A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Thursday,
September 30,
2021
The Country Log House farm is on Flory Road, about a mile south of us.
"A
Powerful Delusion" (Part 2)
Listen to this message on your audio player.
"They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness" (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12). "And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed" (Romans 13:11).
We see so much delusion in our world, that is
rapidly increasing and I don't think I'm alone in this
observation. "The Babylon Bee" is a clearly labeled
satire site that is both humorous and often insightful.
"Not The Bee" is its non-satire cousin
reporting brief spots of real news that sure seems to be
satire and many probably would have been only a few
years ago. (Although I am not sure you could even make
some of it up!)
Yesterday, "Not the Bee" had one headlined,
"Your woke tweet of the day" which was, "As a
transgender woman, I am biologically female"* For those
of you blessedly non-conversant in this gender madness
craze this is a male pretending to be a female insisting
he is a biological female, a new leap of
illogical insanity. One person responded, "So you have
somehow magically changed your chromosomes from XY to XX
just by deeming it so on Twitter? Would you mind
deeming me a billionaire with these magical powers?"
Another quipped, "As a married man, I am a bachelor."
So let's continue this two part series on delusion. Yesterday we considered the general state of delusion the world is in due to human depravity based on Romans 1. Today we consider a verse in 2 Thessalonians and seek to make sense of the increasing deception and powerful delusion that is sweeping our world.
It seems we are living in days very similar to
the days of Noah when “the Lord saw that the
wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that
every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually” (Genesis 6:5).
2 Thessalonians chapter 2 is prophetical. It
begins, "Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ and our being gathered to him". Do you
suppose when Paul wrote this he had any notion that the
church age would have lasted as long as it has? Even at
that time Paul had to warn his readers, "not to
become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching
allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of
mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord
has already come" (v.2) I am sure that generation
and many since have considered these verses as applying
to their generation.
The Scripture continues, "Don’t let anyone
deceive you in any way, for that day will not come
until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness
is revealed, the man doomed to destruction" (v.3).
Earnest Bible students debate if this refers
to an apostasy among those who once followed God, or a
general worldwide rebellion.
The powerful delusion referred to in our daily
text seems to me to primarily be in the period following
Christ's coming but it is still instructive for any
period when people refuse to love the truth and so be
saved.
Bibleref.com comments:
"In this verse Paul explains
what happens to those who refuse the truth during the
tribulation. He references an impending spiritual
rebellion, and the rise of a powerful spiritual
figure, the man of lawlessness. To those who are not
Christians, God sends a strong delusion, so they will
succumb to the false teaching of the man of
lawlessness. A rejection of truth always predisposes
sinners to accept error (Romans 1:18–23). In this
case, unbelievers choose to reject the truth but
believe the lie that the man of lawlessness is the
Messiah."
So the powerful delusion we see in our own
time may be precursor to these events. Today so many
refuse to love the truth and be saved and "have not
believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness".
Following this prophetic teaching in 2
Thessalonians 2 Paul calls the Thessalonian church to
stand firm. "So then, brothers and sisters, stand
firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to
you, whether by word of mouth or by letter" (v.15).
As we face so much deception and delusion
that's a good word not only for the Thessalonians, the
initial recipients, but for all of us!
Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, we choose to walk in the light
and therefore we delight in truth, honor, and
righteousness. May we not be overcome by evil but
overcome evil with good. We can do this by standing
firm, holding fast to the teachings passed onto us
by the apostles and prophets, and by the greatest
Authority, Jesus Christ. Wake us from our slumber,
dear Lord, so that we are alert, wise, and
discerning; since our salvation is nearer to us now
then when we first believed. Amen.Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Firm
Foundation" Video Selah
"Build
My Life" Video Pat Barrett
"The
Babylon Bee" (satire)
"Not
The Bee" (not satire)
Sadie
and Gracie our 11 week
kitten are getting along
very well and resting together in this photo.
They also play well together. On
the other hand Mollie,
our older, larger border collie, is still quite
intimidating to Gracie.
Brooksyne's
note: This time I am at the computer as I
have gained some strength over the past day and
can contribute the prayer and give you an update
on my health. I read Stephen's note from my
"recovery" bed yesterday and considered that he
needed me to edit this line he wrote: "Brooksyne
continues to recover from her surgery on Monday
afternoon and is even making a peach pie today!"
When I read it I imagined you might think I'm
Suzy Homemaker in my usual kitchen apron rolling
out dough and trying to make a pretty edging,
then slicing numerous peaches and all the other
"stuff" that goes with making a pie. That is not
the picture and I am writing our readers not to
consider me "wonder woman" nor be alarmed that I
am overdoing it as has been suggested by
readers. I merely had four peaches that were
going to spoil so I stood at the sink long
enough to peel them, then I got a bag of my
pecan, cinnamon oatmeal mix pie topping that I
store in the freezer and I made a peach crisp
dish. Stephen thought I was making a pie since I
asked him to get a pie dish down for me. Sooo,
there's the editorialized version now that the
editor is back, at least part-time.
Thank
you for your well wishes and prayers for my
recovery from Monday's surgery. Some of you may
remember I had surgery last November and thought
health issues were resolved, but other related
health matters arose over the summer and the
doctor said I would need another operation. I
put off surgery until the fall as I have too
much fun gardening, traveling and biking. But
fall is now here and I am now pursuing better
health ahead. Stephen (mostly running to doctor,
hospital and pharmacy and fetching things for
me) and Ester (mostly related to housework and
kitchen) are blessing me as I am restricted from
lifting more than 8 to 10# for 3 months and no
bending over for six weeks. Imagine that, so
Stephen and Ester are getting extra exercise
around their waistline while mine grows due to
inactivity. We went through this last year and
it was very difficult, so I could use prayer for
patience in my restrictions and enduring
patience for my dear helpers to maintain such a
helpful attitude.
Send
a message to Stephen
& Brooksyne
To receive the
"Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday
through email see this
page to subscribe to our email list. You can also
subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or
through a Wordpress email subscription.
(See the email subscription on the right side
after opening this page)
Permissions:
Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and
distribute any material on Daily Encouragement
Net, in part or in whole, in any format,
provided that you do not alter the wording in
any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of
reproduction. It is our desire to spread this
material, not protect or restrict it. We do
request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription
information intact.
We want to thank all who financially
support our ministry. We
realize there are many fine ministries and
causes requesting support but if the Lord
would lead you we surely need and appreciate
the financial support from our readers and
listeners. Our
ministry labor is comprised of approximately
half our time to Daily Encouragement and the
other half to our chaplaincy ministry to
companies for which we receive compensation.
Each of these ministries essentially is the
same as a part-time job (20+ hours weekly) for
each of us. Our goal for many years is that
each would provide half of our ministry
expenses and income.
If you would consider making a donation to our ministry see here for more information.
To donate directly online here. This will open to a page that designates the offering to: WEBER,STEPHEN CHAP, Specialized Chaplaincy Ministry ID: 700001-237376
If you would consider making a donation to our ministry see here for more information.
To donate directly online here. This will open to a page that designates the offering to: WEBER,STEPHEN CHAP, Specialized Chaplaincy Ministry ID: 700001-237376
Please Note: We
also provide this easy option due to the
convenience, for international supporters,
and for those who may not be concerned
regarding receiving an official tax
deductible receipt. Click here to
send an offering using PayPal. This
will open to a page that states "Brooksyne
Weber".Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
© Copyright 2021 Stephen C. & Brooksyne
Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA