Hard Truth

[enoob57]

So, lets look at this from a slightly different perspective, and think of people who are told very late in life that they were adopted.  Some always suspected, some had no idea until they were very mature.  I would say that that is a very real and personal hard truth.  But I suppose there are more difficult discoveries that one could potentially have to come to terms with.

For me the issue, in this life, is to place it into a perspective of eternity. Why? Because that is what we have been called to be witnesses of-
the eternal outcome sealed in non changeable realities -> you are either possessed by God for His use here or you are not and the great doctrines
of election and freewill lie as pillars that extend out of sight, in resolution, to the created mind's abilities. Satan has been given (by us in Adam) this
place and his ability exceeds all of us... so that The Lord says only He (Father, Son and Spirit) can keep us from the demise of joining with him in
the error of lies... we then, in any issue, that places focus upon this life excluded from all externals of what will be have erred in reasoning with
God and are subject to Satan's manipulation of life into death. So the adoption issue above is not correctly aspired to in reason until it is brought
into the eternals leaving the one who is entered into the experience this choice-  do I focus on that which is passing away (this present life) or do
I enter that which has not come yet as thought is has... here is the formation of faith Heb 11:1 and the ability to overcome even ourselves in any
event this life succors from it's fallen resources generated by the evil one whom all of us have aided! Bottom line+ we are to live in the presence
of God's light even here in this darkened place, so that, we reflect that light yet so as by our words and doing - the blind have to be told the light
is on (foolishness of preaching) and the miracle to receive sight 'IS' The Lord's... Love, Steven 

[*Zion*]

George's devotion about Truth and the Gospel is pertinent for everyone on earth: ((right?))

One More Important Thing!

November 18, 2015

Worthy Christian Devotions » Love » One More Important Thing!

by George Whitten, Editor of Worthy Devotions

Mark 10:18-21 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

Yesterday, I shared from this same passage. But today, something even more powerful touched my heart about it -- and it was so humbling, I had to share it with you too.

Yes, it's true that we as humans tend to compare ourselves with one another and think highly of our good works. And it is true that not one of us is good by God's standards and that our good works are like filthy rags according to Isaiah. However, seeing all this -- Jesus beheld this man…. and loved him. "Jesus loved him," it says. And then, only then did he tell him the hard-to-swallow truth.

The Gospel is not just truth -- it is much more than that. It is the truth told in love.

When we share this Good News, must behold, and truly love the person with whom we're sharing it!

Even to those who hated Jesus, He told it in love. How much more should we be sharing that way with our friends and family?? Jesus told the truth in love and that's the way we should strive do it too.

Lord, help us! We want to love one another as You have commanded! Give us hearts of flesh for our hearts of stone and help us to truly love one another, that your Name may be glorified when we speak your truth! We want to do great things for You! There's so much work to be done!

Truth in love.  Now if we could put this into practice, what a difference it would make!

[Tiger Eye]

I really don't know which section to put this thread in, nor how to form the question I really want to ask: I am asking this mostly because I want to see where others are coming from on this as a specific subject on its own.

Good morning, Mam. I hope things are well for you over there in the City of Fog & Holmes this morning! If you don't mind, I'll just shoot from the hip in this with what little I have observed in my own life. A good, scriptural study would no doubt be beneficial. But if you don't mind, I'll just give you my thoughts over coffee this morning. I pray there might be something useful in my comments? But you will know that right off. So here goes:

Living the life we do, in Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, accepting Him wholly as Lord and Saviour, we should always accept the truth, right?

Yes. An overwhelming, BURNING, unquenchable desire for Truth should be within us. That said? Sometimes it can take a very long time for a follower of Christ to learn certain Truths. There will always be present within us a desire for Truth, an ongoing quest for that which Father wants us to know. But His Truths are eternal (without end). It would take a very long time to learn it all. I don't think we'll ever get there before we get Home. But? We'll always desire to learn.

Therefore there should be no aspect or area of reality that we should not be able to accept as solid and real, right?

True. But as I said above, sometimes that can be quite a long process, even for the most diligent of students of Jesus. There is so much confusion in this world. Last I checked, over 33,000 different "religions" and "denominations". In the United States, when someone even honestly comes to Christ, they no doubt are saved, but can very possibly start their "education" in error. Father sees the heart, thank God... but sometimes, our head is in the wrong places and it can take a very long time to overcome false teaching. False teaching by people that believe what they teach with all their hearts, loving Father with all their heart, but teaching in error never-the-less because that is what they've been taught since childhood. If one DILIGENTLY seeks the Truth, you can make progress. But false teaching can be a very hard thing to overcome. It can take a while.

Is there any truth too hard to accept?  The answer for us should be a resounding NO! right?

No. This is the only thing that gets us over the hump of  false teaching and error, no matter the source. Just as an example, when I came to Father to be saved? I was saved... immediately. Thank God it was on the correct terms in that I knew it was through Jesus only that I could be saved.

But then for 12 years I was mis-educated. I was taught that more and more was up to "me" to "maintain" my salvation. I was taught that if I didn't maintain a certain standard, then it was possible I could "lose" my salvation. I was taught that it was a combination of what Jesus did for me PLUS my own actions on my own spiritual performance treadmill. For TWELVE YEARS I studied under many people... studied much independently, sought Father's heart every step of the way, but for 12 years learned of more and more in the Bible that seemed "contradictory" to me. It seemed contradictory because what men were teaching and what I was reading WAS/IS contradictory.

But after 12 years of learning of a great many "contradictions", I saw the Light of Truth in what Jesus did do for me. Even after I had my nose to the trail of Truth, it took me MONTHS of "trying the spirit" before I would even speak with the wife about what I had come to realize. MONTHS to convince myself that truly my salvation hinged solely on Christ when I went to Him in faith of all that He is and all that He had done. The payoff was that it unlocked everything in the bible for me that was previously contradictory.

That will be the most incredible Truth I will ever learn. I think maybe Father wants MOST of His children to know that basic Truth from the beginning of their walk with Him. But? It's awful hard to come by in my neck of the woods. My relationship with every single, church going, God loving family member here where I live has suffered because of the Truth I finally learned. That is because they never truly tried the spirit for fear of being drawn into false religion. Accepting Truth can be a... costly and difficult thing. But every bit doable in and by Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

I think there is a grave danger in denying and turning our backs on any portion of truth.  This is probably the ultimate example of doing so, and the best one I can think of: John 6:50-63.

This example you've given is an instance when Jesus revealed something to the disciples that they had NEVER heard before. It also went against the grain of every single thing they had ever been taught. As you can see, this was difficult for them, as it is for us today. And this same circumstance does envelop many of us today. The disciples finally understood after much diligence and patience by Father and our Lord Jesus... but also the Holy Spirit which came later, further educated... Despite everything, it was... difficult for everyone.

So, is there any discovery that one could make that would be too much to accept as truth, as painful obvious and clear that it truly is true?

You know? I've observed that even the simplest, most obvious things CAN be most difficult to learn and accept... especially if you have first been taught in error. It takes an all out, relentless pursuit of the Truth while praying for Father to make things clear to you for anyone to have even a chance at overcoming the things of this world in understanding. Our enEmy is clever. If we seek to learn on our own without including Father, the enEmy will surely win out in how we come to "know" Father. We'll get so caught up in knowing "about" Him, that we'll never "know" Him. Huge difference there.

Another question I wish to pose is this: how good are we at accepting hard truths from our current position in our walk with Christ?

I would say that depends on the individual, as to whether or not they are accustomed to "knocking" on Father's door.

Have a great day everyone. I've got to engage the world, lol... I'll see you later...

Hi Matthew, it is amazing what I have just heard from you.

My own experience is almost a duplicate of what you said with a few changes.

For 13 years of seeking the truth I finally went to a church where I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues.

That was surely a sign.

My prayer life changed dramatically.

I had a lot of knowledge but lacked God's wisdom to understand it all.

13 years of teaching that just wasn't right.

But then I started reading the Bible and I started understanding all those passages that I could never figure out.

God is so good.

Just keep seeking him and he will keep teaching you new things.

Amen.

[Kan]

I can't handle the truth. 

Jesus is so gracious by giving me what small amounts I can accept, but really, that is so pathetic and faithless on my behalf.

Jesus is truth...and love. May I just disappear?

[*Zion*]

I can't handle the truth. 

Jesus is so gracious by giving me what small amounts I can accept, but really, that is so pathetic and faithless on my behalf.

Jesus is truth...and love. May I just disappear?

No, don't disappear!  Your honesty shows that you are more than able to face the truth.  We all grow stronger in Christ by God's grace