What are you denying? Do you willingly, consciously deny truth? Do you know something is true, not like it, and make every attempt to deny it? How does that work out for you? Do you find later that you would have been better off to simply accept the truth and make the right decision?
We all have had hard truths spoken to us. We have had to make a decision to believe the truth and take corrective action or ignore it and continue to face the consequences for it. It may be that we can’t wrap our brains around it and simply don’t understand.
Nearly all of us have heard the truth of God, of Jesus Christ. We have heard that God loves us. We have heard that Jesus faced the cross willingly to save us. We have heard that He arose three days later. We may have heard that He walked the earth for 40 days after He rose from the dead.
Yet there are many things we haven’t heard about Jesus. Some of those are written in non-Biblical histories by a variety of people, including the famous Jewish historian Josephus. Others are written in the Bible and we either haven’t read them or we didn’t fully understand them or we may have simply missed it when we read it.
A recent question posed to me in a class caused me to do some additional research. There is a Jewish belief that the Messiah will enter through the East Gate when He comes. The Jews do not believe the Messiah has come, meaning they don’t believe Jesus is the Messiah. Neither do the Muslims.
We are told that Jesus made His triumphal entry, riding on a donkey to fulfill prophecy, coming from Bethany where He had dinner with Lazarus. The direct route from Bethany would mean that Jesus came through the East Gate. This is also the main gate into the Temple area. A truth the Jews refuse to acknowledge, and the cost could be extremely high for them.
When we refuse to accept a truth, especially a hard truth that requires extreme change for us, we may be costing ourselves dearly. Refusal may cost us our lives, if not literally, at least metaphorically. Our spiritual lives and where we will spend eternity are dependent upon us accepting the truth. Will you accept this truth today?
I pray we all accept the truth of Jesus. I pray each of us will choose to follow Him with our entire being. I pray that we allow God to change our lives for the best. God is patiently waiting for each of us to choose Him. Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Allow God to make the change in your heart. Choose to follow Jesus and all His teachings. Be the person God wants you to be.
John 12:1-2 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.
Marty Pressey 