Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

"Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."¹

Politicians, promoters, and radicals all know that if you keep repeating the "product or line" you are wanting to promoteâ€"even when it is blatantly falseâ€"if you say it often enough, loud enough, intense enough, and for long enough, not only do you end up believing your own lies, but lots of gullible people believe them too. It becomes a case of: "Don't confuse me with the facts. My mind is made up!"

The bottom line is that many people see what they want to see, hear what they want to hear, and believe what they want to believeâ€"what is the most convenient for themâ€"and with some fancy "footwork" manufacture a story in a vain attempt to justify their stance. And the more defensive they become when challenged, the more evident it becomes that they are promoting or believing a lie. Shakespeare said it well: "Me thinks he doth protest too much."

Just think how we've been sold a bill of goods on free sex (which is never free), accepting homosexuality as a norm (which is opposed to the norm), gay marriage (an oxymoron if ever there were one), abortion on demand … line upon line, little by little, all of these issues have been accepted by vast numbers because they have been promoted over and over and over ad infinitum.

Let us remember that repetition does not guarantee reality. And the greatest defense we have against lies is to know what the Bible teaches and be grounded thereinâ€"and to always be honest with ourselves and with others.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please give me a genuine love for and appreciation of your Word so that it becomes a solid foundation for my life to guard against all the lies that we are being bombarded with daily from advertisers, high-pressure salesmen, politicians, Hollywood, radicals from both the extreme left and extreme right, and all who promote anything that is opposed to your Word. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. 1 Peter 3:17-18 (NIV).

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