Category: truth

Imitate Love

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Ephesians tells us to “be imitators of God”. I don’t know any other way to imitate God than to study Who He is through His Word (the Bible). The sentence continues in verse 2 which tells us to “walk in love”. The word love in verse two is the same as the word beloved in verse one. Beloved children should be giving the same love we have received.

I think we get confused about what love really is. Jesus’ love caused Him to sit with “publicans and sinners”. His love also fiercely rebuked the Pharisees. God’s love must be truthful. The full extent of God’s love doesn’t fit in a full set of encyclopedias, let alone a short blog post. I recommend continued study of the Bible to learn more about God’s love.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love and the examples we have in Your Word.  Please help us to imitate You. Give us the desire to present ourselves as :a fragrant offering and sacrifice”.

I pray this in Jesus name.

God is so good.

Nothing But the Truth

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I know I have made several posts about the truth.  We live in a time when people want to make truth relative.  Thankfully, God has defined truth according to His own character. 

Proverbs frequently talks about the righteous and their behavior.  Hating lies should be an easy one to identify.  However, even those of us who follow Christ can have blind spots.  A blind spot shows a lack of knowledge of the truth.  Thankfully God has made it possible to see through the lens of His Word and those who faithfully teach it.

Dear Heavenly Father, please help me to identify the blind spots in my life. Please guide me to the truth in Your Word so I can live in a way that honors You.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.

What is The Truth?

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Truthful lips endure forever,
    but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil,
    but those who promote peace have joy.
 The Lord detests lying lips,
    but He delights in people who are trustworthy. 

Proverbs 12:19-20, 22

We face many lies in society and sadly sometimes in the church today.  Some are more obvious than others.  I was listening to a podcast recently that talked about lies and slander.  The comment was made that compliments given via manipulation are really lies.  We need to have honest motives behind everything we do. 

I need to continue to take myself back to Scripture to see what God has for me.  As I pray and humble myself before God, He will guide me towards truth. I will be more equipped to recognize lies and better prepared to handle the challenges surrounding the lies.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the truth in Your Word.  Please guide me to truth every day in every interaction.  I want to be a beacon of truth.  Please help me to encourage others to do the same.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.

The Fool’s Way or Wisdom

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We live in a society of “do it your way”.  People talk about “your truth vs. my truth.”  The Bible tells us that only fools follow their own way.  When it comes to advice, we find what we want to hear.  Those who know Jesus Christ have the ministry of the Holy Spirit to guide them to wisdom.  We have the discernment to know wise counsel.  I hope to keep learning what God wants and look less at what I want.

Dear Heavenly Father, please help me to continue to seek your way.  I want true wisdom and wise counsel.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.

Uncomplicated

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I have talked the last couple weeks about trusting in Jesus Christ to save us from our sins.  Some think that to have a relationship with God, there is a difficult formula to manage.  No, it is very simple.  Romans 10:9-10 tell us that it is as simple as confession (saying, “I’m sorry”) and belief that God has done what He says.  Jesus did the hard work when He died on the cross.  He took the penalty on Himself. 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for providing such a simple way to have a relationship with You.  You are worthy of all worship, but You made a way for us to come to You.  I praise Your name.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.

Freedom in Truth

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The information age has so much information, but I’m not convinced we have enough truth.  We are strong willed and opinionated and think we are wise in discerning what we read and hear.  We cannot discern the truth without the help of God.  The Bible is filled with God’s truth (the only truth) and the way to wisdom.  We cannot access the truth of God unless we have placed our trust in His Son, Jesus Christ (read the book of Romans). 

Sadly, even those who claim to know Jesus Christ fall into the trap of misunderstanding and misinformation.  We need to daily ask God to give us wisdom and discernment to know how to process what we have seen and heard.  Daily, hourly, minute by minute – not just every once in a while.  We need frequent resets to make sure our hearts and minds are in the right place.  God can then lead us down the path to truth and understanding. 

If we don’t take this path, we are bound by the fear that comes from lies.  That is no life to live.  The remedy for fear is the truth that will set you free.

Dear Heavenly Father, we have been bombarded with mixed information about what is happening in our world.  We need Your truth.  Please help us to seek it.  Please help us to find it.  Thank You for the freedom You provide through truth.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.

What is Right?

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My church started a new Bible study in Judges on Wednesday evening.  I can find many correlations between the world then and now.  We read that, “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes,” (Judges 17:6; 21:25).  The same is going on in our world today.  The only remedy is to find a proper foundation.  The Bible tell us that people are sinful.  It isn’t hard to believe that when we look at what we see.  Unfortunately, we find it much easier to look at someone else through our own viewpoint to see their flaws instead of looking for our own.  If we were to work on our own flaws first, we might see a change for the better in society.  The only way to do that is to have a proper foundation.

God’s way is perfect.  The God of the Bible, not the gods so many have made up. The verse today reminds us that God’s word has been proven to be true.  Too many don’t want to believe in God without verifying what He has done.  God is faithful, good, true, perfect.  All good character traits when we see them correctly. 

I continue to pray that those who know God through Jesus Christ remember to seek God’s way.  I pray for those who don’t know God to learn Who He truly is.  He is worthy and worth it.

Dear Heavenly Father, please guide us to Your way.  Thank You for the truth and perfection of Your way.  Please help me to share Your truth often. 

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.

Christmas Truth

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I fear the concept of truth has been taking hits for many years.  We confuse opinion with truth.  We have to form opinions – it is in our nature, but I think we need to be careful about the basis for our opinions. 

One thing I know for sure is that Jesus, Who is God, came to earth to be born as a baby.  He grew up to die to save us from our sins.  Many in the world today do not know the truth of Jesus. This has caused us to be at war with each other.  If we were to focus on and cling to Jesus Christ, we could stop the warring.  Jesus is the only way to peace.

I enjoy Christmas songs that remind us of this truth.  One is the song “Glorious Light” by Keith & Kristyn Getty and Ian Hannah. 

Glorious light! see the dawn of Salvation:
Angels in white fill the skies with their wondrous song;
Awakening earth with news of His birth;
Join the hymn of the highest heavens!

Long has the world fought the song of the angels.
Heavenly music is drowned by a warring world;
Yet hope burns a light, that shatters the night;
Turn your heart to the call of glory!

Glory to God in the highest!
Peace to men on earth.
Come and adore Him with wonder –
Christ Lord of Heaven and earth.

Keith & Kristyn Getty and Ian Hannah

As I have said before, I pray you know Jesus.  He is the only way to have peace and joy.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus. Thank You for the beautiful music many have written about Your Son.  Please open eyes to the truth of Who Jesus truly is.  Please help me to be an instrument of that truth.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.

Christmas Opinion

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There can be no surprise that opinions abound regarding Christmas, just as they do with most things.  As I have stated many times in my writing, I believe in the Bible as a solid foundation.  The Bible tells us the origins of Christmas.  The real deal – not something made up.  I know not everyone believes the Bible, but I have found the Bible to be true and trustworthy. 

The Bible tells us that we are sinners.  We have chosen to do wrong, hurtful things (Romans 3:10).  The Bible tells us there is a punishment for wrong (Romans 6:23).  The punishment is more than we can pay – we can only be saved by faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The verse I posted today tells us about Christmas.  When the time God chose came, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be born of Mary.  Jesus grew up to die on the cross.  His shed blood paid the penalty for our sin (Hebrews 9:22).  This makes it possible for us to be a part of God’s family.  Those of us who have trusted in Christ know the joy of becoming God’s child.  I pray you will learn this if you have not. There is no greater joy.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Jesus to be born to pay the penalty for our sin.  Please help me to share this joy with others.  I want to see them come to know You and the joy only You can bring.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.

Christmas Right Here

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Can you believe it is already December?  At times this year it felt like the days were dragging, but now we have begun the last month of 2020.

In this last month of the year, I want to focus on the gospel at Christmas.  Some have said that Christmas is only a commercial time when retailers take advantage of people and feed greed.  While greed is a reality, so is generosity.  Negative happens, so why don’t we combat negativity with some positive truth?

The truth is that because we are sinners, Jesus Christ came to earth to be born under humble circumstances.  He grew up to die on the cross for our sins.  He chose to become a man and suffer the same way we do.  The difference is that He never sinned. That is part of the glory John 1:14 is talking about.  Due to the grace and truth that comes from God the Father, we can have hope and joy for the future. 

If you do not know Jesus Christ according to what the Bible says, then I hope you will seek the truth.  I am happy to share what God has taught me.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to a humble birth so I can know grace and truth. Please help me to share this with everyone I meet.  I want them to know the joy that only comes from knowing You.

I pray this in Jesus’ name.

God is so good.