Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
5 22 2026
The Great Deception: When Darkness Starts Feeling Normal – Part 1
I recently read about what Scripture calls “The Great Deception.” Much of it focused on the AntiChrist and the end times, and perhaps rightly so. But as I sat there thinking about it, something deeper settled into my spirit. The truth is, humanity has been wrestling with deception since the garden. Every generation has faced darkness. Every generation has had its false gods, its false teachers, its seductive lies. Yet somehow, in the twenty-first century, the deception feels louder, bolder, more celebrated than ever before. What was once hidden in darkness now marches openly in daylight demanding applause.
And maybe the most dangerous part is this: much of it no longer even feels wrong to people.
We live in a world where truth has become flexible. Morality bends with culture. Feelings now sit on the throne where God’s Word once stood. We are told constantly, “Follow your heart. Live your truth. Do what makes you happy.” But Scripture never once told us that our hearts were trustworthy guides apart from God. In fact, the prophet Jeremiah warned that “the heart is deceitful above all things.” Yet modern culture has built an entire belief system around trusting self instead of surrendering self.
I am older now, and perhaps age has a way of stripping away illusions. I have lived both hot and cold over my lifetime. I watched this happen in my own mother before she passed. The older she became, the more devout she became. More prayer. More Scripture. More time sitting quietly before God. And boy was she a weeper! And strangely, as she drew closer to Him, anger seemed to loosen its grip. Patience grew deeper. Guilt lost its chains. Grace softened her spirit. I now see some of that same mellowing happening within myself. Less striving. Less ego. More awareness of God’s voice. More desire to obey quickly when the Holy Spirit whispers. More hunger to become holy instead of merely appearing spiritual. (Am I alone here?)
I don’t write this as a man standing above anyone. I write this as someone who has lived hot and cold myself. Someone who wasted seasons. Someone who understands how easy it is to drift when life becomes loud, painful, disappointing, or distracting. But I have discovered later in life that holiness is not bondage…it is freedom. Obedience actually brings peace. Surrender quiets the soul. And the closer I walk with God, the more sensitive I become to the difference between His voice and the noise of this world. And if I can help you see a little deeper than it blesses me to know that I have not kept my lessons to myself.
And as I walk farther down winter’s path, I also see the deception more clearly.
I see it in the loneliness of this generation. I see it in men searching desperately for identity, brotherhood, and truth. Our men’s group is filled with middle aged men quietly saying, “I need more of God. I need godly men around me. I need help becoming who I was supposed to be.” Many are grieving wasted years. They want to reclaim lost ground. They want to lead their families spiritually again. Some are coming back to church after years away. Others are arriving for the first time completely broken.
But surrounding them is a culture constantly discipling them away from truth.
The deception in the world has become more prevalent. The Dark Side of Star Wars keeps growing…its own reality. The Great Deception. These men and many of their families are lulled into the NEW Truth.
The world says, “You’re fine. Everybody’s doing it. You’re mostly a good person. Surely God grades on a curve.” And slowly, without realizing it, many drift farther and farther from the voice of God. Not usually all at once. Rarely through open rebellion. Most often through neglect. A dusty Bible. Prayerlessness. Isolation. Compromise. Entertainment replacing holiness. Social media replacing Scripture. Feelings replacing truth.
The truths are lost on the pages that gather dust. And without it, how can they know the way to walk? The way to love…overcome anger, resentment, unforgiveness and the temptation that besets them at every turn. In the broader sense, anyone who rejects the truth of God is being deceived. Some of them know that, but they walk such a solo life that when they fall there is no one to help them up and point them back to the truth. God’s truth.
The Bible has become the good Book nobody reads. And without truth, how does anyone know the path back home?
Yet even here, in the middle of all this darkness, I still see hope.
Because the very hunger many feel right now may actually be evidence that God is still calling. That quiet stirring inside of men and women saying, “There has to be more than this,” may be the mercy of God refusing to leave them where they are. The fact that men are searching for fellowship, truth, accountability, and deeper faith tells me the Holy Spirit is still drawing hearts home.
The deception may be growing…but so is the invitation to return.
And perhaps that is why community matters now more than ever. Because deception thrives in isolation. Lies grow strongest in secrecy. But truth becomes clearer when believers walk together, sharpen one another, pray for one another, and remind each other what is real when the world keeps blurring the lines.
The Great Deception is here…it has always been here, but it has grown and infiltrated even a portion of the remnant because they did not stay grounded in His Word and walk in community to stay strong until the end.
But this raises an even more sobering question.
What happens when people reject truth for so long that eventually they no longer even recognize it?
That is where Part Two begins.
“What part of this hit home for you this morning? What are you carrying today that needs prayer? If you’d like, send me a prayer request here. Let’s invite the Holy Spirit in together. (where two are gathered.) You are not walking alone. Just hit reply…
I read every response.”
If you know someone who needs to hear this? Pass this lesson and future devotions, with this Signup link: http://eepurl.com/i_nlb2 . My website to view past devotions is https://fearlesslycourageous.com. This post is public, so feel free to share it.
Just a note on May 26th, I continue to host a Discovering Jesus ONLINE 6-week course to dive deeper into our faith and empower you with true tenets of our faith to stand on. Tuesday nights, 7pm to 8:30. This Week its on Baptism and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. You don’t want to miss this powerful exchange. It is open to you, your spouse, your family, or your neighbors. Here is a link and I can send you the necessary materials. It is FREE of charge. click this link: https://meet.google.com/zkb-dxcq-iau
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