Hi Dear Friends. I am delighted to share with you the following LifeKEYS devotional written by Pastor Colin Smith sent by dear friend and sister in Christ, Rachel Hart.  Pastor Smith created LifeKEYS as a tool to “unlock the Bible and help persons to experience more than just information, but a life-changing transformation through Jesus Christ.” Pastor Smith’s devotional below, is short, to the point and unquestionable in meaning. Please read “The Seven Bitter Fruits of Sin.”  Thank you Rachel for allowing me to share this message with others. -Nicole

 

By Pastor Colin Smith

 

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan… 2 Thessalonians 2:9                                                  

If sin is the secret activity of Satan at work in the soul, what does it produce in a person’s life?

1. Deception–with all wicked deception… (2 Thessalonians 2:10)

Evil deceives; that is its nature. Where you find sin attractive, that is where Satan deceives.

2. Perishing–for those who are perishing. (2:10)

For those outside of Jesus Christ there is an unraveling of life that is going on, a taking down, a becoming less. By nature we are perishing.

3. Refusing–because they refused to love the truth… (2:10)

The greatest barrier to faith lies not in the doubts of the mind, but in the desires of the heart.

4. Pleasure–All… who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2:12)

“Had pleasure in unrighteousness” explains why they “did not believe.” Where the heart loves wickedness, the mind cannot embrace the truth.

5. Delusion–therefore God sends them a strong delusion… (2:11)

When a person keeps resisting Christ and pushing him away, God eventually gives him or her over to what he or she desires.

6. (False) Belief–so that they may believe what is false. (2:11)

When a man feels that he is his own God, his own law, and that he stands on his own goodness, you know he has swallowed the lie.

7. Condemnation

–All [will] be condemned who did not believe the truth… (2:12)

This is why we need a Savior, and why we rejoice in these words: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”(Romans 8:1)!