Distractions, Diversions, and Deceptions
1/03/2013
“And
he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and
Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless
pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive
the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and
after that he must be loosed a little season.” Revelation 20:2.
Until Satan is bound and thrown into the bottomless pit for a thousand
years, his deceptive influence will remain here on earth. Satan is the
father of deceptions and roams to and fro across the globe deceiving
earth’s populous. Over the past 6,000 years or so he’s perfected his
lying, deceitful ways and promoted his craftiness with all tenacity.
Many of us can plainly see his blatant attempts at distracting mankind,
leading them into all sorts of diversions which ultimately lead them to
believe his deceptions. But there are many satanic distractions which
most people, even professing Christians, would never associate with
Satan.
Let’s first get an idea of just what those three words – distractions, diversions, and deceptions mean.
1.) Distractions: anything which takes a person’s attention away from something else.
2.) Diversion: a change in the direction or path away from what was originally set forth.
3.) Deceptions:
the practice of deliberately making somebody believe things that are
not true, an act, trick, or contrivance intended to deceive or mislead
somebody.
All
three of the above nouns described above are promoted by the satanic
realm for the purpose of manipulation. Who is being manipulated? You and
I. As Christians, when we become distracted or diverted from what God
would have us be involved in, it’s then that the deceptions of the enemy
begin to have an adverse effect on our lives. Imagine the effect those
three D’s named above have on the unsuspecting Christ rejecters.
“While
we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are
not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things
which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18.
We can’t see into the realm of the eternal, but Christians believe
there is another dimension where those who’ve not rejected God’s free
gift of salvation will end up. There are marvelous unseen things in
Heaven awaiting the children of God. Although it’s probably a real good
thing that we can’t currently see into the realm of the supernatural,
because along with the marvelous things that await us there’s a realm of
extreme evil which surrounds us. But thanks to God it’s invisible to
humans. The malevolent realm of the supernatural has been kept from our
sight because of our inability to contend with pure evil. We have a
difficult enough time avoiding the pitfalls of the enemy as it is.
The
worldly distractions with which we’ve all been overwhelmed in this life
are actually diversions created for an express purpose. Nothing we see
or do which brings pleasure into our lives is of God, unless God is
centered in that pleasure. From birth to death our God should be our
center. God Himself is never going to involve us in schemes and
diversions that drag us farther away from following Him and His word.
All distractions which eliminate or supplant God are satanically created
to deceive, and they are endless.
There
are too many satanic distractions, diversions, and deceptions to
mention them all. Suffice it to say they are all tried and true as far
as creating a wall of separation between us and our God. As I’ve stated
numerous times in various commentaries, television is the enemy’s three
D’s tool of choice. If we are staring at a television screen watching
re-runs of LA Law, are we not being diverted away from God? When our
senses are inflamed with obscene jocularity by watching some perverse TV
comedian are we giving any thought to God? The internet with its
saturation of instant pornography must surely follow at a close second
behind Television’s huge allure. There are many other distractions which
can easily be seen for what they are. Using the common sense God gave
us to evaluate distractions, diversions, and deceptions isn’t difficult,
but we must be willing.
Diverting
us away from God is the enemy’s goal as he attacks us with his endless
lies. Satan will never cease his deceiving ways, especially as long as
we continually comply with his agenda. Some people are thoroughly
reliant on those three D’s for their entertainment. It’s not until we
finally realize what Satan is doing and resist him that he will flee
from us. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7.
Our
young children attend public schools where God is forbidden to enter.
How long are we going to allow our children to be indoctrinated with the
humanistic agenda? I’ll tell you. Long enough to allow the enemy to
divert them away from God, the God who created them in His likeness.
Research shows that 95% of all Christian students who graduate from a
secular high school leave behind all Christian fellowship by the time
they enter collage. This is a disturbing statistic and it can be
verified by doing a search on the Barna Research Group website.
For
many years the world has been introducing our young children to every
kind of immoral and degrading wickedness known to man. Large numbers of
very young children are now experimenting with sex, drugs, and alcohol.
The enemy has begun a series of distractions, diversions, and deceptions
aimed predominately at preschoolers through teens. The enemy’s tactic
is to convince them to not only accept his deceptions as truth, but to
fully embrace all his doctrines. Abortion, homosexuality, sex out of
wedlock, mind altering drugs, the list goes on and on.
Organized
and professional sports can be just as deceptive when we consider how
much time we devote to them. The distractions and frenzied actions of
crazed fans that we see displayed in the modern sports stadiums has its
roots in the ancient Roman coliseum where violence and death were
condoned. Those Roman games were staged to entertain the populous. As
the citizens of Rome watched people being beaten, stabbed, and run
through with spears, they were worked into such a frenzy that they
became a part of the slaughter urging the participants to either let the
defeated participant live or die. What they were watching was the very
public spectacle of sanctioned murder. Then it occurred
to the leaders of Rome that it would be highly beneficial to Caesar’s
rule to eliminate that new sect of people who were not bowing to Rome’s
god – Christians – and the deceived masses went wild. I am fully
aware of the fact that many of my brethren feel they couldn’t get by
without sports. Be that as it may, this is an area where Satan has
excelled at his deceptions and he will never stop.
“What
do you suggest we do for entertainment and fun, Ron?” exciting and
fulfilling. There is pure joy in serving God, and is better than any
worldly sport. When
we do we will find our joy and satisfaction complete in Christ. Each
time you watch an individual get baptized after becoming born again
you’ll be cheering right along with God and all the whole host of godly
angels as you recognize the joy of the Lord in that event. That baptism
would be far superior to any 100 yard touchdown or grand slam ever
witnessed.
The
question the children of God should be concerned with is how do all
these distractions honor God? When we finally stand before our Christ at
His Bema seat of judgment, how will we respond to this question Jesus
might pose “I’ve watched you through the years and I see you’ve
memorized the baseball scores of your favorite teams, but can you quote 5
verses from my word?”
Of
course I’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to all of the
successful satanic distractions, diversions, and deceptions with which
humanity is continually being tempted. This commentary could go on and
on and I’m sure right about now many of you will think me quite
legalistic or a raving lunatic. If you are still focused on baseball you
probably think I’m way out in left field somewhere. Let me finish by
saying that in Heaven there will not be any of the satanic distractions,
diversions, and deceptions that keep our minds off our God. And no, you
will not miss them.
“Trust
in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily
thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give
thee the desires of thine heart.” Psalm 37:3-4.
When we get to Heaven we will truly desire to be a part of God’s
Kingdom. The desires of our heart will be fully aligned with our God’s
heart. Some claim the verse above points to our being given the desires
of our heart when we reach Heaven – including sports of any kind. We
can’t claim the verse above pertains to what our desires will be in
Heaven because of the verse that precedes it “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land.”
The context of the entirety of those verses point to dwelling in the
land – on earth. Therefore, if you believe the desire of your heart is
to crave professional sports after you leave planet earth then the
desires of your heart are most assuredly satanic. Nothing of Satan’s
will ever enter Heaven again, only the things of God.
God bless you all,
Ron Graham
All original scripture is “theopneustos” God breathed
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