By THE SPIRIT James wrote in chapter 1:
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;
24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
To deceive means to cause someone to believe something that is not true, typically in order to gain some personal advantage. To be brutally honest, I must admit that I have been guilty of deception at various times in my life as I suspect we all have if we are to be completely truthful. Throughout Scripture there have been many who deceived others for personal gain and/or protection. Jacob deceived Isaac in order to obtain the birthright instead of his brother. Peter deceived those who identified him as a disciple when he denied Christ three times. The old man is a deceiver and promotes deception and lies.
Thankfully FATHER’S mercy prevailed in my life as I moved from a state of immaturity to one of deeper understanding about the importance of living according to a higher standard than that of the world. There is such gross deception sweeping across the earth in the financial realm these days. Never before has there been such a departure from Truth and reality and wickedness is surely overflowing in many areas. These times demand a Standard of Truth rise up to expose the wickedness and deception that plagues mankind. FATHER continues to hone and prepare HIS Called Out Ones to become uncompromising with regard to not only hearing the Word but doing the Word. Moreover we are not only doing the Word but with the same Divine Intent of FATHER. It is one thing to do the Word but it is another to embrace the intent behind the Word.
We must not let our past dictate our future. If that were the case none of us would deserve to be here on earth today. FATHER’S great grace and mercy are sufficient to redeem us from our past just as HE did for all those mentioned in Scripture. This perfect Law of liberty is one that sets us free of our past and promotes life and blessing in our future. We must be doers of FATHER’S Word to realize this life of liberty.
Doing nothing simply won’t cut it anymore. Being a doer of the Word requires discipline, tenacity, and overcoming the flesh. It requires us to be sensitive to THE SPIRIT and correct anything which would compromise our walk. Deception occurs when we know the difference between the Truth and a lie and do nothing to rectify the situation. Personal gain is obtained when someone else fails to receive what is right and you have the opportunity to balance the scales. If we fail to stand on the Truth then deception enters in as we become “forgetful”.
When one is selfish he or she believes in scarcity rather than FATHER’S abundance. Making the transition from believing what you see to believing FATHER’S Word can be challenging. As we continue to be doers of HIS Word even though we have yet to experience the transition from scarcity to blessing, we must press on and press in. I am fully persuaded by the multitude of FATHER’S past interventions in my life that HE will continue to cause HIS Word to come to pass in all of our lives. Love ultimately prevails if we forget not HIS benefits. Let us each continue to sow the Word into our hearts on a daily basis so that good fruit comes forth in our lives.