Transcription of Could YouBe Deceived? - Tomorrow's World
1 You have probably heard the saying attributed tocircus magnate Phineas T. Barnum, There s a suckerborn every minute. Nearly all of us have beendeceived at least a few times in our lives. Upon carefulresearch, even Barnum s famous quote turns out tobe a deception invented by one of his rivals. Usually,we are deceived about relatively minor matters, oftenbecause of our own carelessness. But it would be farmore serious if we found we had been deceived aboutthe major issuesof life. For example, most of us just assumethat our parents religion is good enoughfor us. Why?
2 Ifthere is a real and personal God, and ifHe has aplan and purpose for us, then fulfilling that supremepurposeis infinitely more important than figuring outhow to make more money or how to be happy in thefewshort years of our lives. Is understanding yourright relationship with the Creator the most importantissue by farin yourlife more important than any-thing else? Or do you just assumethat everything isfine?A very wise man once told me, Don t assume any-thing! Yet most people can very easily be fooled or deceived in religious matters because they assumethey know what is right, and spend so little time ormental effort actually proving or trying to prove what they believe.
3 As we have reported to you manytimes before, the various religious surveys and polls allindicate that most Americans, Canadians and Britonsare, in effect, biblical illiterates. Even most church-goers cannot name the four Gospels, the TenCommandments or most other key facts and figures inthe Bible. It is obvious that most professing Christiansin our Western society have no idea whatsoeverwhythey really believe what they believe. They usually justadopt the religion of their parents or , I have noticed that many Americans assumethat the majority of people on this earth are seldom focus on the fact a fact easily provablewith almost any encyclopedia or World almanac thatmost people on this earth are notand never have beenprofessing Christians.
4 Most Americansassumethat the majority is always right. Yet Christianity is definite-ly a minority religion! So, again, whydo you believe what you believe?Is it because you have earnestly studiedandprovedto yourself the existence of a real God? Haveyou also provedto your own satisfaction that the Bibleis the inspired word of God the revelation from ourCreator to help us understand the real purpose of lifeand how to fulfill that purpose?Then, if you believe that the Bible is inspired bythe Creator, do you genuinely studythe Bible to seewhat it actually says? For without actual Bible study,you Could be a sitting duck for Satan s deceptions!
5 AsJesus Christ said, Man shall not live by bread alone,but by every wordofGod (Luke 4:4). Think! How can you possibly live by every wordof abook that you have not deeply studied? How easyitwould be for misguided or false ministers to misleadyou as to what the Bible actually says! Since most ofyou reading this certainly dofeel that the Bible isinspired, notice what the Apostle Paul was inspired totell us, Study to show thyself approved unto God, aworkman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightlydividingthe word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV). So, for your own sake, I would like to stronglyencourage allof you to start taking the timeand put-ting forth the mental effortto genuinely studytheBible!
6 This may sound trite, but I truly believe thatdoing so Could revolutionize your life!But howshould you study?Successful Bible students use several differentmethods. The two that I most strongly recommend and you can alternate between them both are subjectstudyand simply reading the book. Subject study wouldinvolve using a concordance, and going through vari-ous topics in the Bible such as heaven or hell or eternal life or commandments, and reading thepassages that have to do with those particular is an excellentway to learn about various topicsin an organized fashion, and to see what the Bible actu-ally saysabout whatever topic you choose.
7 Thisapproach certainly should be used regularly. The second methodof Bible study, which I use mostoften, is the reading straight through method,which just as it sounds involves simply readingright through books in the Bible, as you would a bookon history or any other topic. This is now my favoritemethod of study, since in decades past I have goneover most of the major topics in the Bible extensivelyusing the first method. Simply reading the Bible in thismanner gives you the feel of exactly how a particu-(Continued on page 30) Could YouBe Deceived? A personal message from the Editor in Chief, Roderick C.
8 MeredithWho Is Burning in Hell?4A New World Is Coming!Can you picture the reality of the coming Millennium, when the earth will beunder the perfect rule of Jesus Christ? Your Bible reveals a message of hopeabout this soon-coming you have unsaved friends or relatives? Are you afraid they are in Hell, burningnow and forever in fiery torment? Perhaps you are even happyat the thought ofyour enemies burning in Hell. You may be surprised by what the Bible really teaches!CoverBusiness as Usual on Bourbon StreetWith Hurricane Katrina a fading memory, many merchants are going back to their oldbusinesses and their old ways.
9 Is there a lesson we should be learning and whatare the consequences if we do not learn?Rebuilding Happy FamiliesIn a World with so much suffering, happy families are harder and harder to find. Perhapsyou came from a broken family or are in one right now. Your Bible reveals vital toolsthat can help you build or rebuild the happy family God wants you to have!Classrooms in ChaosIn recent decades, modern educators have seen a dramatic change in and disrespect often play a larger role in a student s life than study and discipline. Why has this change occurred, and what does it portend?9 Questions & Answers14 Prophecy Comes Alive27 Letters to the Editor31TV/Radio LogFeaturesDepartmentsTomorrow s World is published bimonthly by the Living Church of GodTM*, 2301 Crown Centre Drive, Charlotte, NC 28227.
10 2006 LivingChurch of God. Printed in the All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Canada subscriptions: Canada Post Agreement Number 40034253. Send change of address information and blocks of undeliverable copies to Box 409, Mississauga, ON L5M 2B9. Postage paid at Charlotte, NC and at additional mailing : Send address changes to Tomorrow s World , Box 3810, Charlotte, NC s Worldis protected through trademark registration in the United States, and by international treaties. Trademark registration pending in other countries. The symbol , appearing herein, does not indicate trademark registration in countries where it is not yet registered or protected by treaty.
