T.R.U.T.H…The Reality Under The Hype.
In this life and in every situation we need to realize the Truth of Who is in control and where the Truth comes from. The Truth and the Reality are that God has always been in control of everything. He came to save us by being Jesus the Son and He give us strength and our justification through the Holy Spirit. He changed our hearts and our character by the power of His Holy Spirit working in our lives when we realized we needed Him and then humbled our life and our will to His by giving our hearts to Jesus and asking Him to come into our lives and make us a new creation.
The world around us today hypes celebrities and sports figures and careers and our pursuit of “stuff” so much that most of us have lost sight of the reality all around us and that is the wonder of Creation by our Creator. This universe did not happen by accident and nothing on Earth “evolved” from one single cell…God spoke all things into existence and created man to be the caretaker and then man threw that responsibility out by rebelling against God.
Our real problem today is our view of each other and the culture around us. We want to live our lives as if we are in control of everything. You hear things like, “This is my truth.” No, it is your belief but there is no individual truth. God is Truth and His Word is Truth but we can’t walk around with individual truth because society would devolve into chaos eventually if that happened. There wouldn’t be “rumors of wars”, there would be constant fights, not necessarily between nations but between individuals fighting over who was right.
God is the arbiter of Truth because He is absolute Truth and He never changes. Our opinions change almost as quickly as the wind blows, so individual truth could change just as quickly. Thinking that we can make God or the teachings of Jesus palatable for the world around us is completely false! Even His disciples and the Pharisees were offended by His teachings and His teachings were the truths of God. He taught them with power and authority and showed those around Him that He could back up what He was teaching and that is why He was hated even among His peers.
Trying to be popular is not what the church or pastors should be trying to do. We need to be preaching the Truth of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. There is no other Truth that leads to eternal life except the Truth that IS Jesus Christ. You may not like it, you may not want to believe it and it may make you angry but there is no denying it. Does God love mankind? Yes. Will He save all of mankind and bring them to heaven? No. Why? Because it is our choice to believe in His Truth or not. God doesn’t force His Truth on us, we must choose to believe it if we want to experience eternity with Him. If we don’t then our eternity will be with Satan who chose not to serve God, his Creator.
Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him”.
Just living in God’s Presence each day is a joy that cannot be found anywhere else. No amount of “fun” or material things on this Earth can bring you the peace and the joy that is found in Him. Some people confuse joy with happiness but happiness wanes when the feeling is gone. Joy is found in faith in Him because our joy is eternal and cannot be taken away by anything or anyone.
Doctrine and discipline are found in religions that do not produce eternal joy and peace. Only faith in Jesus and in His atonement for your life can give you joy that cannot be understood by anyone outside of having faith in Him. James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.”
Knowing that you are in the presence of the One that loves you most brings peace and joy that cannot be found anywhere except in His Presence. 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says, “But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him’—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”
Finding peace and joy in the midst of trouble and sorrow can only be done in the presence of God and by prayer, knowing that He loves you and you are cared for more deeply than anyone on Earth can possibly do.
She loves those who the Lord loves and she helps in any way she can.
Most people will tell you that there are many ways to get to heaven but that is not what has been taught in the Bible. The continuous thread of salvation from Genesis to Revelation has always pointed to Jesus as the Savior. God’s Word doesn’t speak of the Messiah as being many people because there is only One, Jesus. But, when you read the book of Matthew you will find where Jesus told of the “way to life”.
Matthew 7:13-14 says: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
Some teach that the way to life is easy and free of trials but that isn’t true. Even Jesus told His disciples that “you will have trouble in this world“. Even though the way to Heaven and eternity does seem to be parallel with the roads that actually don’t get you there, make sure you are on the right pathway. Other religions do tell of being good and kind to others and many of their good points sound very much like Christianity but if you will read the Bible entirely you will find that it’s the one that has the Truth in it. The others are just making copies of that truth with some convenient changes that make their message sound very appealing.
That is why Jesus told His disciples to hold fast to their faith and do not be fooled by other claims from false prophets and religions. This is why we must place our Earthly life of things and temporary pleasures on the altar and sacrifice it daily so we can live a life surrendered to Jesus. This isn’t easy for people to hear because in our world the culture says “get more, be more, earn more” but none of “more” satisfies the longing in our hearts. We feel this as we grow but we don’t know what we are looking for until Jesus takes His place in our heart.
Even when the wide and easy road seems to go in the right direction, the narrow way leads to eternity with God.
This is the primary reason why He created mankind. God wants a personal relationship with each of us. He had it with everyone that was willing to be alone with Him and be useful to Him in the Old Testament and He wants that today. How do I know this? Because I read the Bible and He always speaks to those who are willing to listen.
You might ask how do I know if I’m hearing from God? That also involves reading the Bible. If you don’t know His voice from reading it, how can you know if He’s speaking to you? I’m not bragging about what I do but our world is in a crisis and it is the church that needs to respond. If you aren’t seeking Him and His wisdom then you are trying to use your wisdom and our “wisdom” doesn’t compare to His.
God doesn’t speak audibly to me or to many people today although I have heard of a few people who came to salvation because He spoke to them in their dreams. My point about reading the Bible and knowing His voice is simply this: if you don’t know how He does things or how He thinks, then how will you recognize His thoughts or His voice if you hear it? The only way to learn about God’s voice and how He looks at our world is to read the Bible prayerfully and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Sounds crazy but He will do it if you ask Him in faith.
Jesus walked with God every day and He still woke up early and went to a quiet place away from crowds to pray and talk with His Father. He was seeking the Father’s will for His ministry and He did this many times during the three years of His ministry. God wants a relationship with His children and if you are a Christian or if you are thinking about asking Jesus into your life, then He wants that relationship with you too. He is the Creator of everything and He knows about everything in the universe but He pays attention even when a sparrow falls from the sky. If God cares about even a tiny sparrow, don’t you think He cares even more about where you are and what is going on in your life?
