The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:1-4 NIV).

There are three principle enemies we face, all rooted in the work of Satan. There is the flesh, which is another way of describing the process of misleading ourselves to accept what is false as truth. It is a form of denying the truth or justifying false beliefs to ourselves. A second enemy is the world. Others, whether unintentionally or intentionally, will also add to the deception. And, of course, there is the devil and his cohorts. But let’s be a little more specific. How does this look in our lives? When you recognize the deception for what it is, it no longer can have power over you. The following list is not exhaustive, but perhaps it will give you a little insight:

1.    We deceive ourselves when we hear the truth and don’t do it. This is another way of saying that we fail to practice what we preach (James 1:22).

2.    We deceive ourselves when, because of our pride, we say we have no sin (John 1:8-10). We are not sinless saints. I have a preacher friend who says that the church ought to be more like an emergency room rather than a hospital. His point is that all of us will be in need of some emergency care at one time or another. We fail and are hurt and bleeding from our mistakes. The church is the place to go to get the healing we need to go on. Some have decided that church is merely an extraneous exercise in futility. And, truth be told, some of them are. However, find one that’s not and you will find the place to fight and win the fight!

3.    We deceive ourselves when we think we’re something that we are not (Romans 12:3). Pride is a real killer. We must never fail to recognize that all we are and have are expressions of God’s grace.

4.    We deceive ourselves when we mistake the world’s wisdom for God’s wisdom (1 Corinthians 3:18-19). The height of arrogance is to think that we know better than the "all-wise God." We cannot match wits with the god of this world, let alone the God of this universe. Whenever we think we can out smart Satan we are candidates for being led astray by his crafty deceitfulness. It’s important that we not rely on our own understanding but rather acknowledge God in all our ways.

5.    We deceive ourselves when we think we do not bridle our tongue (James 1:26). There is NO place for gossip or dissension in the body of Christ. Of course, there will be discussion. God doesn’t expect unanimity, but he demands unity from His children.

6.    We deceive ourselves when we think we will not reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7). We get what we get when we go where we go. If you don’t like what you’re getting, stop going where you go!

7.    We deceive ourselves when we thing that we can continually associate with bad company and not be corrupted (1 Corinthians 15:33). Jesus encouraged us to be IN the world, but not OF the world. Pretty plain language for us to practice.