Bible Verse of the Day Thursday December 14th, 2023

2 Corinthians 11:3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

On a cold crisp, clear morning somewhere in the English countryside in 1943, an English farmer woke up to see a column of Sherman Tanks parked on one of his fields. His prize bull had also noticed this and set up for an attack on one of the tanks. The farmer knew that the bull running head-on into that tank was the end of the bull. The angry bull collided with the tank at full speed and then only a loud hiss of air escaping, and a few seconds later nothing but a pile of Army Green sheeting.

The farmer and his bull had stumbled upon one of the greatest deceptions in the history of warfare. The allies had created a phantom army built out of rubber tanks, jeeps, trucks, and other military vehicles to divert attention away from the real Army preparing to invade the French Coastline in the spring of 1944. 

Satan is, without a doubt, the grandmaster when it comes to deception and camouflage. Jesus called him a liar and the Father of them. Satan camouflaged himself as a serpent when he subtlety lied to Eve and then used Eve as a tool to convince Adam to follow along with What God had told them not to do. This downward progression began the fall of humankind that we still deal with today. Satan still uses this same deception today, getting people to rely on their good works to attain salvation. He will deceive you into believing that you will spend eternity with Our Father in Heaven if you are a member of a particular church and follow their guidelines. Satan will try to trick you into believing that baptism washes away all your sins. Satan has even convinced billions of people that he does not even exist. He has caused some to think that hell is not the awful "Lake of fire" that it most certainly is. 

 Do not be taken in by these timeless lies by "the father of lies." There is only one way that you can know salvation from an eternity separated from Our Lord and Savior in an awful place called hell. Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6; Acts 4:11-12). Do not allow Satan to deceive you into being fooled by the lies he has used down through the centuries. Study God's Holy Word where you will find the map for the "narrow road" and "small gate" that leads to eternal life. My prayer is that if your eyes fell on this reading that you have become one of the "few that find it," and if not, you will become one of the few. 

Matthew 7:14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

The only protection we have against Satan's cunning deception is God's Holy Word, which is the "Sword of the Spirit," the God-given weapon that is available to all His followers and believers. The yearning and aspiration to understand more fully the Word of God, to become more efficient with the Sword, must originate from within our hearts and souls (Psalm 119:101-104). To possess this same attitude as the Psalmist from 119:101-104 will most certainly transform one into an accomplished and proficient spiritual warrior. Our success as a soldier in God's Army is up to us. 

All triumphs and victories you claim against the enemy, Satan, will have a direct correlation with your skill level as a spiritual warrior, how efficient you are with the "Sword of the Spirit." If we rely on God and His Word, we will be able to withstand the fiery darts Satan is flinging at our hearts. If we foolishly rely on humankind's scientific reasoning or traditions, then we will be at the mercy of our enemy. Rely on the Word of God, and He will always be with us on the battlefield. One last thought, if you remove the "s" from the word "sword," you end up with the "Word."