The truth does not change, and we need to understand that there is no “my truth” and “your truth.” It does not matter if you are a believer or not, there is only one truth, and for believers, that one truth is God’s truth. You may believe that it is okay to hate your enemy, but we believe the Son of God, who said “Love your enemies” (Matt. 5:46). Whether you believe in the hate or love scenario, only one of them is true and if we desire to live in peace and enter God’s kingdom; we cannot hate and seek peace.
Jonah knew the truth, but Jonah knew he had feelings for the people of Nineveh that were not godly. Because he hated them, he did not want them to know the truth; so, he found a ship going to Tarshish to avoid telling the truth to the people of Nineveh. He was disobedient and thought he could flee from the Lord’s presence, even though he knew in his heart that he could not escape the power and presence of an Almighty God. Jonah knew the truth, but there are people in the living generations who say they do not believe there is a God. People who say they do not believe in God attend church, read the Bible, and know Scripture. The Word of God (Scripture) indicates that they must be blind because the Scripture says, “They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them” (Rom. 1:19, NLT). All we have to do is look up to the sky and see that “the heavens declare the glory of God” (Ps. 19:1).
In the world that we live in and in times like these, the truth has become very subjective, people think their truth is the only truth. Increasingly people think their opinion is the truth, no matter that the evidence says otherwise. We can watch videotapes of people doing and saying awful things in real-time and they still deny the truth. Our world is spinning out of control and allowing sin and disobedience to become the norm, instead of the exception. Too many people follow their hearts instead of God’s Word. Remember “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9, KJB).
The heart can prevent us from hearing God speak. The epitome of what Jeremiah says about those who do not hear is: “They are skillful at doing evil, but they do not know how to do good” (Jer. 4:22, NASB). People claim to be wise, but their words are deceitful. Even so, we have no excuse for not knowing God. Will the workers of iniquity never learn that “the heavens proclaim His righteousness” (Ps. 50:6, ESV)? “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20, NKJV). Open your eyes and see the truth of God’s work as you behold the sun when it shines all over the world and the moon when it covers the night sky from the far East to the distant West.
If you want to get an understanding of knowledge and wisdom, Job said, “Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you” (Job 12:7, NLT). Have you ever wondered how the birds know when to fly south and how they maintain formation? King Solomon said to go to the ant and consider her ways (Prov. 6:6). I know ants are annoying little creatures, but if you watch them at work, you will see order and commitment. There were followers of God who studied the animals and thought people could learn a lesson from them. Suffice it to say, people leaning to their understanding might not see the bigger picture and come to the knowledge of the truth concerning His invisible attributes. Even those who are ignorant have no excuse for not knowing God. Pay attention when Scripture says: “Don’t be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil” (Prov. 3:7, CSB). You have free will, do it NOW!
It is time for us to put more time into studying and showing ourselves approved unto God. Look at new beginnings as an opportunity to gain experience from the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our High Priest and Teacher. When we study with an open mind, we learn from the Spirit and achieve a deeper understanding of the truth about the world around us and the God we serve.
Be wise and righteous! God revealed this to King Solomon who said: “Give instruction to a wise person and he will become still wiser; Teach a righteous person and he will increase his insight” (Prov. 9:9, NASB). We cannot say the same thing about a foolish man. Are you wise and righteous or foolish?
When we are in the Spirit and working within the confines of God’s Word, life teaches us. The Spirit inspires us to stir up our gifts and seek new experiences. The Spirit encourages us to accept new challenges, which emboldens us to see God’s invisible attributes and His power in real-time. “Let a wise person listen and increase learning” (Prov. 1:5, CSB). In this world, which is not our home, we are on an overcomer’s journey, and with Christ, we have victory. Examine the Scriptures daily and you will find that every trial and tribulation presents an opportunity for us to grow spiritually. Get rid of the background noise that reduces our clarity of mind; then seek the kingdom of God by filling your mind with the light.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and we cannot find wisdom in a classroom. We need to develop a spiritual understanding of all God’s creation and build a closer relationship with the Lord. Hear what Jesus said to John. He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness” (John 8:12, ESV). We need to have confidence in what we know. We need an affirming knowledge written upon our hearts that will not deny God as our ancestors did. Jeremiah said: “They have followed the stubbornness of their hearts and gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them" (Jer. 9:14, ESV).
We are not the first generation to stray. This is what Paul said about the ones in his generation: “They know God, but they do not give him the honor that belongs to him, nor do they thank him. Instead, their thoughts have become complete nonsense, and their empty minds are filled with darkness” (Rom. 1:21, GNT). They knew the light was in the world and they rejected it. Do not be deceived by people who love the darkness rather than the light. They like playing in the devil’s playground rather than striving to find the narrow road that leads to the kingdom of God.
Scripture tells us how to find the narrow road and while we are searching, we have the opportunity to pray, reflect, fill our minds with the Light, and apply it. On this journey, we have time to get rid of the nonsense that our ancestors practiced and replace it with kindness, love, patience, and the things that God likes. Now is the time to grow our faith and strengthen our trust in God’s Word. Embrace God’s Word as the truth; it is objective, unchanging, and not based on personal feelings. We can feel deeply about something but do not accept foolishness.
As it was in former years, “The LORD saw that human evil was growing more and more throughout the earth, with every inclination of people's thoughts becoming continuously evil” (Gen. 6:5). The people rejected His statutes and the covenant God made with their ancestors. We grieve that there are humans in the living generations who have not taken heed of what the Lord and the prophets said. Suffice it to say too many are wicked and commit grievous sins. “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures” (Rom. 1:22-23, NASB). Who are the wise among us who act like foolish children, worship idols, and Satan without understanding the consequences?
We all know those who claim to be wise but call evil good and good evil. We see signs of the end times. We see lovers of themselves and money. We see arrogance, abuse, and disobedience. However, no matter what is going on in the world today, we do not want to shut up or shut out God’s Word. As Scripture says nations have risen against nations and we are witnesses to famines and earthquakes in strange places, but the time is not yet, for God said we do not know the hour. In the last decade (century), we saw declines in morality and spirituality. Today, we see a culture of division where people easily offend each other by politics, news, religion, and almost any little thing. Christians say we are living in the last days, but we should not deceive ourselves because “no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself” (Matt. 24:36, NLT).
