1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.2By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,3and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
In verse 6, we read:6We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
So, it's so vital to our Christian walk that we are rooted and grounded in God's truth, and that His Word is a plumb line, by which we measure the information to which we're exposed. If we are following or considering instruction that does not line up with the Word of God, then we run into real danger of falling prey to deception and getting off track in our Christian walk. We can carefully - and prayerfully - evaluate our considerations through the filter of the timeless truths of the Scriptures.
In the 2nd chapter of Colossians, Paul is warning the church to guard against deception and is sharing the encouragement to be established in Biblical truth. Regarding 2 churches, he expresses the desire...
2that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.4Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.
Have you heard of or even read "The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About"? Or maybe even, "Natural Cures 'They' Don't Want You to Know About"? Well, these are titles of books by one Kevin Trudeau, not to be confused with Garry Trudeau, who has done the "Doonesbury" comic strip. Or former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau. No, it's Kevin Trudeau, and a Federal judge has described him as "deceitful to the core."
According to the New York Daily News, TV infomercial star-turned-convicted swindler Kevin Trudeau has been sentenced to 10 years after prosecutors accused him of cheating people out of millions in a fraudulent weight-loss book.
Trudeau's sentence follows his defiance of paying a $37 million fine. He gave what was described in the article as "one last pitch" before the judge, saying that his four months behind bars for the November conviction had already changed him for the better. He is quoted as saying, "I have absolutely learned a life-changing lesson from all of this."
The judge reacted with no sympathy, however, but instead publicly shamed him as cheating people since he was 25 years old.
The deceit echoed prosecutors' own claims. Trudeau was described by them as preying on the sick, poor and insecure when he released misleading infomercials for his 2009 book, "The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About." The book made $49 million in sales.
Prosecutors said Trudeau's actions resulted in more than $37 million in losses to consumers.
Such weight-loss secrets enclosed in his book included directions to walk an hour each day and limit food intake to 500 calories.
Have you heard of or even read "The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About"? Or maybe even, "Natural Cures 'They' Don't Want You to Know About"? Well, these are titles of books by one Kevin Trudeau, not to be confused with Garry Trudeau, who has done the "Doonesbury" comic strip. Or former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau. No, it's Kevin Trudeau, and a Federal judge has described him as "deceitful to the core."
According to the New York Daily News, TV infomercial star-turned-convicted swindler Kevin Trudeau has been sentenced to 10 years after prosecutors accused him of cheating people out of millions in a fraudulent weight-loss book.
Trudeau's sentence follows his defiance of paying a $37 million fine. He gave what was described in the article as "one last pitch" before the judge, saying that his four months behind bars for the November conviction had already changed him for the better. He is quoted as saying, "I have absolutely learned a life-changing lesson from all of this."
The judge reacted with no sympathy, however, but instead publicly shamed him as cheating people since he was 25 years old.
The deceit echoed prosecutors' own claims. Trudeau was described by them as preying on the sick, poor and insecure when he released misleading infomercials for his 2009 book, "The Weight Loss Cure 'They' Don't Want You to Know About." The book made $49 million in sales.
Prosecutors said Trudeau's actions resulted in more than $37 million in losses to consumers.
Such weight-loss secrets enclosed in his book included directions to walk an hour each day and limit food intake to 500 calories.
I can't say that I have read any of Mr. Trudeau's books, but he has been very active in the world of infomercials to attempt to sell books. So, therefore I do not know who the "they" is that is attempting to keep me from walking in good health or losing weight. Just from the title, it does seem that he may have dealt in trying to pit "us" against "them", which is a red flag for me.
But, I think the Trudeau case can help us to reflect on some valuable truths related to the Christian life. For one thing, we have to guard against deception. The Bible teaches us about "testing the spirits" - I think that includes submitting material of an instructional nature through the filter of the Scriptures. There is all sorts of information out there, and it would be easy to become distracted or deluded. We need God's Word as a rock to keep us grounded in truth.
Also, I would certainly not want to think that the words "deceitful to the core" were added to my legacy. Not only should we guard against being deceived, but we want to be known as people of integrity. We have to carefully weigh our words so that we are being truthful in our dealings, that we are not trying to hide the facts or altering them for our benefit. As a Christian, we should be known as people who are trustworthy, who are above reproach.
Finally, there is that concept of legacy - we should be concerned about the reputation that we build and that we leave behind. We certainly don't want to be characterized by or remembered for the sinful patterns in which we walked. So, we should seek to glorify God daily and to develop a reputation for reflecting His nature, so that at the end of our lives, we minimize regrets, and so that we will leave a good, lasting impression on those who will come behind us.
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