We had been invited to our son-in-law’s sister’s wedding out in California. After much discussion (I think it took about 5 minutes), we not only accepted the invitation to the wedding, but we decided to spend the whole week out there! "California, here we come!!!"

The wedding was perfect. (And why shouldn’t it have been? It took place on a yacht, cruising around the bay.) The company was excellent. The food was wonderful. The weather was hot, but who cared when you could take a dip in the ocean at any time to cool off. There were no bugs. There were a lot of people, but they were all very nice and willing to give us directions when we made wrong turns on their freeways.

But best of all – we had a three-day pass to DISNEYLAND! YEAH!!!! That’s right. We were in California for 8 days and we spent almost half of it with Mickey and Minnie.

I don’t think there is any attraction at their theme parks that we haven’t been in, on, or through – more than once. Well, OK, that’s not quite true. I have yet to get up my courage to go on The Tower of Terror. I’m not sure even Cinderella could talk me into that one. But I really have gone on a lot of them.

Probably our most favorite ride would be The Pirates of the Caribbean. If you are any kind of a movie buff, you have most likely heard all the hype about the latest movie of the same name. With all the publicity it had been getting, it came as no surprise to us that the movie’s lead character, Captain Jack Sparrow, had been added to the Disneyland attraction. It was absolutely amazing. "Kids" of every size and age cheered and laughed as they realized the new animated figure they were seeing was the zany pirate from the show.

(I must admit I felt the same way. How fun to be able to get "behind the scenes" and see how they actually made the displays. I am in awe of the imagination and talent that went into making their visions a reality. And the animation! How do they make those mechanical figures seem so lifelike? It seems like every time we go, they have improved the technology and things appear so much more believable.)

However, the longer we sat there, the more concerned the little boy became. The father repeatedly assured his small son that there was nothing to fear. After all, it was just pretend. The pirates weren’t real. To which the boy gasped, "They’re not?? They sure looked real to me!"

In Luke 21:8, He tells us, "See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,' and, 'The time is near.’ Do not go after them."

Matthew 7:15 warns us to " Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves."

And Matthew 24:24 leaves no doubt. "For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect (God’s people). Behold, I have told you in advance."

Praise God for His faithfulness and mercy. When I went to My heavenly Father with my doubts, He showed me that they were only pretend - no matter how real or godly they seemed. How did He show me? Through His Word! He showed me Matthew 7:20: "You will know them by their fruits."

When I finally took a good look at those things through the eyes of God’s Word, I began to see that, while attractive, they were fake and they were leading me away from the ONLY real thing, Jesus Christ.