Tag: Truth

Posted on

Ties and Lies

Daily Reading

1Kings 21-22

Daily Thought

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and Ahab, king of Israel, went to war together against the Syrians. Before the battle, however, Jehoshaphat insisted on hearing from God, so Ahab called his 400 prophets, prophets who always told him what he wanted to hear, and they spoke as they always spoke, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king” (1Kings 22:6).

I coached my son’s T-ball team. The parents in charge decided not to keep score in this league. Every game would end in a tie. It will make the kids happy, they said. We played a game and we tied (they said). On the way home in the car, my son frowned, “We lost 8-3.” He knew the score. Every kid knew the score. Of every game. (So did the parents.) 

“So, why did they tell us we tied?” my son frowned. You know what made him sad? The lie, not the score.

Jehoshaphat knew the score. He knew the king’s prophets wanted the king happy. “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” 

“Micaiah,” Ahab admitted, “but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.” (1Kings 22:7-8). 

He was correct–“The Lord has declared disaster for you,” declared Micaiah (1Kings 22:23). 

When you hear the truth and it is not to your liking, you have two choices: change the truth or change your plans. Ahab preferred to change the truth, but he knew the score. Disaster! Still he decided to fight, “I will disguise myself and go into battle” (1Kings 22:30). Ahab believed the word of the Lord enough to disguise himself, but not enough to change his plans. 

“At evening he died.” ~1Kings 22:35 

Daily Prayer

My Lord and Savior, the Truth is I am a sinner and I need a Savior. I need You. You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The world does not like the truth, preferring darkness over light, preferring to hear what they want to hear. We would rather hear that I’m okay and you’re okay, that everything will work out in the end. But it won’t. Telling the Truth is dangerous. You told it anyway, and You were crucified.

But death could not stop the Truth. You rose again, and offered salvation to all who follow You. The Truth sets me free from the power of sin and death. May I love Your Truth, stand for the Truth, desire Truth and share Truth.  I know the score. I am a sinner and I deserve death. I need a Savior. That is the Truth.

Amen

Daily Question

When is it okay, if ever, to change the truth so you can say what others want to hear?

Posted on

Simple Certainty

Daily Reading

Jeremiah 38-41

Daily Thought

Jeremiah’s prophetic warning is summarized in one proclamation: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day’” (Jeremiah 39:16). 

That day arrives and Judah at long last falls to Babylon. 

It is recorded in a perfunctory cadence, “In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem and besieged it. In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city” (Jeremiah 39:1-2). 

There is no joy in judgment, but a simple certainty that God is true to his word. The same applies not only in judgment, but salvation as well: “But I will deliver you on that day” (Jeremiah 39:17), declares the Lord to Jeremiah, short and sweet.

And there is found the joy, a simple certainty that God is true to his word.

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up. ~1Thessalonians 5:9-11

Trust God–it’s that simple.

Daily Prayer

My God, thank You so much for salvation, saving me from the judgment I deserve. The future is certain, but whether certain of judgment or salvation is up to me and Who I follow. I choose You.

May my life lead others to follow You, as well. God, Your Word is true, and it is good.

Amen

Daily Question

Why did you choose to follow Jesus?

Posted on

Silence of the Lamb

Daily Reading

Isaiah 49-53

Daily Thought

Isaiah, in describing the coming Messiah, the Servant of the Lord, emphasizes his silence, the silence of the sacrificial lamb.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth. ~Isaiah 53:7

In a debate, I cherish the last word, the snappy comeback, the perfect counter punch that stuns and silences my adversary. “Pilate asked Jesus, ‘Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?’ But he gave him no answer, not to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed” (Matthew 27:13-14). Jesus was silent. He did not desire nor require the last word. 

Sometimes silence is the better statement. 

The work of Jesus was not to be argued in Pilate’s court, but accomplished on the cross. Actions speak louder: “Jesus yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’” (Matthew 27:50-54). 

Ah, there it is, the last Word.

Daily Prayer

God, My Savior, You who made the heavens, placed the stars, grew the mountains, filled the seas, You became the servant of man, the lamb of sacrifice, and suffered for my salvation. You showed Your glory through humility, Your majesty through affliction, Your wisdom through the cross.

On the cross, Your Son cried, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” I, on the other hand, am amazed that You pursue me? Who am I, O God, that You would show me grace and mercy, forgiveness and salvation? You are forever to be worshiped. You are my joy, my strength, my life.

Amen

Daily Question

What are the best ways to convince someone of the truth of Jesus Christ?

Posted on

Cotton Candy

Daily Reading

Isaiah 28-30

Daily Thought

I admit, I like cotton candy. It is one of the childhood delights we keep as adults. It is fun food. Well, maybe not food–I looked up the recipe. The ingredients include 5 cups of granulated sugar, 1-⅓ cups of light corn syrup, 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of water, food color paste, flavored oil, and baking spray. It then listed serving size 28g, calories 180, carbohydrates 28g, dietary fiber 0, sugars 28g.

This all added up to the bottom line, “Nutritional Value: Zero.” It said that on the label. You cannot live on cotton candy. You will die if you try to live on cotton candy.

Prophets are not elected or appointed. They do not inherit the role or take it by force. They are assigned by God and their task is to tell the Truth. They speak the Word of the Lord, and for that, they are accountable only to God. This means they do not have to please the people, and often they do not. Isaiah has been speaking to “a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the Lord; who say to the seers, ‘Do not see,’ and to the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions’” (Isaiah 30:9-10).

Rebellious people want cotton candy. For dinner.

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth” (2Timothy 4:3-4). 

We still do, and we are starving to death.

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, may I keep my eyes on You, the author of life. Because of my rebellion, You took the cross. You traveled the difficult road, You did not give in to the delightful temptations of Satan, but drank the cup of crucifixion. I have got to quit giving in.

There is this overflowing joy in Your Kingdom, and I long to drink from it, but I keep trading it in for things that are fun but don’t last. Yours is the Name above every Name, but not always the popular Name. No matter, I will at all times pursue the joy of Heaven, even during the times it’s not fun on earth.

Amen

Daily Question

What is it about Truth that people don’t like? 

Posted on

God’s Prophet

Daily Reading

Isaiah 5-8

Daily Thought

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me” (Isaiah 6:8).

Isaiah speaks for God to a nation in judgment. He sings a song to Judah of a beautiful vineyard full of grapes gone bad. Past the point of pruning, it is time to uproot:

And now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedge,
and it shall be devoured;
I will break down its wall,
and it shall be trampled down.
I will make it a waste;
it shall not be pruned or hoed. ~Isaiah 5:5-6

God gives six reasons why, “Woe to those who…” delivered by his prophet Isaiah, repeated six times (Isaiah 5:8, 11, 18, 20 21, 22). Judah, having rejected God, lives in a world turned downside up, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).

There is a seventh woe, but it comes not from God, rather from Isaiah toward himself. A vision of the holiness of God confronts Isaiah with his own sinfulness, and he cries: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5). God’s prophet is humbled in the presence of the righteousness of God, and, in this moment, God’s prophet receives grace. Isaiah’s unclean lips are purified when “one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for’” (Isaiah 6:6-7).

The prophet is prepared to bring God’s Word to the nation. Truth must be spoken with courage and clarity, and always by a heart humbled, by a soul touched with the grace of God.

Daily Prayer

Righteous God, You are good and Your Words bring life. May I be one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness. If something is wrong, may I be a defender of right, a defender of justice. May I be one who speaks up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of the broken and the poor and the needy.

Knowing Your goodness, experiencing Your grace, I will speak truth, Your Word, to the world around me.

Amen

Daily Question

Are you prepared to share God’s Word with others?

Posted on

What Is Truth?

Daily Reading

Proverbs 22-23

Daily Thought

There are things more important than money. “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold” (Proverbs 22:1). Place no price tag on your reputation; it is not for sale. Pursue integrity and honesty, delight in truth and wisdom. “Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding” (Proverbs 23:23). Find truth and keep it, says Proverbs. 

Pilate infamously asked, “What is truth?” (John 18:38), and humanity has forever sought the answer. Embroidered on the gates guarding Harvard Yard is the Latin word, “Veritas”—Truth. It is the motto of Harvard University; Harvard seeks the answer to Pilate’s question. I walked under those gates (a visitor, not a student), and was greeted by a statue of a seated John Harvard. Except it wasn’t. A plaque states, “John Harvard, Founder, 1638.” Nope, it’s not John–a model stood in. Besides John was not the founder, but he did contribute a LOT of money. In 1636, not 1638. One statue, three lies.  Truth was sold. Alas, the gates that proclaim “Truth” could not keep it.

Truth eluded Pilate because he was a politician looking for something he could use, but truth is something you serve, in truth, some One you follow. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Truth was standing right in front of him.

Daily Prayer

Dear God, I love reading Your Word. I learn so much about You, and about me. Frankly,  I don’t always love learning about me, but I have learned to love the Truth and Your Word is Truth. It reveals Your glory and it exposes my sin. As painful as that often is, God, it is good because it leads me to Your grace, which returns me to Your glory.

God, even while I reject You and rebel against You, You love me so much that You seek me out. You expose my sin with Truth, not to condemn me, but to turn my heart back to You. It opens the door for Your love and grace. I love Truth, God. I love You.

Amen

Daily Question

What is Truth?

Posted on

Something Old

Daily Reading

2Timothy 1-4

Daily Thought

Seinfeld, Season 9, Episode 10: Frank Costanza, father of George, explains the holiday of Festivus to Kramer. “Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way.”

“What happened to the doll,” asked Kramer.

“It was destroyed… but out of that,” Frank’s face lit up, “a new holiday was born. A Festivus for the rest of us!”

The teacher Paul is approaching the end of his life, and warns the student Timothy, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2Timothy 4:3-4).

Festivus is a myth, but so is a holiday about iPads and X-boxes and Batmans and Barbies. Because of the madness Christmas has become, Frank Costanza invented something new, but would have been better off celebrating something old.

“Behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” ~Luke 2:10-11

Daily Prayer

Wonderful God, Savior of the World, You are King of kings, Lord of lords, born in a manger, died on a cross, raised on the third day, coming again to bring Your Kingdom of peace and righteousness.

You are the reason for the season. May every knee bow and every tongue confess that You are God, Savior and Lord.

Amen

Posted on

The Call

Daily Reading

Acts 21-23

Daily Thought

Paul had been a good Jew, a devout scholar, a Pharisee “educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers” (Acts 22:3). He believed Jesus to be a fraud and rightly crucified, and all who followed Jesus deserved the same. “I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women” (Acts 22:4).

Then, suddenly, on the road to pursue Christians in the city of Damascus, a bright light streamed from heaven and flooded Paul’s path of persecution. The beam from heaven blinded him to the visible world and opened his eyes to things unseen. Paul, now on his knees, was introduced to his Savior. Jesus, put to death as a would-be Messiah, is alive and seated on the throne of heaven. This changes everything and it changed Paul. Paul asked, “Who are you, Lord?” and once that question had been asked and answered, a second must follow, “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10). The truth of Jesus is more than a matter of belief, it is a call to action.

Daily Prayer

God, open my eyes to the Truth. Do not let be enamored and deceived by what glitters in this world, but may I always delight in the glory of heaven. I know who You are because You made Yourself known. I’m now responsible for what I know, but it is no burden, it is the greatest privilege and pleasure of my life. I now look to You to show me what to do, and whatever You say, I will say, “Yes”; wherever You lead, I will go.

Amen

Posted on

What Is Truth?

Daily Reading

Proverbs 22-23

Daily Thought

There are things more important than money. “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold” (Proverbs 22:1). Place no price tag on your reputation; it is not for sale. Pursue integrity and honesty, delight in truth and wisdom. “Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding” (Proverbs 23:23). Find truth and keep it, says Proverbs. 

Pilate infamously asked, “What is truth?” (John 18:38), and humanity has forever sought the answer. Embroidered on the gates guarding Harvard Yard is the Latin word, “Veritas”—Truth. It is the motto of Harvard University; Harvard seeks the answer to Pilate’s question. I walked under those gates (a visitor, not a student), and was greeted by a statue of a seated John Harvard. Except it wasn’t. A plaque states, “John Harvard, Founder, 1638.” Nope, it’s not John–a model stood in. Besides John was not the founder, but he did contribute a LOT of money. In 1636, not 1638. One statue, three lies.  Truth was sold. Alas, the gates that proclaim “Truth” could not keep it.

Truth eluded Pilate because he was a politician looking for something he could use, but truth is something you serve, in truth, some One you follow. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Truth was standing right in front of him.

Daily Prayer

Dear God, I love reading Your Word. I learn so much about You, and about me. Frankly,  I don’t always love learning about me, but I have learned to love the Truth and Your Word is Truth. It reveals Your glory and it exposes my sin. As painful as that often is, God, it is good because it leads me to Your grace, which returns me to Your glory.

God, even while I reject You and rebel against You, You love me so much that You seek me out. You expose my sin with Truth, not to condemn me, but to turn my heart back to You. It opens the door for Your love and grace. I love Truth, God. I love You.

Amen

Posted on

Truth

Daily Reading

Psalm 119:89-176

Daily Thought

There is a reason to pay attention to the law of God and follow his commandments, and it is not because they work. Well, it is not only because they work, because they do, and that is good, but it goes deeper than that. They work because they are established by the Creator, they serve his will and reflect his ways. When I follow them I reflect him. I become godly. They make me “wiser than my enemies” and give me “more understanding than all my teachers” (Psalm 119:98-99). Bottom line, they are the bottom line; they are true and they are Truth.

The Law begins with “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5), ends with “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18), and everything in between reflects one or the other or both. No gods, but God; no idols; don’t use God’s name in vain; keep the Sabbath; honor your father and mother; do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not covet what your neighbor has.

I do not follow God because it benefits me, but it benefits me to follow God. I follow God because he is God. “But,” you ask, “isn’t that circular reasoning?” You bet it is, and God gets to do that. Truth is truth because it is. It does not have to defend itself; disobey it often enough and you will crash right into it. Obey it and you will know God.

Oh how I love your law!
It is my meditation all the day. ~Psalm 119:97

When have you mastered a foreign language? I’m told that you truly know a language when you use it until you no longer translate it, you simply read and speak and hear and do and even dream in the foreign language, which then is no longer foreign.

Daily Prayer

My God in heaven, You established the earth and all that is in it and all of it’s ways, You are my Beginning and my End. I have life because of You and live life for You. Your word expresses Your desires and delights; may they be mine, as well. I empty my heart of You when I sin; fill it again. Teach me to love anew because I spend too much time loving only myself. Teach me to love others like I love myself.

May I truly love You with all of my heart, all of my soul, all of my strength, all of my mind.

Amen