by Warren Baldwin

Many Americans have recently received an Email from the prestigious Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, known as the FDIC. Or have they really?

The fraudulent e-mail claims to be from the FDIC and informs recipients that their bank account has been denied insurance as a result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. David Barr, a spokesman for the FDIC, said that the letter is mostly free of the grammatical and spelling mistakes that usually act as a sign that the message is not genuine. The scheme is only the latest attempt to get personal and financial information through fraud, a criminal activity known as "phishing."

The letter states that unless recipients confirm their personal information by going to what looks like an FDIC web site, their account will lose its protection. The address bar in Internet Explorer displays "www.fdic.gov," while the actual Web site is at a different address in Pakistan.

If there is a way to cheat someone, someone will think of it.

I thought this information would be good to share with you because, for one thing, you might get that e-mail! I don't want any of you to have your personal and financial records nosed through by some criminal, and possibly have money diverted from your account to theirs. (That is still known as "stealing.")

Second, this story reminds me of how EASY it is for us to be deceived by "wolves in sheep's clothing." An e-mail from a "concerned" source wants to help protect us from financial and personal predators, yet the "concerned" source is the actual predator! And since they work out of or through Pakistan, we can't even track down or identify who the predators are!

Sadly, there are other predators like these, only more sinister and devious.

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves" (Matt. 7:15).

"There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord" (2 Pet. 1:11).

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith" (1 Pet. 5:8,9a).

The work of these spiritual predators may take several tacks:

• to get us away from the sound doctrine of the Bible.

• divert our attention from the eternal God to some lesser god.

• get is to settle for the deceiving pleasures that last only a season.

• fill us with pride and arrogance.

• lead us to never think of eternity. What matters is "right now."

I've seen spiritual bank accounts robbed by predators gaining access to a Christian's heart. Hope lost. Faith lost. Salvation lost.

But the good news is ... it doesn't have to happen. Heed the warning: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (Jas 4:7).

God PROMISES VICTORY to those who remember the source of the true life... God himself.

by Bill Dillon

In the classic tale, The Wizard of Oz, a young lady named Dorothy was told to follow the yellow brick road, which would lead her to the great and mighty Wizard of Oz, who could send her home again. In the expectation of having all her fears relieved and all her hopes realized, Dorothy traveled down the yellow brick road — but at the last — the Wizard was a fake, and the yellow brick road was misleading.

Unfortunately, the world of today is filled with souls who are searching for a god like the Wizard was supposed to be. They look for churches and religious groups who will serve as their yellow brick road. In the end, they suffer the multiple heartache of disillusionment, discouragement, and deception.

On May 3, l993, U.S. News & World Report ran a story captioned "The Final Days of Ranch Apocalypse." It was the story of David Koresh and the fall of the Branch Davidian cult in Waco, Texas. This, and other stories, remind us that religious deception is as much a part of our present day as it was in the 1st century.

Bible warnings about false teachers are in abundance:

"Little children, let no man deceive you" (1 Jn. 3:7).

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God" (1 Jn. 4:1).

The church at Ephesus was commended because they had "tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars" (Rev. 2:2).

Paul, the apostle, admonished early believers to "prove all things; hold fast to that which is good" (1 Thess. 5:21).

It is good to be reminded that truth is to be held in importance above all things. Jesus said that only the truth will set us free (Jn. 8:32). It is also essential to place our confidence in the strong cord of God's Word (Jn. 17:17), and not in the teachings of men, which are but whispy webs, blowing in the winds of life.

Thanks to The Voice of Truth International, Vol 19.

by Warren Baldwin

Have you heard the saying, "Your influence counts: use it"?

George Bernard Shaw wrote, "This is the true joy of life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; being a force of nature instead of a feverishly selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."

Ouch! Instead of being a problem, we ought to be a solution. Instead of expecting the world to make us happy, we ought to be working on someone else's behalf. Instead of just letting life happen, determine a truly worthy purpose for your life and spend all your energies on it.

Jack London said it this way: "I'd rather be ashes than dust! I'd rather my spark would burn out in a brilliant blaze than be stifled by dry rot."

Same idea as Shaw's, just put another way. "You won't find me decaying from within due to lack of something worthy to do. I'll burn my life out in a worthy endeavor of my choosing."

Jesus said it like this: "You are the salt of the earth ... you are a city on a hill that can not be hidden ... you are lights in darkness ..." (Matthew 5:13-16). How are we salt, a city, and lights? By our good deeds.

Too many people let life happen to them. Jesus says life is something that is within us. In a world of darkness, Christians can be light. In a world of despair, Christians bring hope. In a world of violence, Christians work for peace. In a world of selfish pursuits, Christians think of others. In a world of blandness (don't let exciting computer games and ritzy clothing styles mask the blandness that is within), Christians are salt.

The ideal is ...

We don't blindly follow customs ... we set them.

We don't acquiesce to societal norms ... we question them.

We don't despair at a community's questionable ethics ... we challenge and change them.

An easy calling? No. But has God called us to a life of ease? Or to be a "force of nature"? Do we want to fade out of the picture, or be a "brilliant blaze" in a world that needs light? Are we truly ready to be salt, a city, and light by the undeniable quality of the good lives God has called us to lead? Does our influence really count? Or are we content to leave it hidden in the safety of church buildings?

A small village received a beautiful sundial. The villagers were thrilled with the gift, but soon worried: Might the sun and rain deface their gift? They decided to protect it for future generations. So they built a roof over it.

God does not intend for your influence to be hidden or protected by the safety of the sanctuary. He wants it "out there," challenging the way "things are."

You can't find a better purpose for life to spend your energies on than that of the life-long search for truth, godly living, and making a positive difference in the lives of others.

By Demar Elam

History has illustrated again and again to man lessons on the impossibility of invincibility. However, man never seems to learn!

The word "invincible" means: "incapable of being conquered, overcome or subdued." This word came to mind as I stood on the magnificent walls of Ft. Pulaski located where the Savannah River meets the Atlantic Ocean on Cockspur Island. I allowed my mind to run with imagination as I reconstructed the assault of the Federal forces on this glorious old fort and its gallant forces near Savannah.

When my thoughts returned to the present I was forced to think of the lesson to be learned from this historical event. Those "in the know" at that time had thought the fort to be impregnable. However, a new weapon — the rifled cannon — brought an end to the era of impregnable masonry fortifications and verified the superiority of the new rifled guns.

Did you know that of the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World" only one is still standing today, the pyramids of Egypt? Even they have been ravaged by raiders and robbed of their priceless treasures. What do these magnificent structures, Ft. Pulaski, the Titanic, and the great Empires of the ancient world have in common? They were vincible! They were indeed capable of being overcome and subdued.

The same is true of man. Man often becomes puffed up and thinks within himself that he is invincible and needs no one, not even God! He convinces himself that he has the world in his pocket, that he is self-reliant and self-sufficient. Yes, he even reaches the point of feeling invincible!

Man's frailty is exhibited daily. "…For man goes to his eternal home, And the mourners go about the streets" (Eccl. 12:5). The preacher went on to say, "or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the preacher; all is vanity" (Ecclesiastes 12:6-8).

As I stood on the walls of Ft. Pulaski and looked out across the marshes, I asked myself, "Where are the gallant men who manned these walls? Where is that young lieutenant fresh from West Point, named Robert E. Lee, who was assigned to build the dikes and drainage system for the island?" Gone, yes gone! All of these who began constructing this mighty fortress in 1829 have gone the way of all men.

Then I think of God's invincibility, the words of the Psalmist come ringing forth, "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God" (Ps. 90:2). God is from everlasting to everlasting! That is invincibility! God is truly incapable of being overthrown, subdued, overcome, or conquered. Man is here today and gone tomorrow (James 4:13,14), but God is from "everlasting to everlasting." The battle of good and evil rages, but God cannot be conquered by the evil one. Here is man's only picture of true invincibility.

I want to serve the invincible God. Do you?

Thanks to The Voice of Truth International, Vol 34.

by Bill Nicks

Wouldn't it be great if everyone had a soul sparkling with love for God — a love that would hunger for the truth that God has revealed in His word for us? How dreary must be the life that is not actuated by the will of God! How bleak must be the soul that refuses to drink from the fountain of the "water of life" (Rev. 22:17)! "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths" (Prov. 3:5f).

Wouldn't it be great if everyone had a soul aglow with love for his fellow man, a love that would seek the highest good of his brother? If only that love for God could, by His grace, fill the hearts of men. It would expel all hatred, malice and ill will. This kind of love would reduce us to humility, to recognize the truth of Romans 12:2, that we can be "transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

If the mind is changed and attuned to the spiritual, then we could embrace all mankind in that love, whether they be high or low, good or bad, simply because we all have a common Creator who requires us to "love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another" (John 12:34). This is how we can prove we are His disciples (verse 35). "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one toward another." This kind of love would impel us to take as many to heaven with us as possible, regardless of race or nationality.

Thanks to The Voice of Truth International, vol 19, page 69.