the way for all who follow Him. He reveals the meaning of life. He explains the Bible.

However, don’t let anyone deceive you. Divine revelation will never conflict with Scripture. It will show you how to apply Scripture to your life. It will expose those who add their own ideas to Scripture. It will lead you in ways that agree with Scripture, but it will never disagree with Scripture.

And, when I say divine revelation, I’m not talking about adding new books to the Bible or changing the Bible in any way. I’m talking about being led by the Holy Spirit into the righteousness of God. I’m talking about the Holy Spirit explaining the Bible to you and applying the truth of the Bible to your life in a practical way.

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