Pastor's Corner is a weekly devotional and encouragement that is posted each week.
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Week of February 1, 2026
Concerning the last days Jesus said, "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” (Matthew 24:4-6 NKJV) Jesus then goes on to describe more of the things that would be happening in the last days.
The word “deceive” means to cause someone to believe something that is not true, typically in order to gain some personal advantage. As a believer, the devil knows you have authority over him; therefore, he has no real power to harm or destroy you - only what you give him. And that is why he relies so much on deception - it is his number one tool. If he can deceive you, then you will likely be in a position for him to defeat you. That is exactly what he did in the garden when he deceived the woman by getting her to doubt what God had said.
In Genesis 3:1 we read, “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of the very tree of the garden’?” (NKJV). Pride is a tool the enemy uses to open the door to deception. That’s why the Bible says, “Your fierceness has deceived you, the pride of your heart” (Jeremiah 49:16 NKJV), and “The pride of your heart has deceived you” (Obadiah 1:3 NKJV).
It is your responsibility to watch for pride, and to make sure you are not deceived. You do this by choosing to walk in humility—it will protect you from deception. Humility can be described as simply choosing to agree with what God’s Word says about everything, whereas pride is the act of placing your opinion or feelings above what God’s Word says is true. As you cast down your own thoughts, reasoning, and worries, and instead take up the Word of God, you will see what God has to say about each area of your life. So agree with God, and receive the “deception protection” that He has already provided for you in His Word. In the times we are living in, it is important to be grounded in the Word of God which will make it difficult to be deceived.
Pastor Dave
