Today’s 333 Devotional: “Deception in God’s House”
God’s House is for God’s Word, not for man’s philosophy or opinions.
“The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the Lord!’” (Jeremiah 7:1-2)
The people were “trusting in deceptive words” that were false and without value. They weren’t following God’s word, but instead following their own form of spirituality and coming into God’s House saying they were safe (Jeremiah 7:8-10).
But God will not be mocked, neither is He deceived. Instead, He said, “I have been watching.” (Jeremiah 7:11)
Therefore, He tells them, “Reform your ways and your actions … Do not trust in deceptive words … If you really change your ways and your actions … if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place.” (Jeremiah 7:3-7)
In many of today’s churches we are hearing a menagerie of various thoughts, opinions, and philosophies that while they may seem biblical, are poisonous to the soul.
We need to stop trusting in all these deceptive words and doctrines of demons, which the Apostle Paul said would infiltrate the church in these later days causing some to abandon the faith (1 Timothy 4:1).
Instead, we need to be like another group of people Paul met.
When the Apostle Paul and Silas traveled to the city of Berea, they taught God’s word and shared the Gospel. But the Bereans made sure they weren’t being taught heresy, so they checked out what they were saying by God’s word.
“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11)
Where are today’s Bereans? We need to be the Bereans of our day.