Truth That Does Not Tickle the Ears.

*🔥 When the Truth Hurts — A Call to Wake Up.*

*Tuesday, 6 October 2026.*

*🙏 Opening Prayer.*

_Heavenly Father, hallowed be Thy name._

_O Lord, may Your kingdom come. May Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven._

_These are hard words to pray when people are busy playing church. When people are doing the feel-good things, but avoiding the difficult things You have written in Your Word._

_Lord, I have written so many devotions over these past five or six years. Yet every time I open the Scriptures and truly read them, I realise how superficial we can be. We say we follow You, yet so often we fail to do what You have called us to do._

_And Lord, this breaks my heart._

_I know You have called me to make a difference. You have called me to write. You have called me to put out these devotions._

_And when I look around and see brothers and sisters who sincerely believe they are serving You, yet may be walking far from Your will, I become afraid for them._

_Jesus warned us that the way is narrow and that few find it._

_Lord, please have mercy upon us._

_Give us strength to find the truth before it is too late. Give us courage to proclaim the Gospel, to proclaim the truth, even when that truth is uncomfortable._

_How many people have we failed who have already passed from this life? My own mother. My father. Friends who were like brothers and sisters. Dear acquaintances._

_They are gone._

_Whatever choices they made in this life are now finished. There is no opportunity to return and make amends._

_Father, help me to keep doing what You have called me to do._

_Use these devotions to open the eyes of those who sincerely believe they are Your children, but whose lives may not reflect the calling of Christ._

_Open hearts._

_Open minds._

_Open eyes._

_And Lord, forgive me for writing such heavy devotions._

_I know that this burden is not simply mine._

_If these words are truly from You, then let them accomplish what You intend._

_If revival must begin with one person, Lord—let it begin with me._

_May this devotion reach those who need to read it._

_In Jesus' precious name._

_Amen._

*📖 Today's Thought — Four and a Half Decades of Walking in Ignorance.*

I have been walking this Christian road for approximately four and a half decades.

I first became involved in church in my late teens, when I was confirmed in the Methodist Church in Robertsham. Later, while serving in the army, I attended various churches. On some occasions, church attendance was compulsory.

After leaving the army, I became involved with Cornerstone Church, a Baptist church in Bedfordview.

For most of my life, I have tried to be a Christian to the best of my understanding — to the best of my knowledge of the Bible and the light I had at the time.

Now I am sixty-three, going on sixty-four.

And something has changed.

The older I become, the more I read Scripture, and the more deeply I study the writings of men such as Martin Luther, John Bunyan and Charles Spurgeon, the more I begin to realise something uncomfortable.

Perhaps we have lost something.

Perhaps the Church has become comfortable.

Perhaps we have become so accustomed to Christianity as a religious institution that we have forgotten what it means to follow Christ.

The Church was never meant to be merely a building.

It was never meant to be a Sunday club.

It was never supposed to be a religious organisation where people gather together, sing a few songs, listen to a sermon and then return to ordinary life unchanged.

**We are the Church.**

The Church is the body of Christ.

The temple of the Holy Spirit is not ultimately a building made by human hands.

It is us.

And that makes this issue far more serious.

Because if the Church has become complacent, then the problem is not simply out there.

It is in us.

I fear that much of modern Christianity has become focused on what makes people feel good rather than what makes people holy.

We can preach grace without repentance.

We can preach blessing without sacrifice.

We can preach prosperity without obedience.

We can preach acceptance without transformation.

We can speak about Heaven while avoiding the subject of judgment.

And we can become so accustomed to hearing messages that tickle our ears that we no longer recognise the sound of truth when it confronts us.

But this devotion is not written so that I can point a finger at someone else.

God forbid.

The first person who must stand beneath the searching light of God's Word is **me**.

After forty-five years of Christianity, perhaps the question is not:

**"How much do I know about God?"**

Perhaps the question is:

**"How much of what I know am I actually living?"**

That is a much more frightening question.

*🏛️ Church History — When the Church Was Forced to Look in the Mirror.*

Throughout Christian history, God has repeatedly raised men and women who were willing to confront religious complacency.

Martin Luther challenged a religious system that had become deeply corrupted and called the Church back toward Scripture and justification by faith.

John Bunyan wrote The Pilgrim's Progress, portraying the Christian life not as an easy stroll through religious comfort, but as a difficult journey requiring perseverance.

Charles Spurgeon repeatedly warned his hearers that merely attending church, professing Christianity or belonging to a congregation was not proof of genuine conversion.

These men were not perfect.

They were human beings with their own weaknesses, failures and limitations.

But there was something remarkable about many of the voices God used throughout Christian history:

**They were willing to allow the Word of God to confront them before they used it to confront everybody else.**

Perhaps that is one of the things we have lost.

We have become very good at identifying the sins of the world.

But are we equally willing to allow Scripture to expose the sins of the Church?

Are we willing to ask:

**"Lord, where have I become lukewarm?"**

**"Lord, where have I become comfortable?"**

**"Lord, where have I replaced obedience with religious activity?"**

**"Lord, am I following Christ — or merely following Christianity?"**

Those are dangerous questions.

But they may also be saving questions.

*✝️ Scripture One — Revelation 3:15–16.*

> "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
>
> So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." _Revelation 3:15–16, KJV._

*Reflection.*

Jesus did not give this warning to atheists.

He gave it to a church.

That should make every Christian stop and think.

Lukewarm Christianity is dangerous because it can feel like Christianity.

We attend.

We sing.

We give.

We pray.

We read Scripture.

We call ourselves Christians.

Yet Christ asks whether He actually has our hearts.

*Question.*

_Am I genuinely on fire for Christ, or have I simply become comfortable being a Christian?_

*🛠️ Practical Application.*

Do one thing today that costs you something for the sake of Christ.

Forgive someone.

Help someone.

Speak the truth.

Pray for someone who has hurt you.

Give something without expecting recognition.

Obey God in an area where you have been delaying obedience.

*☁️ Heavenly View.*

God does not measure our lives by how impressive our religious activity looks to other people.

He sees the heart.

The applause of people is temporary.

The approval of God is eternal.

*✝️ Scripture Two — Matthew 7:13–14.*

> "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
>
> Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." _Matthew 7:13–14, KJV._

*Reflection.*

Jesus never promised that the majority would be right.

In fact, He warned us about precisely the opposite.

The crowd is not our measuring stick.

Popularity is not proof.

Numbers are not proof.

A full church is not necessarily a faithful church.

A famous preacher is not necessarily a faithful preacher.

And religious activity is not necessarily spiritual obedience.

*Question.*

_If everyone around me is doing something, would I still follow Christ if His Word told me to walk in another direction?_

*🛠️ Practical Application.*

Read the words of Jesus without asking, "How does this make me feel?"

Instead ask:

**"What does Jesus require me to do?"**

*☁️ Heavenly View.*

The narrow road may sometimes feel lonely.

But Heaven is not measuring the number of people walking beside you.

God is concerned with whether you are walking with Him.

*✝️ Scripture Three — 2 Timothy 4:3–4.*

> "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
>
> And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." _2 Timothy 4:3–4, KJV._

*Reflection.*

Paul warned Timothy that people would eventually seek teachers who told them what they wanted to hear.

There is a temptation to build Christianity around what people want rather than what God commands.

A message about blessing is easier to hear than a message about repentance.

A message about success is easier to hear than a message about suffering.

A message about God's love is easier to hear when it never mentions God's holiness.

But the Gospel contains all of it.

Grace.

Mercy.

Repentance.

Judgment.

Forgiveness.

Obedience.

Sacrifice.

Love.

Truth.

*Question.*

_Do I seek God's Word because I want truth — or because I want confirmation of what I already believe?_

*🛠️ Practical Application.*

When reading Scripture today, deliberately pay attention to the passages that make you uncomfortable.

Do not skip them.

Pray over them.

Ask God why they trouble you.

*☁️ Heavenly View.*

God does not need to make His truth comfortable for us.

Sometimes the very Scripture that wounds our pride is the Scripture that saves our soul from destruction.

*✝️ Scripture Four — 2 Corinthians 13:5.*

> "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves." _2 Corinthians 13:5, KJV._

*Reflection.*

Paul does not say, "Examine everybody else."

He says:

**"Examine yourselves."**

Before I condemn the preacher.

Before I condemn the congregation.

Before I condemn the denomination.

Before I condemn modern Christianity.

I need to ask:

**What about me?**

Have I forgiven?

Do I love?

Do I obey?

Do I serve?

Do I repent?

Do I resist sin?

Do I seek Christ when nobody is watching?

*Question.*

_If someone could see my private life — not my church life, not my public life, but my private life — would they see evidence that Christ lives in me?_

*🛠️ Practical Application.*

Spend ten quiet minutes alone with God.

Ask Him:

**"Lord, show me what I do not want to see."**

Then listen.

*☁️ Heavenly View.*

The examination of God is not intended to destroy the genuine believer.

It is intended to expose what must be surrendered.

God's conviction is mercy.

*✝️ Scripture Five — Matthew 7:16.*

> "Ye shall know them by their fruits." _Matthew 7:16, KJV._

*Reflection.*

Jesus did not say we would know His followers by their buildings.

He did not say by their clothing.

He did not say by their titles.

He did not say by the size of their congregations.

He said:

**"By their fruits."**

What grows from my life?

Love?

Joy?

Peace?

Patience?

Kindness?

Goodness?

Faithfulness?

Self-control?

Or pride?

Anger?

Bitterness?

Greed?

Hypocrisy?

Unforgiveness?

*Question.*

_What fruit is actually growing from my life?_

*🛠️ Practical Application.*

Choose one fruit of the Spirit that is weak in your life.

Pray specifically about it.

Then deliberately practise it today.

If patience is weak, practise patience.

If forgiveness is weak, forgive.

If love is weak, deliberately serve someone.

*☁️ Heavenly View.*

A tree does not produce fruit to impress the tree beside it.

It produces fruit because that is what it is.

Likewise, genuine transformation eventually becomes visible.

*✝️ Scripture Six — James 1:22.*

> "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." _James 1:22, KJV._

*Reflection.*

We hear sermons.

We read devotionals.

We watch Christian videos.

We listen to worship music.

We discuss theology.

We quote Scripture.

But what do we **do**?

Knowledge without obedience can become another form of self-deception.

I can know the Bible and still fail to live it.

I can speak about Christ and still fail to follow Him.

*Question.*

_What have I learned from God's Word that I have not yet obeyed?_

*🛠️ Practical Application.*

Take one command of Scripture that you already know and put it into practice today.

Not tomorrow.

Today.

*☁️ Heavenly View.*

Heaven is not impressed by how many Bible verses we can quote.

God desires transformed lives.

The Word is not merely information.

It is an invitation to obedience.

*✝️ Scripture Seven — Matthew 22:37–39.*

> "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
>
> This is the first and great commandment.
>
> And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." _Matthew 22:37–39, KJV._

*Reflection.*

After all the theology.

After all the sermons.

After all the church attendance.

After all the arguments.

After all the denominations.

After all the religious activity.

There remains the command to love God completely and to love our neighbour.

The love of Christ is not weakness.

It is not sentimental Christianity.

Christ's love took Him to the cross.

Real Christian love can require sacrifice.

It can require forgiveness.

It can require courage.

It can require standing for truth even when truth is unpopular.

*Question.*

_Do I genuinely love Christ? And if I say I do, can that love be seen in the way I treat other people?_

*🛠️ Practical Application.*

Find someone today who needs the love of Christ.

Do something for them without seeking recognition.

A phone call.

A meal.

A prayer.

A helping hand.

A word of encouragement.

A sincere act of forgiveness.

*☁️ Heavenly View.*

The world may never notice.

But Heaven does.

The smallest act of genuine love done in obedience to Christ is never wasted.

*📝 Practical Tip — The Mirror Test.*

Tonight, before going to sleep, sit somewhere quiet with your Bible.

Put the telephone aside.

Turn off the television.

And pray one simple prayer:

**"Holy Spirit, show me the truth about myself."**

Then ask yourself seven questions:

1. **Do I genuinely love Jesus Christ?**
2. **Am I obeying what I already know from Scripture?**
3. **What sin am I making excuses for?**
4. **Who do I need to forgive?**
5. **Who needs my help?**
6. **What fruit is my life producing?**
7. **If I stood before Christ today, what would I wish I had changed?**

Do not perform this exercise to condemn yourself.

Perform it to surrender yourself.

Then make one change.

Not seven.

**One.**

And tomorrow, make another.

*❤️ Practical Application — Stop Playing Church.*

Being a Christian is not merely something we **attend**.

It is something we **live**.

If Christ is truly Lord, then He must have access to our money, our relationships, our work, our speech, our anger, our forgiveness, our private lives, our ambitions, our time, our possessions, our choices, our suffering, our future, and even our death.

The question is not:

**"Would I like to die for Jesus?"**

The harder question is:

**"Am I willing to live for Jesus today?"**

Because a person who refuses to live for Christ may find the question of dying for Christ much harder when the moment arrives.

So today:

**Pray truthfully.**

**Read Scripture honestly.**

**Repent quickly.**

**Forgive freely.**

**Love sacrificially.**

**Serve quietly.**

**Speak truthfully.**

**Obey courageously.**

And when you fail — and you will — do not run away from God.

Run toward Him.

*🏃 Daily Exercise — One Act of Obedience.*

Before the day ends, identify one thing that God is asking you to do.

Not ten things.

One.

Write it down.

Pray about it.

Then do it.

It might be apologising.

It might be forgiving.

It might be helping someone.

It might be confessing something.

It might be opening your Bible and finally dealing honestly with a passage you have avoided.

Whatever it is, turn knowledge into obedience.

A small act of obedience is better than a grand intention that never becomes action.

*☁️ Heavenly View — What Does God See?*

We spend so much of our lives looking horizontally.

Who is doing better?

Who is doing worse?

Which church is right?

Which preacher is wrong?

Who is hypocritical?

Who is faithful?

Who deserves judgment?

But Heaven looks deeper.

God sees the heart.

He sees the secret battle nobody knows about.

He sees the prayer whispered when nobody is listening.

He sees the temptation resisted.

He sees the forgiveness that cost you something.

He sees the person you helped without telling anybody.

He sees the tears.

He sees the repentance.

He sees the obedience.

And He also sees the hypocrisy.

He sees the pride behind the religious appearance.

He sees the sin we have hidden.

He sees the things we justify.

He sees everything.

That should frighten us.

But it should also comfort us.

Because the God who sees everything is also the God who offers mercy.

The purpose of this devotion is not to leave us despairing.

It is to wake us up.

There is still breath in our lungs.

There is still time to repent.

There is still time to forgive.

There is still time to love.

There is still time to serve.

There is still time to proclaim Christ.

But one day there will not be.

One day we will stand before Him.

And on that day, religious appearance will mean nothing.

Only truth will remain.

*🙏 Closing Prayer.*

_Heavenly Father, please forgive us._

_As Jesus taught us, forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us._

_O Lord, deliver us from evil._

_Deliver us from the lies of the deceiver._

_Deliver us from spiritual blindness._

_Do not allow our hearts to grow cold._

_Do not allow us to become so arrogant in our reliance upon grace that we forget obedience._

_Please, Lord, give us the strength to examine our hearts and examine our lives._

_Let us look honestly at the fruit we are producing._

_Do we have peace?_

_Do we have love?_

_Do we have patience?_

_Do we have goodness?_

_Most importantly, do we have the love of Christ within us?_

_Lord, are we prepared to stand for the Gospel when standing becomes dangerous?_

_Are we prepared to suffer for Christ?_

_Are we prepared to be rejected?_

_Are we prepared to face persecution?_

_Are we prepared, if necessary, to die rather than deny our Lord?_

_Father, give us that strength._

_Irrespective of our age._

_Irrespective of how long we have served You._

_Irrespective of how much Bible knowledge we possess._

_Renew us._

_Fill us._

_Correct us._

_Change us._

_Let Your Spirit speak to our hearts._

_And Lord, I pray for the Church._

_Not the buildings._

_Not the organisations._

_Not the denominations._

_But Your people._

_Your body._

_Your children._

_Wake us up._

_Bring us back to Your Word._

_Bring us back to repentance._

_Bring us back to holiness._

_Bring us back to the love of Christ._

_Your Word tells us that if Your people, who are called by Your name, humble themselves and pray, seek Your face and turn from their wicked ways, You will hear from heaven, forgive our sin and heal our land._

_Lord, our land is broken._

_South Africa is broken._

_The world is broken._

_There are wars._

_There are rumours of wars._

_There is hatred._

_There is greed._

_There is violence._

_There is suffering._

_And yet, Lord, perhaps the greatest question is not what is wrong with the world._

_Perhaps the question is:_

**_What is wrong with us?_**

_So begin with me, Lord._

_Begin with us._

_Search us._

_Break us where we need breaking._

_Heal us where we need healing._

_Correct us where we have gone astray._

_And use us while we still have breath._

_If revival must begin with one person, Lord—let it begin with me._

_Father, I know this has been a heavy devotion._

_But if these words are from You, let them reach the people who need to hear them._

_Do not let anyone read them merely to condemn another person._

_Let every reader look into the mirror first._

_Let hearts be opened._

_Let eyes be opened._

_Let minds be opened._

_Let repentance begin._

_Let revival begin._

_And if revival must begin with one person, Lord—let it begin with me._

_I ask all of this in the precious and holy name of Jesus Christ._

_Amen._

*🩸 God's Journalist — Cody — Dei Scriptor.*

*Sanguine et Igne Veritas Revelata.*

_Truth Revealed by Blood and Fire._

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