Wednesday; September 18

I may not look like it, but I am a millionaire many times over.  How is that possible, you might ask?  The answer is simple, the Internet told me.  You see, I have gotten emails that I am a part of class-action suits that will pay me thousands of dollars if I just reply with my social security number.  Even better, I have been contacted by royal families from around the world stating that they are looking to share their wealth with me – all I have to do is send them my banking information.  Yep, if I would just listen to those in the cyberworld I would be rich beyond my wildest dreams!
I hope you got a kick out the previous paragraph because you, too, are millionaires – or at least you could be if you did something advertised through what we all know to be bogus claims.  Very few people take these scams seriously because we have been raised on the credo, “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is”.  The problem is that someone, somewhere will believe these hucksters.  That’s how they make their money and how we lose ours!
The point I want to make from this illustration really isn’t about Internet safety, it is about religious teaching.  You see, there are people who are wanting to sell you false claims to benefit their self-interests.  Some of them do it to make a buck, others of them do it to make disciples and I am convinced that some do it because they have personally sold themselves out to satan and he is using them to build his kingdom.  If we don’t want to get sucked into false doctrine let’s remember the adage, “If it seems too good to be true”, but let’s also adhere to the biblical warning, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (I John 4:1).
Think About It!

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