Message summary: Today we consider a grave word of caution from our Lord that believers all through the church age should solemnly heed: "Watch out that no one deceives you".

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"Jesus said to them: 'Watch out that no one deceives you'" (Mark 13:5). "The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. 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" (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11).

WHP 580, our local talk radio station, has an interesting spot that runs in the morning declaring that their announcers are "100% real human", apparently due to the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in broadcasting. Indeed we see AI everywhere and it can be so deceiving.

Brooksyne was listening to some music on Spotify on Saturday morning and came across a new group she really enjoyed and shared it with me. It was on a channel called "Grace Unveiled Music" and featured what they called "Nostalgic Worship". I listened and it was indeed very pleasant and on the basis of what we both heard as we listened to several selections it was theologically correct.

But I explored further and am 99% certain it's just Artificial Intelligence, not created by real people but a machine. If you care to examine and make your own determination I have a link below.

Phone calls, emails, texts, and virtually all media contain pitches that are intended to deceive. Scroll through the web and there are plenty of deceptions. It seems like rarely a day goes by that we are not lied to (attempting to deceive us) in a multitude of ways.

Deception comes in many forms and from many different sources. In many ways it seems that truthfulness and no spin information is the exception. So often it seems how it fits the agenda or the narrative is more important to the purveyor than the actual truth of a matter.

We need to heed our Lord's solemn words in our first daily text, "Watch out that no one deceives you". This is true in the day by day transactions but of far greater danger is the spiritual deception that blinds the unbeliever from the Truth and seeks to get the believer off the right course.

The Olivet Discourse is a long message that has a lot to say about the entire Church Age and the end times. However Jesus begins with a solemn warning: "Watch out that no one deceives you". Deception was first introduced in the Garden of Eden when Satan planted doubt in Eve’s heart causing her to question God’s ruling regarding the forbidden fruit. All through the ages deception has abounded and still abounds in our world today and through technology is increasing.

Since Christ gave His loving and instructive caution to the disciples many forms of deception have appeared all through the ages of the Church. And this is still true today. It may be a self-proclaimed individual or a belief system contrary to revealed Biblical truth. In my own lifetime false christs and false teachings have come and gone and more are sure to come, culminating with the antichrist.

Today we need to not only listen but heed the words of the one and only genuine Christ. We have in the Holy Scriptures a most certain and dependable record of His life and call to each of us. This is a grave word of caution that believers all through the church age should solemnly heed: "Watch out that no one deceives you".

Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13

Stephen and Brooksyne Weber