“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free ….. If the Son therefore shall make you free , ye shall be free indeed.”–John 8:32, 36

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way , the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”— John 14:6

It is a sad fact that far too many important decisions are based on tradition or taste, personal preference, than on the truth. We have a bad habit of throwing commonsense out the window when we try to defend our desires or prove our prejudices. We base our conclusions and pin our hopes on what we want to believe rather than the truth. We go with our feelings rather than the facts. The examples are many.

I was born and raised in Springfield, Mo. (“the Queen City of the Ozarks”), attended Central High School, rooted for the St. Louis Cardinals, and idolized Stan “the man” Musial. I’ve often, tongue-in-cheek, referred to Springfield as “the Holy Land”, but that doesn’t make it so. I simply wanted to express my fondness for the city in a way that would get attention– and when you live in Texas it does! The fact is Springfield had/has a lot of room for improvement, the Central High Bulldogs were not always the best team in town, the Cards didn’t always win the World Series, and Stan the man didn’t have the best stats in baseball. Saying they are my favorites is one thing, proving they are the best is another. The team or town you root for and support might be your favorite, but that doesn’t make them best. The record speaks for itself.

Now, none of this stuff really matters–but some things do! Here’s the problem. Some people choose their religion like they choose their favorite ball team, etc. Rather than making sure they are right they support whatever appeals to them. Their belief system and/or choice of a church isn’t based on the truth, but rather on taste—personal preference. They base their eternal destiny on their feelings rather than the facts. And that doesn’t end well.

Several years ago I made one of the most stupid statements anyone could make. Before I became a Christian, and totally ignorant of the Bible, someone ask me about my beliefs about God. It was obvious that I wasn’t a Christian and this person was trying to witness to me. My response was, “I’m satisfied with what I believe about God”. There were a couple of problems with that. First, I didn’t know what I believed about God. I was simply trying to avoid the subject. Second, and more to the point, me being satisfied with my beliefs didn’t make them right, nor did it make me safe. And the same is true of you. What God thinks is all that matters. He alone is the Judge.

When we are talking about heaven and hell we better make certain that what we believe is true. Being sincere about or satisfied with your beliefs isn’t good enough. Even if all roads led to Rome, all religions do not lead to heaven. It does make a difference what you believe. It is not a matter of you being satisfied, but whether or not God is satisfied. Salvation is not in religion, but in the Redeemed. Christ alone is the way to eternal life!

“Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established . Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.” — Prov. 4:26-27

Have you ever made a wrong turn? I bet you have. And I bet you would agree that the quicker you find out the better it is. Several years ago I turned in the wrong direction and drove over 30 minutes before I discovered my error. Since the plan was to be on the lake fishing before sunrise, by the time I got to the lake it was well past daybreak. While it might be that you haven’t wasted that much time by taking a wrong turn, I doubt that anyone can say they’ve never taken a wrong turn. Whether you traveled a few blocks or many miles it wasn’t something you want to repeat. But, wrong turns can happen in ways other than driving. You can apply this to many different areas of life.

Some folks could stand and testify that one wrong turn changed the course of their life for the rest of their life—- they married the wrong person, took the wrong job, made the wrong investment, etc. Point is—we can do somethings that we can’t ever undo. In other cases, after a wrong turn the consequences could be avoided if correction is made in time. There’s an old song called, “I’m on the right road now”. I wish that was true of everyone. Sadly some people have failed to correct their course and they are still on the wrong road.

How is it with you? Did you take a wrong turn? Are you on the right road? Have you considered where the road will lead? Have you thought about how you got on the wrong road— error in judgment, outright rebellion, following someone else,? Have you thought about what you need to do to get back on the right track? One more question– When will you do it?  I can assure you, the sooner the better! While how it happened might be important as related to how you get back on track, it shouldn’t stop you from doing so. If you are wrong nothing should stop you from getting right. It would be foolish for you to stay on the wrong road because someone wronged you, misled you, or joined with you. Regardless of how you got there, the consequences are the same. If you don’t turn around you will make a wreck of your life, and the chances are that you won’t be the only one who gets hurt. Think about where you’re headed and correct your course before it is too late. Think about it! Please!

“ And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and grayheaded ; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day.” 1 Samuel 12:2
Like most people my age, I occasionally think about the faults and failures of my past and wish I had done better. Although I can’t change the past, I can learn from it and use it to help others– if they will give heed. I’ve often said, someday some young person will decide to listen to and learn from their elders, without thinking they must experience things for themselves, and it will make a world of difference. So with that in mind, here is some great advice from the pen of the late J. R. Miller— hopefully “some young person” will read and heed this:

“Old age is the test of life. It is the harvest of all the life’s sowing. In its evening shadows, the deeds of all the past years appear at their real value. All life’s memories gather about the old man’s last days, and make either sweetness or bitterness for him. It is a great thing to be able to stand up in old age, and face all one’s past without a blush, and challenge everyone to witness if anything wrong is known.

Nothing but well-lived years all along life’s way, can yield such a happy consciousness in old age. We must begin in early youth—to grow old; that is, to grow into the beauty and sweetness which we all want to have in our character, when we become old. If we would be able to face our own past without blushing, when we reach seventy years—we must not do anything during the seventy years that we shall be ashamed to face. If we would be able to challenge the scrutiny of the world, turning the light on every chapter of our life, every page and line—we must be careful that we leave nothing behind us as we go on, which anyone can bring up against us. It was because that from a child, Samuel had served God, and had been exemplary in his conduct—honest, faithful, and upright in all his dealings—that he could now so confidently appeal to his record.”

Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee– Isaiah 49:15

“Before the mountains were brought forth , or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.!” Psalm 90:2

O my soul! Seek to fill yourself with thoughts of the Almighty. Lose yourself in the impenetrable tracts of His Glory!

“Can you by searching find out God?”
Can the insect fathom the ocean?
Can the worm scale the skies?
Can the finite comprehend the Infinite?
Can the mortal grasp Immortality?
We can do no more than stand on the brink of the shoreless sea, and cry, “Oh the depth!”

“From everlasting to everlasting, You are God!”
Shrouded in the great and amazing mystery of eternity,
before one star revolved in its sphere,
before one angel moved his wing–God was!
His own infinite presence filling all space. All time, to Him, is but as the heaving of a breath–the beat of a pulse–the twinkling of an eye! He was as infinitely glorious when He inhabited the solitudes of immensity alone–as He is now with the songs of angel and archangel sounding in His ear!

This is the Being to whom I can look up with sweetest confidence, and call “My Father!”

This is the Infinite One, whom “the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain,” whom I call “My God!”  —John MacDuff

“For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.!” Psalm 48:14