Hungering for Truth!

A hungering for truth has settled in on our society these days. The media is spouting out what it wants people to hear and believe on every street corner. Lies and deceit have become commonplace as people shuffle to gain popularity and positions which will place them in authority.

A hungering for truth has settled in on the church as well. So many are going in seeking truth and hope and coming out dry and bare. Too many pastors have shirked their responsibility of proclaiming truth choosing rather to appease and satisfy with mini motivational messages.

I’m reminded of Luke’s account of Jesus meeting up with the disciples on the road to Emmaus the morning He was resurrected from the dead. He found them overwhelmed by the events that had transpired over the weekend. The crucifixion and burial of Jesus, then going to the tomb and finding He was not there.

Jesus showed up out of nowhere and “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:27 CSB). Later that day, after discovering it was Jesus teaching them, “They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?'” (Luke 24:32 CSB).

The disciples were hungering for the truth of the Word just as people sitting in pews across America are doing every Sunday. What is the difference? Jesus opened up the truths of the Word and fed their hungering hearts while a large number of pastors are simply sounding out soothing, motivational speeches which are lacking in any truth, help or hope.

To satisfy the hunger of the people, pastors, preachers and teachers need to readjust their sights and focus upon the Word. Lay down the books, pick up the Bible and feed its truths to the people in the pews who are hungering for truth.

While churches have a responsibility to feed us, we also have a responsibility to injest the Words of Truth through our own study as well. Even churches that are feeding you well are not feeding you enough. You eat physical food daily; you should be eating spiritual food every day as well. Get into the Word and pray the Spirit of Truth to illuminate the Words of Truth so your spiritual hunger may be totally satisfied.

Faith in the Only One!

So many believers have been deceived into thinking that GOD’s will for believers here on earth is to be prosperous as the world conceives prosperity. Proponents of this false idea claim that a child of the King should be prospering like a king’s kid, again as the world conceives of prosperity.

I am grieved when I see confessing believers posting pics of piles of money on Facebook claiming an abundance of wealth for themselves and anyone else that says, “AMEN!” to the post. Yet, when I consider Jesus as He was walking on this earth, He had nothing worldly to claim as His own. He never owned His own home or donkey or anything for that matter.

I know for a fact He would never have been duped into saying “AMEN” to a pile of money; rather, He spoke about the troubles wealth created for those trying to walk a Christian walk while shackled to wealth. So, why have so many been duped into believing GOD’s desire for them is to gain extreme wealth here on earth in light of Jesus’ response to it?

Jeremiah 29:11 is often abused in its true meaning, again for worldly prosperity. The verse reads: “For I know the plans I have for you-this is the Lord’s declaration-plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (HCSB). The true intent of the verse lies in understanding the context of the verse; the fact that GOD was speaking to the Jews as they were under Babylonian captivity. He was assuring them He would not forget them. He was assuring them He would deliver them and give them a future and a hope.

Today, GOD continues to speak words of life to His people. His words of hope and encouragement are resounding today in the midst of all the chaos and calamity of the world around us. From the believer being held prisoner in Siberia for sharing his faith to the believer in the Middle East loosing his head for his faith on to the believer in America standing firm in the faith, holding on and fulfilling GOD’s plan for His life, the words of hope and an eternal future are resounding.

It is that faith that keeps one going. Not a faith in the things this world is offering for the world’s wealth is passing away but a faith in the resurrected Christ and the salvation that comes through faith in Him alone. As John 3:36 says: “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him“ (HCSB). GOD’s words of a hope and future for those who hold on to the end is eternal security with Him.