Seek Painful Truth, not easy lies

Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.

I awoke this morning about 530, with a burden on my chest. It is a worldly thing, worry that come around running a business, and the lack of money to do so. This is always a very tough time of year financially, but this year is much worse. I was determined not to start my day that way, so I stumbled through some prayer and opened my Bible app to start searching and reading. I spent much time in 2nd Timothy, reading of Paul’s encouraging words to his “son,” of how to remain focused and faithful to God’s calling on his life; the call to 4:2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. This passage is so dear to me, for God used it powerfully in my life when I felt called to ministry; I have tear stains in my favorite Bible on that page. I continued on, reading of the context of where I feel we are in this world now; a passage that is clearly where the soft sermons that pack pews are being preached from mighty pulpits today, and many are being led away by these watered down gospels.

2nd Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. Have you ever questioned something you heard a pastor say? Something in your gut just didn’t seem right, or you didn’t understand, or you felt as through they were wrong? That may be God urging you to search out that question in his Word. That may be the Holy Spirit within you sending a warning to your mind through your heart. I spent quality time with a pastor friend of mine recently, and we both agree on the lack of biblical teaching these days; of repentance, or sin, of Hell, of expounding complete books in the Bible so as no excuse to skip over the tough ones. When your pastor picks and chooses topically, he allows himself the freedom to not address the scriptures that offend, and turn people away. Has your pastor ever preached through a book of the Bible, verse by verse, context and tackling the tough subjects? How simple it would be to preach about God’s love, financial gains, better marriages, how to be a better person, how to live a prosperous life….. while never touching on sin, Hell, repentance, and the true gospel of Jesus Christ who called you to be his disciple and lay down your cross every day to serve him.

I decided to not go into work today, to spend more time in God’s Word. I prayed and opened my Bible to John 9, and read of the blind man Jesus healed, and how he testified to the Pharisees. John 9:25 He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?” He spoke boldly of Jesus, astounded at their dis-belief at what he told them. He was born blind, and now he looked at them directly and testified of the miracle – how could they NOT believe? Matthew Henry said of this; “Why this is the strangest instance of willful ignorance that ever was heard of among men that pretend to have sense.” How much do we see in the headlines of people seemingly believing things we cannot understand how they do? How many times do people defend their seemingly blind faith, when someone stands before them that can see? How can you tell me the sky is dark, when the sun is out? I know not, but it seems as though we are living in a time of strong delusion, or believing the seemingly unbelievable. The only way you will ever discern truth or not, is to listen to your gut, and to seek Truth out in his Word.