day no. 17,298: lovelessness and lies

"Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love." ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

Do not lie to yourself, but if you do, do not believe your own lies. Do not lose track of which is which or you will lose your grip on reality, which is to say, you will be loveless.

James 1:22

Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

We have to admit, before we begin, that we can be deceived. We can believe lies, and even worse, we could be the liar. We can end up believing a rumor that we created. In fact, we do it all the time. It is called bitterness. When we want to believe the worst about someone else, we are willing to entertain any accusation, no matter how ludicrous or implausible, as long as it accuses the one we already dislike. We may even invent the evidence. We may even go on to believe the evidence we invented because of malicious bias.

There is a fine line between suicide and homicide. The one who cannot respect himself often finds it difficult to respect others. The one who has a hard time pursuing his self-interests will find it even harder to pursue the interests of others. Those who live by lies often become blind to the truth. 

day no. 17,263: deceived about deception

“Damnation is a function of loving a lie, preeminently the lies you tell yourself. Self-deception is the prince of all deceptions. The wrath of God is seen in this, when God gives people over to what they have loved all along.” — Douglas Wilson, Mines of Difficulty

Do not be deceived, you can deceive yourself. If you think that you can't, then you are deceived about the nature of yourself and the nature of deception.

Jeremiah 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 

You are not the expert on you, your Creator is. And He has told you that your heart is deceitful. You think and feel things that are not true. You believe things that wrong. You call some good things "evil" and you call some evil things "good." But how would you know if you were doing that?

James 1:22-25

Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Do you believe things that you are not doing? Do your actions betray your "beliefs." When they do, is it because your actions misrepresent you or because your beliefs are not what you think they are?

Deuteronomy 11:16

Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived.

The first step is realizing that you could be deceived. The next step is finding a standard of truth and purity against which to measure yourself.

James 1:25

Whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

The Word of God is a perfect mirror. It will tell you who you really are. In its reflection, will see an accurate picture. So, read the Word of God and know the truth and it will set you free.

day no. 17,255: the truth will set you free, but not before it kills you

“There are only two ways of telling the complete truth – anonymously and posthumously.” — Thomas Sowell

If you tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, someone will want to kill you. People may get mad at you if you lie to them, but they will try to murder you if you tell them the truth. Unless they are more committed to the truth than they are to themselves.

Galatians 4:16

Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

If you are at war with the way the world is and the way you are, you will have enmity for anyone who has the gall to point that out. Because of the way God made the world, there will be enmity. Truth and lies are inescapably against each other. Truth incarnate is at war with the Father of lies. The Way, the Truth, and the Life fights against the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

John 18:37

To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

Truth became flesh and dwelt among us. He was summoned to appear and He took the witness stand when He was nailed to the cross. There, He testified to the truth and bore witness. When He rose on the third day, it was a public witness to His innocence. The Truth was justified and vindicated before its accusers.

Ecclesiasticus 4:28.

Strive for the truth unto death, and the Lord shall fight for thee.

And so, a man can tell the truth, but only if he is prepared to die. If he dies to himself, he is born again and made new. If he lies, he might save is skin for now, but eventually it will rot and he will choke on death forever. The truth will require an execution, but the Truth provides a resurrection for those who take their stand with it.

John 8:31-32

If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

The truth will set you free, but not before it kills you. If you agree with God and die, you will live. If you hide from God, the truth will find you out, and you will die.

day no. 17,253: appearing and standing for the truth (exhortation outline)

Christ Church Leavenworth

WLC 144: Appearing and Standing for the Truth 

January 25, 2026

Appearing and Standing for the Truth

THE TEXT

The text for this morning’s exhortation is from 2 Timothy 4:16, these are the words of God. “At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them!”

INTRODUCTION

This morning we are continuing our study of the ten commandments in the WLC and we are still in Q144 which asks, “What are the duties required in the ninth commandment?” One of the duties the Westminster divines cite in their lengthy response to that question is the duty to “appear and stand for the truth.”

When the apostle Paul was summoned to defend himself, none of his friends showed up. No one appeared on his behalf and no one stood with him. And yet, in relaying this devastating news to Timothy, Paul included a request for God to have mercy on them. He prayed that their failure to appear would not be charged against them. This indicates that more than just a breach of friendship was involved. If it was merely a sin against Paul or a debt owed to him, he could forgive it and consider it paid in full. And inasmuch as they did sin against him, he did. But that did not resolve the matter. Paul’s companions did not just refuse to stand with him, they refused to stand for the truth. That is the sin that Paul prays will not be held against them. That part is not Paul’s to forgive, that part was against God alone and only He can forgive it. Paul’s friends acted cowardly; and so, he asks God to spare them from the fate of a coward. Revelation 21:8, “As for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Paul was not on trial for some moral failure like theft or murder, he was on trial for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So, it wasn’t a matter of his friends approving him, but not approving of his behavior. They were Christians. He was on trail for something they could just as easily have been on trial for. If you do not stand with your friend in their time of trouble, that makes you a lousy friend, but if your friend is in trouble for being a Christian and you fail to appear on his behalf, you are not just a lousy friend, you are a lousy Christian. Consider the Word of the Lord from Leviticus 5:1. “If anyone hears a public adjuration to testify, and though he is a witness, whether he has seen or come to know the matter, yet does not speak, he shall bear his iniquity.”

If you will not take the trouble to stand up for the truth, you will be in trouble when you face the Truth. Proverbs 29:25, “The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.” So, the only way to save your life is to sacrifice it to the Lord. If God calls you to the witness stand, it is safer to tell the truth in a hostile environment than it is to bear false witness against God by failing to appear or by showing up, but refusing to stand up. Matthew 16:25 “Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” 

Christians are called to testify to the truth just as Jesus did before Pilate in John 18:37. This is what He said, “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” If you do not bear witness to the truth, you are bearing false witness against God. You are saying it is safer to lie than it is to tell the truth. You are saying that the wrath of man is to be feared more than the wrath of God. You are saying that cowardice is better than courage when the stakes are high because saving your skin is better than dying to sin.

Those who are of the truth hear the voice of Jesus and respond by appearing when called and standing up for the truth when needed. You don’t have to go out looking for opportunities to speak per se, but you do have to be ready for them if and when they come looking for you. Consider 1 Peter 3:15-16 “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”

Ignoring a call to witness to the truth and failing to appear or stand for the truth is  a violation of the ninth commandment. It is bearing false witness and it is a slander against the Son of God. In keeping quiet, you are saying that the most important thing about the truth is simply knowing the right answers, not doing the right things. But that is a lie. As Jesus said in John 8:31–32 “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Abiding in the truth is not just sitting around doing nothing. Abiding means keeping up with the truth wherever it goes. Truth is an active thing and if you want to abide with it, you’re going to have to get up and walk with it wherever it goes. And if you do, you will be set free. Staying out of trouble will not set you free. Only the truth can do that. In fact, testifying to the truth will more often than not get you into more trouble. But it is better to be slandered by liars than it is to be condemned by the truth.

We should be more zealous to stand up for the truth than we are to stand up for ourselves and our own interests… but we aren’t. Standing for the truth means refusing to lay down with lies. We must oppose falsehood. So, no more stretching the truth, massaging the truth, avoiding the truth, or denying the truth. In order to avoid bearing false witness, we must appear when the truth is on trial and we must take the stand and testify to the way, the truth, and the life.

CALL TO CONFESSION

Well, since we sometimes hide behind lies instead of behind Christ and because we are sometimes scared to go where the Spirit leads or stand up when the Truth is on trial, we are reminded of our need to regularly confess our sins, whether they be related to this duty or others. So, if you are able, please kneel with me and confess your sins, first privately and then corporately using the prayer found in your bulletin.

CORPORATE CONFESSION

Most holy and merciful Father, we acknowledge before You our sinful nature and our many offenses. We are prone to do evil and slow to do good. You alone know how often we have sinned in wandering from Your way, in wasting Your gifts, in forgetting Your love. Lord, we are ashamed and sorry for all the ways that we have displeased You. Father, teach us to hate our rebellious acts, cleanse us from our secret faults, and forgive our sins for the sake of Your Son. Help us to love You with all our heart and mind and strength. And give us the power of Your Holy Spirit so that we may walk in Your ways and serve You all of our days.

DECLARATION OF PARDON

Arise and hear the Good News! The assurance of pardon today comes from…

Romans 5:1, 8-9 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ… for God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God.”

While we were still bearing false witness, Christ appeared. While we were still lying, Christ testified to the truth. While we were still hiding likes cowards, Christ played the man and died for us. For our sake God made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. So, bear witness to that and be glad. Jesus lived for your righteousness, died for your sins, and rose for your justification. And because He did, it is my privilege to pronounce to you that in Him, your sins really are forgiven… THANKS BE TO GOD!

Now let us ascend to the presence of God in all worship and praise.

day no. 16,623: where excuses fail, Christ does not

"Try to keep this continually before your children's minds. Press upon them at all times, that less than the truth is a lie; that evasion, excuse-making, and exaggeration are all halfway houses towards what is false, and ought to be avoided. Encourage them in any circumstances to be straightforward, and, whatever it may cost them, to speak the truth." — J.C. Ryle, The Duties of Parents

The truth will set you free. Evasive language is an attempt to free yourself from the consequences of truth. But the only thing that can save you from the truth is the Truth. The only way to the Father is the Way. The only life to be had is in the Life of God. Excuses do not atone for sin. (John 14:6).

Sin is inexcusable, but by the grace of God is not unforgivable. If an excuse will suffice, forgiveness is not needed. But where excuses fail, Christ does not. Exaggerations cannot increase your merit. An embellishment only increases the distance between you and righteousness. You cannot exaggerate your way across the chasm of sin. Only Christ can cross the cavern and provide a bridge between sinful man and an holy God. 

The problem with lies is not that they try to cover up sin, but that they cannot adequately cover it. In other words, it isn't that lies cover sin, it's that they don't. Sin must be covered, but lies cannot do the trick. An ol' fashioned cover-up cannot keep sin under wraps. Only Christ can cover sin. Your sins do need covering. The impulse to hide them is correct, but the instinct to hide them somewhere else is not. It not only fails to cover sin, it creates another sin in need of forgiveness.

By the grace of God, all sins can be forgiven, including the sin of covering your sins somewhere other than Jesus. Confess it as sin and it will be forgiven in Him. You can only hide in Him. Nowhere else are your sins hidden. In Him, God sees only Christ and your sins are completely covered by His blood. So stop trying to hide your sins from God and man and start hiding yourself in God so that you are free to speak of your sins openly, uncondemned before God and man.

day no. 16,273: evangelegal

Preach the gospel.

Practice theonomy.

If you preach the Gospel, you will be accused of being antinomian and licentious.

If you practice Theonomy, you will be accused of being ungracious and legalistic.

Some, try to reconcile the two by charging for grace while others try to cheapen the law, but abbreviating the law doesn't make grace abound and making grace more expensive doesn't pay off the law.

You cannot honor both by compromising either. You can only hold both together by covenant. The two must be married and become one flesh.

Psalm 85:10–11

Mercy and truth have met together;

Righteousness and peace have kissed.

Truth shall spring out of the earth,

And righteousness shall look down from heaven.

When law and gospel say, "I do," before God and man, kiss, and walk back up the aisle, the result is obedience springing up in mankind and grace raining down from God.

Preach the Gospel.

Practice Theonomy.

Be an Evangelegal.

Romans 3:31

Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

day no. 16,088: clarity is kindness

"Clarity is kindness." -- Paige Van Voorst

I will grant you that being intentionally vague for the sake of sparing someone's feelings may be well-intentioned in one sense, if you will grant me that it is also ill-intentioned in another.

To know what is true and say something else is what they used to call "lying." 

"Beware the flatterer." -- John Bunyan, Pligrim's Progress

Kindness requires clear words. Cloudiness leaves people perhaps feeling okay, but it also often leaves many unanswered questions loitering around. It's nice to feel nice, but it's not kind to make someone feel something that is out of sync with reality so that you can spare yourself the discomfort of being responsible for them feeling less than nice.

Clear instruction is kindness. Vague sentiments make it impossible to discern the commander's intent and leaves those, especially the ones eager to please, unclear as to how to obey. 

Communicating clearly is loving kindness to those who look up to you.

day no. 15,938: untimely

Hebrews 12:15
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.

They say that, "time heals all wounds," but they, admittedly, say all kinds of silly things, don't they?

Saying that time heals all wounds is like saying that ounces makes all things heavy or that decibels make all things loud. 

Time is merely a measurement. Time does as much to wounds as inches does to make things long or degrees do to make things hot. These are measurements of movements, not the catalysts. They don't cause anything to happen. They merely measure how much or how little of something is or isn't happening.

Grace and sin do things. Grace over time can grow good things and produce fruit in keeping with goodness. Sin over time can grow evil things and produce fruit in keeping in rottenness.

Time will either count the days of growing bitterness or of growing grace and gratitude. But time will not do either of these. Time will simply sit back contented to count the days — days either of grace working through faith that grow you in godliness or days of sin working through unbelief that checks grow you in godlessness.

All that to say, if you are counting on time to assist you, you might as well count on becoming embittered, not better, for time is powerless to do anything for you. It will only record the days you frittered away in ill-advised faith in it to do anything.

day no. 15,726: the fluctuation of faith and feelings

"One must train the habit of Faith... Now Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change, whatever view your reason takes.

This rebellion of your moods against your real self is going to come anyway. That is why Faith is such a necessary virtue: unless you teach your moods 'where they get off,' you can never be either a sound Christian or even a sound atheist, but just a creature dithering to and fro, with its beliefs really dependent on the weather and the state of its digestion. 

The first step is to recognise the fact that your moods change. The next is to make sure that, if you have once accepted Christianity, then some of its main doctrines shall be deliberately held before your mind for some time every day. That is why daily prayers and religious reading and church going are necessary parts of the Christian life. We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed. And as a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?"
-- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Feelings, moods and emotions change. Faith cannot be rooted in them for the simple reason that nothing can be rooted in them. They are not anchored down. They are not fixed points or consistent coordinates. They cannot be counted upon to be present two minutes from now, how much less to hold the weight of an entire belief system like "til death you do part" together?

At some point, every person needs to tell their emotions to "hit the showers." As Lewis points out, if you don't or refuse to, you cannot be a sound Christian... or a sound anything for that matter. You cannot commit to any position because you cannot count on your mood to last.

Most people lose their faith because they can't remember where they left it. They set it down and never picked it up again. But their feelings followed them around, speaking up when tired, or when late for something, or when hungry or lonely or the like.

Faith must be pursued.

Feelings pursue you.

Feelings drift.

Faith anchors. 

Faith takes effort.

Feelings do not.

day no. 15,308: the marriage of mercy and truth

Psalm 85:10
Mercy and truth are met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other

In Christ alone do righteousness and peace enjoy oneness without compromise and mercy and truth make friendly.

"Torquemada tortured people physically for the sake of moral truth. Zola tortured people morally for the sake of physical truth. But in Torquemada's time there was at least a system that could to some extent make righteousness and peace kiss each other. Now they do not even bow." - G.K Chesterton, Orthodoxy, ch 3: the suicide of thought

In the world, there is either righteousness or peace... justice or mercy. There are those who are adamantly for the one and some who are diametrically opposed to the other.  If you love mercy, you cry down those who insist upon justice. If you love justice, you mock those bleeding-heart bags of mercy down the block.

But in God, justice and mercy are married; whereas in the world, they don't even pay respect to the other. They dismiss each other as barricades. The other is seen as the reason their cause is kept from full expression. The mercy-mongers limit justice and the justice-thumpers muzzle mercy. Outside of God, mercy and truth don't even shake hands; in Him, they not only enjoy each other's company, but make covenant with each other, enjoy oneness, and dwell in perfect unity without dampening either's zeal.

Justice is never more just than when it is married to mercy.

Mercy is never more merciful than when it keeps covenant with justice.

day no. 14,863: like really real

“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.” - Phillip K. Dick

The world is built on real, solid, objective truth. Truth so true that it would be true whether or not you were ever born. Truth so true that it will remain even after you expire. Truth so true is doesn't need you to validate it. Truth so true that you could be wrong about it. That is the world that God made and that is reality. 

It is real regardless of what you think about it. It is real whether or not you feel like it is.

Matthew 7:24-29
Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” 28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

A life built on all the feels has all the stability and authority of the trembling lips upon which it stands. The feels fall and the floods of tears come. People will speak against you and push into you, and when they do, you will fall. And that fall will be extraordinary because it won't be like falling forever into an abyss, it will be like a crashing flat into the hard surface of reality.

day no. 13,197: ex nihilo‏

"In the world it is called Tolerance, but in hell it is called Despair... the sin that believes  in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hate nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die." ~ Dorothy Sayers

We idealize the death of truth and call it life indeed.

We use the wrong words, our grammar is flawed.

From that we reason wrongly.

Lastly, we interact and converse creatively on the wrong foundation and it all crumbles in the end.

Only God can bring us out of nothing and into the only something.

Nothing and Anything are both equally opposed to Something.

day no. 12,945: prophet, priest and king‏

I was recently directed to THIS tool for evaluating my leadership/ministry style/strength/weaknesses.

 

I am strongest in the Priestly and Prophetic styles and weakest in Kingly style.

 

Most ministry positions are filled by Prophets.

 

They tend to be go-gettin’, type A, trailblazin’ leader types and they aggressively get after the good work to be done.

 

Since I am more of a Priest than a Prophet, I tend to focus more on the individual than the group and  more on the assistance to the goal than the initial persuasion to the goal.

 

It’s not that I am void of Prophetic desire to defend the truth and call people to repent, but rather to say my sweet spot is helping those on the way to the Celestial City reach their goal.

 

It is hard to find room for a Priest in a post-Sacrificial world. There once was a more obvious place to plug people with my strengths in as one who helped another make their sacrifices that they had already determined to bring.

 

I am praying for the opportunity to someday soon be employed for the purpose of flexing my Priestly muscles in assisting people across the finish line.

our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum‏

“We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum” ~ Aiden Wilson Tozer

 

We are not politicking for polls, we are proclaiming His performance.
We are not posturing for the paparazzi, we are publishing His peace.

We are not prostituting for popularity, we are preaching His propitiation.

We are not persuading for pull, we are promising His prominence.

 

I.am.running.out.of.p’s

 

God, forgive me for compromising and being more diplomatic than I am prophetic.

 

Protect me from the temptation to shortcut and negotiate the terms of Your contract

 

Help me to avoid the pitfall of being piqued by other’s flattery.

 

Protect me from adjusting the climate control of my life when Your Word produces a heat or chill with which I am uncomfortable.

namesake‏

Read Numbers 25 HERE.

It’s a short chapter and it will make you feel better about punting already on your 2013 Bible read-through aspirations.

¹⁰ And theLord said to Moses,¹¹ “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy.¹² Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace,¹³ and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.’”

I adore Phinehas.

I suspect it is likely a result of my cowardice. I look up to strong men who act in confidence and assurance in their pursuit of God. I often hesitate, second-guess, question, wonder, procrastinate, etc…

Phinehas loved God and acted as he saw fit.

One of the most remarkable observations in this passage is that God honors Phinehas. This is a descriptive text, not a prescriptive one. That is to say Phinehas’ actions are not the Biblical prescription on dealing with adultery. However, it describes an event and God’s gavel with regard to it. The verdict? Honorable.

Additionally, I love that Phinehas’ violent act is rewarded by God with a covenant of peace. God offers Phinehas peace in response to Phinehas explosive zeal for God’s honor.

I love Phinehas.

I love that Phinehas loved God.

I love that God loved Phinehas.

I pray my son would grow up to be loved by God, to love Him in return, experience His covenant of peace and rest in Christ as a result of his zeal and exertion to make much of Jesus.

the trials of being alive vs. the trials of being reborn

This morning Chambers had a very powerful reminder of what faith is and isn't in My Utmost for His Highest

Faith by its very nature must be tried, and the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God’s character has to be cleared in our own minds. Faith in its actual working out has to go through spells of unsyllabled isolation. Never confound the trial of faith with the ordinary discipline of life, much that we call the trial of faith is the inevitable result of being alive. Faith in the Bible is faith in God against everything that contradicts Him – I will remain true to God’s character whatever He may do.

Faith is not believing in magic. Faith is believing God. Faith is hearing what God says about Himself, about the world, about us, about you and about His Son and believing it. Believing God will look like something. You are not born believing God. You are not born His child. You are born by nature and soon after by choice in sin and self absorption. In other words, at our conception the self is born. Only later, if by grace you are given faith, you die to this self and are reborn to God in Christ.

In this life we go through many trials and tribulations. Chambers points out that a good deal of these are simply just part of being alive. In these, we are like our neighbor in every way. We are all in this particular dilemma together. However, the trials of faith are unique to those who through faith and by grace persevere in proving that God's Gospel is mighty to save, even someone like you.

Are you so committed to God that you really believe He is both Sovereign and Good? 
Can He do whatever He wants and still receive your gratitude and worship for Who He is? Do you doubt He can do what He wants? 
Do you doubt that what He wants to do is good? 
Always? 

These are the trials of faith. 

When common sense and modern sentiments are in direct conflict with what God says about Himself and you by faith place your lot with Jesus; this is faith. It is not always a simple matter of disbelieving the spirit of the age, but a constant matter of believing that God is Who He says He is.