Don't Believe Everything You Hear!
"He [the Enemy] will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them." ~ 1 Thessalonians 2:10
"Let's go! Let's play catch. Let's go swimming. Let's do something!" I shouted at my brother, Ken. "Nah." was his pat answer. All I wanted to do, as a kid, was play. Anything. I just wanted to experience all the excitement that goes along with the activity. All my brother wanted to do was read, aka, learn. He loved gaining information. Especially truths and facts about anything!
I couldn't understand. It seemed so boring and useless to spend all of your daylight hours with your nose in an Encyclopedia! Ugh!
One day, having succeeded to drag my brother to a friend's house to swim, one of us suggested that the airplane zooming over our heads was intentionally spraying poisonous toxins into the air for "population control." Without a hesitation, Ken began a 10-minute dissertation on how this was an absurd idea; and how the real danger of airplane traffic is the build-up of lead in the air, noise pollution and the increase in ticket prices, as the desire of humans for global travel grows with each generation. With eyes as big as saucers and gaping mouths, we listened as our thinking realigned with facts offered from someone who knew.
We were all ready to run for cover from the toxic jet fuel overhead. It all changed; however, when we were told the truth from someone who loves truth. We continued to swim without any further alarm. I found out over the years; Ken knew a lot of things about a lot of things.
One of the most important and powerful weapons that God has given to His people is a love for truth! We cannot take this gift for granted. In this hour of chaos and darkness saturating our world, if you have any measure of love for truth, give thanks to God for what He's doing in your life!
Cultivate This Love
Like anything else that you have a passion for, you must tend to your love for truth. Our appetites change as we get older. One of the reasons this change occurs is because the foods that you steep your appetite in the more of that food you crave.
As a kid, searching for and finding sugar was a daily pursuit. I could find sugar in the most unlikely places because I loved it! We will always find for what we hunger. As we become older and wiser, we learn how important proper nutrition is, and we begin to eat better. The better we eat, the better we feel. Our increased health feeds the desire to continue eating the right foods until eventually we genuinely crave vegetables and proteins. When you love truth,
you will Love Jesus, The Truth. His Word, the Word of Truth. His Spirit, the Spirit of Truth
pursue it until you find it
embrace it as an irreplaceable treasure
digest it as divine nutrition from God
apply it in faith knowing God is trustworthy
Don't Believe Everything You Hear
Because, in my youth, I didn't read, do my homework or follow current events very well, I would come home with some wild ideas about things. While my brother would smirk at me and just wag his truth-filled head, my dad would say, "Arthur, don't believe everything you hear!"
I would pass this good advice on to you. Just because a leading News Channel says it, or because it's a post on Facebook, or because it's an article you read on the Internet does not confirm that what you're hearing is true. If it's important to you, get to the bottom of it.
A lover of truth will not settle for anything less. If what you're hearing doesn't agree with God's Word, His Spirit and His nature, don't feed your spirit and mind with it. Stay with the truth, and you'll not be deceived, dismayed or brought to despair. As our world continues to shift and change, God's Word remains the Unshakeable Rock of Truth!