The Struggle Within

Hardly a "crisis of faith," but boy have I been experiencing the struggle within lately! It's strange and I'm just trying to make sense of everything.

A few months ago, I started this online ministry as a way of alerting others to what I was seeing in the news headlines as proof that we are living in the prophesied end times. Plus, I figured that the interaction with others interested in prophecy would help me to grow and learn new things as well.

Then, a few weeks ago, I did something I've never done before - I sat down and read the entire Book of Revelation in one sitting. Who knows if I'm imagining things and simply trying to look for a connection, but it was soon after that I began exploring all sorts of things I never considered before in an effort to better understand God's Word and prophecies for the end times.

During this process, I've had to question my current understanding of things on more than one occasion. Yet, in those instances my faith has been strangely strengthened when you'd think that such things would only help to weaken it!

In fact, this struggle within has been a good thing for me. It's helped me really focus on God and His Word more than I have in a long time, and I have a true passion for finding wisdom and truth. I finally felt like I was getting somewhere and truly growing in my faith.

So, imagine my surprise today when I get up and come across the following daily devotional titled "Discerning God's Voice" in my inbox:

"Just think of the many cults around today. No doubt, you've seen news reports or televised specials dissecting the odd-sounding belief systems of different faith-based groups. Many of them profess to be based on Scripture, yet they often have certain doctrines that are radically foreign to us; the God of the Bible is completely unrecognizable in their creeds. Obviously, this can pose a problem for those of us in the church who are eager to hear from our Father.

When confronted by different voices that claim to be 'true' and clamor for our attention, we remember two absolute truths:

First, we know that the Lord will never say anything that contradicts Scripture. For example, suppose a religious group claimed that extra-marital affairs were somehow acceptable in the Lord's sight. We would know immediately that this wasn't from God, as it directly contradicts Exodus 20:14.

Second, we know that God won't add to or take away from the Bible. It is His complete and reliable Word. Therefore, anyone claiming to have "more" scriptures or another Testament is a fraud.

Two of the Enemy's best weapons are distraction and deception. Don't fall for his lies. Test every voice against Scripture, and ask God for the wisdom to discern His voice among the impostors."

Those two highlighted sections really hit home for me. While I know that we are children of the light and lovers of truth who need to constantly seek God for the wisdom and truth of a matter, I still help but wonder about these two comments.

For now, I will continue to seek the truth and consider that man's interpretation of things may be flawed or slightly off the mark (because it is fallen man we're talking about here and even with the best intentions we are flawed sinners), but I will CONSTANTLY take all things to God in prayer.

In the meantime, the struggle within continues.

Posted in: Truth From The Fringe,Welcome