In Search of Truth Pt. 7

BUT HOW CAN ANY RELIGIOUS PRACTICE BE WRONG IF IT'S DONE SINCERELY?

The Bible tells us that Satan, the Devil, is an arch-DECEIVER, and is often "transformed to APPEAR as an angel of LIGHT."--2 Corinthians 11:14,15. The Devil often mixes in a lot of TRUTH and a lot of GOOD with his lies in order to make his deceit all the more clever. It's true that many of Satan's demons are OBVIOUSLY evil, violent, destructive and horrific, but many times the Enemy of our souls will try to CHARM and lull people into his deceptions by baiting his trap with some TRUTHS!--To lure his victims into his clutches!

If the Devil didn't teach any GOOD or any TRUTH, most people wouldn't swallow his LIES! So he wraps up his bitter pill in a sugar coating--which may look and taste good at FIRST, but it will result in severe spiritual INDIGESTION!--In fact, it is usually pure POISON, and if you SWALLOW it, it will ensure your spiritual DEATH!

So it is of vital ETERNAL importance that, in your search for Truth, you find the TRUE God, the God of LOVE, Who LOVES you and wants to SAVE you! No amount of religious forms, ceremonies, rituals or traditions can ever bring you the wonderful soul-satisfying peace, joy and love that can be YOURS once you have a living relationship with the living God!

MANY RELIGIONS TEACH THAT IT IS NECESSARY FOR US TO SUFFER IN ORDER TO TRULY PLEASE AND DRAW CLOSE TO GOD.--IS THIS TRUE?

No!--As we mentioned earlier, God is LOVE, and He LOVES you very much and wants you to be HAPPY! This is WHY He's placed you here in this beautiful World in the first place! He intended for you to ENJOY living, and has given you the ability, the senses and the environment to do so. He created you to ENJOY the life He's given you, and to love and enjoy HIM forever!

But sad to say, a lot of people do not realise that God wants them to be happy. Their concept of religion is like that of the young boy who, while walking home from a religious service that he attended with his strict and ultra-religious grandfather, stopped and spoke to a neighbour's mule. As he stroked the mule's nose he said, "You must be an awfully RELIGIOUS creature, you have such a long, SAD face!"

To many, godliness and saintliness are supposed to consist of a denial of all human happiness and general enjoyment of any kind. Some go so far as to believe and teach that any kind of physical pleasure must be SINFUL or WICKED!--And they think that godliness consists of such suffering, pain, self-torture, self-denial and self-crucifixion that you must be in utter MISERY and AGONY in order to get close to God! This, thank God, is NOT the case according to the Bible!

Nevertheless, some poor folks are so obsessed with a fetish for self-denial and self-torture that they actually sit on nails, put skewers through their cheeks, walk barefooted on hot coals, whip themselves and even have themselves nailed to crosses!--PURPOSELY suffering all kinds of physical torture because they think that the more they SUFFER, the more "RELIGIOUS", "holy" or close to God they will become!

It's true that there are times when we may need to sacrifice or suffer, but according to God's Word in the Bible, we do not have to do it on PURPOSE, as some kind of means to gain personal merit or favour with God! If we suffer, it's usually because God ALLOWS it for some reason, but it's usually a result of our sacrificing and giving of ourselves in order to help OTHERS.--NOT because we necessarily ASK for it or WANT it or think we are gaining any MERIT or righteousness by it.





TFI [Posted Video - Speech you were never supposed to see - by Jonathan Cahn]