Thirsty4Truth

Jesus said: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." John 8:32

"I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6. So if Jesus is the truth, we should love the truth, if we don't love the truth we will never enter into the kingdom of God.

As a matter of fact in 2 Thess. 2:9-12 it says:

"Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

Many people will be deceived by satan and even God will send them delusions. That sounds like an unloving thing to do, but, those who love the truth will be saved. They will not be deceived, nor will they be delusional.

God has made it very simple, all we have to do is love Jesus, and we will enter in. It sounds so simple, and yet Jesus said: "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matt. 7:14.

How can this be? The truth is, Jesus made it simple, but people have made it complicated. They have created a Jesus which does not exist; a Jesus who tolerates sin, cannot heal the sick, and cannot provide for his people or for His ministry. The people who love and worship this Jesus do not worship or love the truth and therefore, God has allowed them to be deceived.

So we need to find out who the Jesus of the Bible is, who God is, and what truth is. Once we begin to thirst for the truth and set out to find it and are willing to pay the price, then God will reveal Himself to us. We will never find Jesus in a church or even in the Bible.

Don't get me wrong, God wrote the Bible and yes it is all about God and Jesus, but we cannot get to know them just by reading about them. We need to deny ourselves, and our desires, whatever they may be, and cry out to God for help. It is then, and only then, that God will reveal himself and teach us His ways so that we can enter into a relationship with Him.

I can sit here and tell you all about Jesus and you can read through the bible, which is all about Jesus; but that won't bring you into a relationship with Him. And unless you experience a personal relationship with Him, you will never know who He really is.

You must count the cost, and decide that you will love the truth more than anything else in the world. This means you will love the truth more than the sermon you heard on Sunday morning. You will love the truth more than your friends or your family.

This simply means that if there is something that you don't understand from the Sunday morning service you will dig deeper and find out what it means. If you come across some information that seems to contradict itself, you need to find out the deeper meaning of that verse, because the Bible does not contradict itself.

When you discover a new truth you need to proclaim it, even if no one else wants to hear about it. If that means you will be called delusional, then so be it. That is the cost of being a follower of Jesus.

"And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of." 2 Pet. 2:2

Jesus walked alone with God. He had 12 disciples, but one of them betrayed him, one denied him, and all left him when he was tried before Pilate. We are to walk as Jesus walked.

Count the cost. Ask yourself, "Am I willing to leave everything behind me and follow Jesus?" Are you willing to love the truth and become a mockery to the people? Are you willing to step outside the norm and love the truth. You need to be able to answer yes to these questions. Chances are, you might have to leave everything behind, but then again, depending on your circle of friends you may be in good company.

In order to know what is true, you cannot accept someone else's word. Every time someone quotes a Bible verse, preaches a sermon, or sings a song, you need to ask yourself, "Is that really what the Bible teaches? Is that what Jesus taught? If Jesus were here today, would He interpret that verse in the same way? Would he do the things you do?"

You need to search the Bible for yourself. Ask God to help you to understand the truth. And don't be afraid of the truth. Truth is nothing to be afraid of. Even if it means you will have to walk several miles alone, it's really not that bad, because you know what, you got God, Jesus and all the saints and angels of heaven on your side!

Search for the truth, thirst for it, and you will find it. Don't accept my word as truth, neither the word of your friend, family member, or preacher. Take it up with God and search the Bible and decide for yourself.

Don't take the easy way out, if the Bible says that you are a sinner, face the fact, and confess your sins. If Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more," John 8:11, then go and sin no more. If you don't understand how you can live a life without sin, don't worry about it. Just keeping searching the Bible and eventually God will show you how. But don't let others tell you that it isn't really what Jesus meant. Just because they think it's impossible does not mean that it is.

Believe you me, there are so many people today who take the words of Jesus and twist them around to suit there own needs, to draw large crowds and deceive many people with their deceitfulness. Do not follow the teachings of these people.

Be honest to yourself. Be honest to God. Love the truth and be willing to sacrifice. God has given His promise to those who love the truth; He will not allow them to be deceived. Instead He will walk with them every step of the way.

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." John 8:32