.png)
Unfortunately, we are living in a time of deep deception. There are scammers, fraudsters and corrupt people in every area of life these days, and if you’re not awake and if you don’t pay close attention to what’s going on, you can find yourself in deep trouble. One of the most emphatic warnings that Jesus gave us was to beware of deception in the last days.
But I have found that most people are totally uninterested in getting to the truth of any matter…they just accept whatever is told to them, and they find it easier to just “go with the flow”. But the old saying, “don’t rock the boat” is the surest way to find yourself in the midst of deep trouble, and this is why many people end up being heavily deceived in many areas of their lives.
There is a YouTube Channel that I have watched occasionally called Social Catfish, and it basically deals with people who are involved in romance scams online. I will leave the link to that channel in the description below. The perpetrators of these scams mainly target older, vulnerable or lonely people who go online to find friendship or companionship, and many of these victims end up losing thousands…some even hundreds of thousands of dollars simply because they believed what was told to them without checking the truthfulness of the person they were dealing with until they had lost everything. They become romantically involved with someone they have never met, never seen and have no idea if they are real or not…and many of these people lose their homes, their families and friends and their whole life savings…simply because they acted without looking for truth.
Friends…don’t think it can’t happen to you! We are living in a time of GREAT deception. There are many people who are spending all their time looking for new ways to take advantage of others, and we MUST be diligent to look for the truth in every situation! Nobody can afford to bury their heads in the sand and ignore what’s going on anymore. The time could come when your life will be destroyed if you don’t pay attention and examine everything, in order to make sure that the things you are doing and involving yourself with are based on truth!
I want to share 5 tips that will help you to avoid being caught up in deceptive practices that many people will fall for. And number 5 is extremely important, so be sure to listen all the way to the end. Here we go…
#1. The most important way you can avoid deception is to READ, STUDY and LEARN the Word of God. Your Bible is your most effective tool in discerning the actions of people you come in contact with every day. It tells us about the ways people will behave in the end times, the attitudes they will have…and it also tells us about the corruption and deception that we are already seeing in the world around us. So in order to protect yourself against scams and frauds, go to the Word of God and believe EVERYTHING it tells you about the days in which we are living.
#2. Believe what your instincts tell you. If something feels off in your spirit, then STOP immediately and check it out. Don’t do another thing in that circumstance until you know the truth. Don’t send any money, don’t give out any personal details and don’t believe anything you hear. One of the BEST pieces of advice I can tell you is that if something sounds too good to be true…that’s because it most likely is. Don’t fall for it.
#3. Be EXTRA careful about what you are doing and who you are chatting with online. I am the first to tell you that I spend a lot of time on the internet. I am watching videos, chatting with people and listening to great preachers online. Most of all, I am constantly seeking information and always learning. It can be a GREAT asset for you. But always keep in mind that while the internet can be a good place to spend time and get good information, it can also be a very dangerous place, and you need to learn how to protect yourself from the massive amounts of fraud and deception that is also available there. PLEASE DO NOT send money to anybody that you don’t know personally and have not had an in-person relationship with and know very well. Also, DO NOT become romantically involved with anyone you have not met and spent time with in person. People can be anyone you want them to be online, but you do not know who they are in real life unless you have met them and spent quality time with them. Before you accept a new friend request, be sure to go to their profile and check them out. If their page is very new, or if they only have friends that are the opposite sex, or if their friends are mostly from a country other than their own, then these are red flags that you should be aware of and refuse to allow them to have contact with you. And NEVER, NEVER share your family information, your location, your banking information, your social security number or any other personal information with anyone online that you have not personally met and gotten to know very well. No one needs this information who claims to be your friend on social media.
#4. Never fall for “get rich quick” scams or people who will tell you that you won some kind of drawing or contest…especially if you never entered it. Common sense should tell you that if you didn’t enter it, you didn’t win it! Also, you may hear from someone who will tell you that you have been chosen to receive an inheritance or some kind of grant from some off-the-wall person or company. And sometimes, the company may be one that you are familiar with such as Facebook or Amazon. But of course, you have to pay some kind of fee or you have to contact some lawyer or representative in order to have the money sent to you. Friends…think about these things realistically…of the millions of people on Facebook or the millions of customers that Amazon has, consider why they would choose YOU to give money or grants to. You can be sure that ALL of these kinds of messages are FALSE and they will absolutely rob you of every penny you can get your hands on in order to receive money or a grant that doesn’t exist. If you are a real recipient of a grant or an inheritance or a contest of some kind, you would not have to pay anybody money in order to receive it. Don’t fall for these lies! Also…be very careful about any kind of investment or payment that involves Bitcoin or Gift Cards online. These may be made to look authentic, but they are scams, and you will find your money is gone, along with the person who stole it, in record time!
#5. And the last thing I want to share with you today is that there is a lot of government corruption going on all over the world at this time. No matter what party affiliation you may belong to, just be sure to stay on your guard and beware. Not everything the government does…no matter where you live…is good and legitimate. My rule of thumb is that if the government is pushing anything too hard and even encouraging and paying for people to take it, then I need to take extreme precautions by learning everything I can, and most likely avoiding it altogether.
We know from scripture that we are living in a time of great deception and manipulation, and so from now until Jesus returns, we MUST be extremely cautious. We will be given options that will sound wonderful…but they could very well be detrimental to our physical and eternal life. Take care to look for the truth and believe what God’s Word tells you no matter what anybody may say.
Friends, we are living in the
most unprecedented and deceptive time in history, and we must ALL become
Truth-Seekers in these last days. None of us can go about life unconcerned
about our safety or the safety of the people we love. Please be sure to take
these precautions that I have shared with you today, and stay safe.
No comments:
Post a Comment