Tickle My Ears

1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give

you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.3For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. 2 Timothy 1-5

Yesterday, I wrote a “joke” post about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Today, I want to say something serious. I have only ever been to one other country in this world other than the one I live in, the United States of America. Mexico was the lucky host. And frankly, I drank so much on those trips, I have nothing intelligent to say about them. The drinking age in Mexico in the 80’s was 16.   🙂  I just want to thank Audra for getting me back across the border unmolested and alive. You rule, Aud! But one thing I know about America is that satan has done pretty well at setting us up to have our ears tickled, no matter what we want to hear. If your treasure is to be rich, there is a preacher for you. If your treasure is to be powerful, there is a preacher for you, too. But if you want to be like Jesus really was when he was here on earth, there aren’t so many teachers for that. Thank God for the Bible. Read it.

Jesus never owned a home. He certainly didn’t own a car, a good job, or even a faithful wife. Jesus lived as our homeless do now, with the exception of mental illness. He simply preached His Father’s message. He was kind, gentle, humble, and he never lied, even if He knew what you really wanted to hear. He tells you the truth, and you can take that to the bank.

Most of us can pray until our ears fall off, but we aren’t going to be rich. Some of us are going to have health problems and broken marriages, and God will use those to bring more people in the kingdom. But we’ll suffer.  We’ll have children who will rebel, and friends who will betray us with kisses. Life is really hard, and God never promises us it won’t be. But our lives are but a tiny drop of time in an ocean of eternity. Stay faithful. Stay focused. And stay fruitful. Don’t be the person who buried his talent in the dirt. Be the gifted one who took his 4 talents and spun them into 4 more.

Love you, mean it!!

— Bird