DECEPTION IS THE NAME OF THE GAME This past Wednesday night at church our pastor told us that he had received a call from Nigeria informing him that he had won $3.2 million. The following day Charlie received a similar phone call and after wishing the caller a ‘not so good day’, he hung up and promptly told me he had turned the money down. We agreed that our pastor wasn’t the only special person in town. We got a good laugh out of the obvious ruse. Maybe you’ve received a call similar to that which Charlie and our pastor received and like them, you promptly hung up your phone. Good for you! Sometimes phonies are easy to spot. A few years back a friend of ours actually got a check for thousands of dollars from another scam artist and when he took it to the bank it was closely examined and determined to be fraudulent. Good thing he had the good sense to check it out before depositing and spending the non-existent money. From the official FBI website the following warning is given: “Nigerian letter frauds combine the threat of impersonation fraud with a variation of an advance fee scheme in which a letter mailed from Nigeria offers the recipient the “opportunity” to share in a percentage of millions of dollars that the author—a self-proclaimed government official—is trying to transfer illegally out of Nigeria.” Phone schemes are likewise used to deceive unsuspecting persons to give out personal information that can then be accessed, causing the victim to lose everything. The scam artists are banking on the greed of their victims to share their personal information. The FBI says, “When you send money to people you do not know personally or give personal or financial information to unknown callers, you increase your chances of becoming a victim of telemarketing fraud.” We are living in a time of great deception in many areas. Young people are being deceived by terrorist groups and are actually thinking if they kill Christians or Jews they will be blessed by their god. In 2 Timothy 3:13 the apostle Paul warns Timothy that “evil people and swindlers will grow even worse, as they deceive others while being deceived themselves.” (CEB) The Message Translation by Eugene Peterson translates that verse like this: “Unscrupulous con men will continue to exploit the faith. They’re as deceived as the people they lead astray. As long as they are out there, things can only get worse.” I’m so thankful for the truth contained in God’s Word. When the Bible states that God’s Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalms 119:105) it gives me hope. When you shine the truth of God’s Word on various situations, it’s amazing how clear things become. John the Apostle warns about people being deceived in the area of their faith. He said that there would be those who would deny that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. He called them out as ‘anti-Christ’. When you go back to the beginning of our human history it’s plain to see where deception comes from. Satan put doubt in Eve’s mind as to the truth of God’s Word. His line went something like this: “Has God really said that?” (my paraphrase) She fell for the bait and disobeyed God. Paul explains her downfall as being deceived. “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (2 Cor. 11:3) Simplicity. Isn’t that a good word? The Gospel is simple as ABC. A – All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. B – Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. C – Confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and be saved. Don’t be deceived by every wind of doctrine or by any Nigerian scam artist. Check everything out by the Word of God. For more information check Jerri out on Facebook or email her at: jerrituck@aol.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 21:34:03 +0000
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