Satan’s number one weapon is deception. Your number one need is discernment.

Someone once said, “To be forewarned is to be forearmed.” That is why you need discernment in this hour.

That old saying captures a scriptural truth: Discernment forewarns us so that we do not fall prey to subtle deceptions.

Forewarning gives us courage, too, as we find out what we are dealing with and what to do.

“The Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1, NASB).

The above Scripture begins with the phrase, “The Spirit explicitly says …”

The Holy Spirit is the one who forewarns us, in this case that some people will abandon their faith in Jesus because other attractions will draw their attention; they will be allured by convincing voices that will manipulate their attention and cause them to give up on their belief. Their walk with the Lord will seem too wearisome and strenuous, and they will start to look for something more “fulfilling.”

The “later times” referred to have been underway for centuries, and the warning especially holds true for us today.

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