Hearing What You Want

"For there is going to come a time when people won’t listen to the truth but will go around looking for teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear." 2 Timothy 4:3

Are you a person who listens to the truth?  Or, do you seek out people who tell you only what you want to hear, those things that affirm you and your position?

More and more pastors who call themselves Christian are proclaiming lies that affirm the culture rather than the way of Christ.

Recently, I was engaged in conversation with someone who had received some loving truth from a trustworthy person about the lifestyle she was living.  She had received this loving truth some years back but didn't want to hear it, so she sought out people who would tell her exactly what she wanted to hear.  Now, years later, she was on her death bed at an early age.

Sometimes the truth is difficult to hear.  It can be humbling.  It can be convicting.  It can also be very, very comforting and valuable.  The truth can and does save lives--both now and eternally.

Truth isn't relative.  It's a person.  And that person is Jesus.

Do you know truth when you hear it?  Do you know Him when you hear Him?

The Holy Bible tells us in Job 12:11, "The ear tests the words it hears just as the mouth distinguishes between foods."

John 10:27-28 reads, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."

   

The prophet Jeremiah spoke of those in Judah who didn't want to hear the true words God had for them.  In Jeremiah 6:10 we read, "To whom can I give warning? Who will listen when I speak? Their ears are closed, and they cannot hear. They scorn the word of the Lord. They don’t want to listen at all."

Jesus is speaking to each and every one of us.  He is speaking through His Word, through truth-telling pastors, teachers, and everyday people.

Are we listening?  Or, are we hearing only what we want to hear?

I pray we are listening and acting upon His truth.

Goodnight, Runners.