Week Forty-Nine, 2025

“For the time will come when people 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” (2 Timothy 4:3).

“How many are you running?” is a code from one pastor to another which translates to: “How many are attending your church?” It acts as if volume in the pews is the most important thing.

Often, dialogue from the pulpit designed to increase numbers gets in the way of sound doctrine. Too many people go to church to hear what they want to hear. That is more prevalent today than ever—take, for example, the “Name It and Claim It” gospel.

Paul wrote a sound warning to Timothy, saying that a time will come when people will want something other than sound doctrine. Instead, they will want to hear only what pleases them. He speaks of “itching ears,” where people seek teachers who confirm their own desires rather than offering biblical truth.

This term comes from 2 Timothy 4:3–4, which states that people will “gather around them a great number of teachers who say what their itching ears want to hear” because they will not put up with sound teaching. This describes individuals who desire messages that affirm their own lifestyle and desires, rather than messages that challenge them to change. This passage warns against false teachers who, in their greed, exploit people with deceptive words.

We should compare the Word of God to a doctor delivering an accurate diagnosis: it is the necessary truth, even if it is not what the patient wants to hear. The true nature of God’s Word prioritizes truth over comfort to bring conviction and a path to change. True listening means having no agenda and being prepared to be told to do things that may be inconvenient.

I want a pastor who tells the truth and preaches the Gospel, even if it makes me squirm in my seat. I want to hear a Gospel message that may not always be what I want to hear, but what I need to hear.

A sign of spiritual maturity is a hunger for God’s Word and an increased awareness of actions that do not please Him.

How about you?

Sometimes True Stories

THE ARMOR PRAYER:

Dear God, today we put on the full armor to guard our lives against attack.

We put on the Belt of Truth to protect against lies and deception.

We put on the Breastplate of Righteousness to protect our hearts from the temptations we battle.

We put the Gospel of Peace on our feet, so we’re ready to take Your light wherever You send us this day.

We choose to walk in the peace and freedom of Your Spirit and not be overcome with fear and anxious thoughts.

We take up Your Shield of Faith that will extinguish all the darts and threats hurled our way by the enemy. We believe in Your power to protect us and choose to trust in You.

We put on the Helmet of Salvation, which covers our minds and thoughts, reminding us we are children of the day—forgiven, set free, and saved by the grace of Christ Jesus.

We take up the Sword of the Spirit, Your very Word, the one offensive weapon given to us for battle which has the power to demolish strongholds. It is alive, active, and sharper than any double-edged sword.

We ask for Your help in remembering to put on Your full armor every day, for You give us all that we need to stand firm in this world.

Forgive us, God, for the times we’ve been unprepared, too busy to care, or trying to fight and wrestle in our own strength.

Thank You that we never fight alone, for You are constantly at work on our behalf—shielding, protecting, strengthening, exposing deeds of darkness, bringing to light what needs to be known, and covering us from the cruel attacks we face even when we’re unaware.

In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen. —Rob Taylor

Quotes You Can Use

The name of Jesus Christ is hell’s terror, heaven’s delight, and the earth’s hope. —Charles Spurgeon

You don’t know who you are until you know God, and you don’t know how to live until you have settled the question of how to die. —Alistair Begg

Prayer isn’t about your circumstances. It’s about who God is.

Worship should be designed to please God. —R.C. Sproul

Be a free thinker and don’t accept everything you hear as truth. Be critical and evaluate what you believe in. —Aristotle

It doesn’t matter what you think about it. The Bible is true whether you accept it or not. —Billy Graham

The worst sort of clever men are those who know better than the Bible. —C.H. Spurgeon

Don’t trust everything you see. Even salt looks like sugar. In this wicked world, discernment is key.

Both optimists and pessimists contribute to society. The optimist invents the airplane while the pessimist invents the parachute. —George Bernard Shaw.

Don’t bother to give God instructions. Just report for duty. —Corrie ten Boom

I want to be so full of Christ that if a mosquito bites me, it flies away singing there is power in the blood.

When people come into your life like a non-stop rain, remember that God is always your umbrella.

Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error. —Cicero

The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion. —Paulo Coelho

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