THE WEB OF DECEPTION

"Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."— Hebrews 3:12-13 (KJV)

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings."
— Jeremiah 17:9-10 (KJV)

"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." — Galatians 6:7-8 (KJV)

Hear the Word of the Lord, O Children of Israel:

Awake, awake, thou that sleepest! Arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light!

There is a snare set in the field before you, and you do not see it. It is not loud. It does not announce itself with trumpets or drums. It is quiet, subtle, and it wears the mask of an angel. The enemy of your soul is not charging at you with a spear today—he is much more cunning than that. He is planting a seed. A small thought. A tiny compromise. A little justification. A whispered question: "Yea, hath God said?" (Genesis 3:1, KJV).

It is called deception, and it is the most dangerous weapon in his arsenal.

For deception does not feel like death. It feels like life. It feels like wisdom. It feels like the easier path. That is its power. If sin looked like sin, you would run from it. But hear the Word of the Lord: "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness" (2 Corinthians 11:14-15, KJV). He does not come to you looking like a monster; he comes looking like a friend. He comes with scripture on his lips, as he did with Jesus in the wilderness. He comes with half-truths, with nearly-right doctrines, with paths that seem right unto a man, but the Word declares: "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death" (Proverbs 14:12, KJV).

Hear this and tremble: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, KJV). Not you. You cannot trust your own heart. Your heart will lie to you. It will tell you that you have time to repent later. It will tell you that no one will know. It will tell you that God understands—He knows you are weak. It will dress up disobedience in the clothing of "grace" and call it freedom.

But the Lord declares: "I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings" (Jeremiah 17:10, KJV). He sees the difference between the sheep and the wolf in sheep's clothing.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked.

"For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting" (Galatians 6:7-8, KJV). You cannot plant weeds and harvest wheat. You cannot sow to the flesh and reap the Spirit. The universe runs on a law written by the finger of God: you will reap what you sow. Not what you hope to sow. Not what you intend to sow. Not what you confess with your mouth while your heart is far from Him. What you actually sow.

The deceitfulness of sin hardens the heart. The Scripture warns: "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin" (Hebrews 3:12-13, KJV). It happens slowly, strand by strand, like a spider weaving a web. Day by day, the conscience sears. The voice of the Spirit grows quieter. The Word of God loses its sharpness. And one day you wake up and realize you cannot move. You are bound. Not by one great sin, but by a thousand small compromises that seemed so harmless at the time.

But there is yet time!

The trumpet is blowing! The watchman is crying out! "To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts" (Hebrews 3:7-8, KJV).

This is the hour of examination.
This is the day of repentance.

Lay down the excuses. Cast off the justifications. Renounce the hidden things of dishonesty. "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you" (2 Corinthians 6:17, KJV).

For "we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11, KJV). "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:4-5, KJV).

A New Walk. A New Talk. A New Life.

Hear the promise of your God: "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17, KJV).

Therefore, "putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption" (Ephesians 4:25, 29-30, KJV).

Choose you this day whom ye will serve (Joshua 24:15, KJV).

The father of lies offers a web that binds.
The Father of Lights offers a Truth that sets free.

The Final Call:

"Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:14-16, KJV).

Wake up, you who are sleeping in the light.
Rise up, you who are entangled in the web.
Turn around, you who are walking the path that seems right.
The Gate is narrow. The Way is straight. And the Truth stands at the door and knocks.

"If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20, KJV).

Go, and sin no more (John 8:11, KJV).