Today’s devotion highlights the danger of doing things for God while neglecting to give Him everything that is due. We can easily be deceived by the devil’s trap.

Bible Reading of the Day

AM – Esther 1-3

PM – Acts 5:1-16

𝕿𝖎𝖙𝖑𝖊: 𝕱𝖆𝖑𝖘𝖊𝖍𝖔𝖔𝖉 𝖗𝖊𝖘𝖚𝖑𝖙𝖘 𝖎𝖓 𝖇𝖔𝖓𝖉𝖆𝖌𝖊!

𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝟓:𝟑 𝐊𝐉𝐕

𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑷𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, 𝑨𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒂𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝑺𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝑮𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅?𝒗

Usually, preachers joke during sermons that we are fortunate to sit under God’s grace, implying that without it, no one in the church would survive because of robbing God. The most important thing in your mental state is TRUTH, which is liberating (𝕵𝖔𝖍𝖓 𝟖:𝟑𝟐)! 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐒𝐄𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐆𝐄. Many people are trapped by fear, anger, depression, and bitterness because they believe Satan’s lies rather than trusting God’s truth.

The battle occurs within your mind and thought life (𝟐 𝕮𝖔𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖆𝖓𝖘 𝟏𝟎:𝟑-𝟓). It starts when you entertain wrong thoughts. These deceptive ideas are Satan’s lies that trap you spiritually. Satan is clever, hiding his lies so they are not obvious. He inserts false notions into your mind, tricking you into thinking they are your own thoughts, not his. For instance, Ananias and Sapphira planned to sell some property and donate part of the proceeds, but they falsely claimed they had given the entire amount.

They thought that keeping “𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞” was their own plan (𝕬𝖈𝖙𝖘 𝟓:𝟐), but Peter understood it as Satan’s scheme (𝕬𝖈𝖙𝖘 𝟓:𝟑). Satan often tricks us by hiding his temptations as our own thoughts. This tactic is also seen when Satan prompted David to count Israel (𝟏 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝟐𝟏:𝟏). David believed it was his idea, but it was actually Satan’s influence. Had he recognized Satan’s plan, he would have avoided acting on it!

Be cautious of Satan’s trap, which often appears behind a “𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤” representing oneself. The only way to identify falsehoods from the devil is to confront them with truth.

Living out and passing down this liberating truth is a beautiful, collective effort. With that heart of sincerity, we thank God for the Sunday School teachers and members who selflessly help by preparing events to guide children towards the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.