“I am not ready for death,” my friend from the Maghreb told me.

“Why?” I asked, curious to uncover his reasons so we could discuss them, and biblical truth, further.

“Because I am not ready to stand before God when I die,” my friend replied.

“Where did you learn that you instantly stand before God in judgment when you die?” I inquired.

“That is what my former religion taught. That is what I was told is taught in Hebrews. And I was instructed that is what the Bible teaches and what Christians believe,” he answered, surmising a widespread misconception among Christians today.

Thus went the recent conversation between myself and my Maghrebi friend, who converted from Islam to Christianity. As we talked about God, death and the soul, he repeated the shared beliefs of most Christians — beliefs he was taught, but not necessarily the teachings of the Bible.

While discussing what the Bible teaches about God, death, the final judgment and some other biblical truths that have been distorted, I see my friend struggling, wanting the conversation to end. Why does biblical truth seem so hard to believe and accept, even after it has been shown in Scripture? Why do we usually cling so tightly to what we have been taught?

God did not design us to doubt the word of God but to believe. He did not create us to question whether His words are true or false. He never intended for us to accept what someone else had to say instead of what He has said.

Satan has greatly twisted the truth. People read that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, but their concept of truth is based upon a plethora of opinions of what that truth is, opinions on what the Bible states. When we begin learning that something we had believed to be true is not and then have to shift our minds to believing something different, it can be a struggle to make that change in thinking. Even within our own lives, that struggle is common.

We need the Holy Spirit to help us make the paradigm shift. We must be willing to listen and follow Him as He leads.

The enemy makes it hard to accept the truth because he knows that when someone comes to a correct understanding of God’s word, they will be set free in Jesus. Jesus desires to break the chains of doubt, deception and lies. He wants to set each of us free. He longs for people to know who He is.

Please continue praying for the unreached and those that are being reached now. It is a hard struggle to accept God’s truth after being trapped under the enemy’s lies for so long.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Because of you, people are learning who God truly is and are being set free.

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