Nothing good happens after midnight, or so the saying goes. And Ephesians 5:11 warns us, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness.” Darkness and wickedness go hand and hand…and they like it that way. For evil is more comfortable in the dark…because it naively thinks no one can see. That’s why men love darkness instead of light…it shines forth brightly with truth and all their deception, lies, and falsehoods are laid bare for all to see. The penetrating beacon of God’s truth is absolute, transcendent, and divinely revealed to those who willingly come into the light.
Tag: truth
Galatians 4:16 ” Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?”
Sometimes, the truth hurts. It’s not that we don’t already know we’re on the wrong path…it’s when it’s brought to the light of day by someone else that we squirm. For when someone is bold and loving enough to confront us openly and honestly…we need to not react, but to listen. It’s called speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). It’s genuine love, not wanting to wound, but sincerely desiring spiritual growth in the other person.
I Corinthians 13:6 ” Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”
We have become so accustomed to hearing half-truths, falsehoods, and the spinning of the account to serve ones self…it’s hard to identify truth from lies now a days. Selfish love deliberately mixes truth with falsehoods to best serve the present situation. They conveniently leave out details that might incriminate or point the finger to them…having no regard for others. Selfish love is only interested in its own welfare…not caring how it may impact another person. The love of Christ is glad to tell the truth…the correct and accurate rendition…not the sugar-coated half-truth that might get us out of trouble. Also, unselfish love doesn’t have to remember what story was told to who…if it’s the truth from the beginning.
II John 2 ” Because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever.”
Truth comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in you. We are to be firmly established in that truth, which is ultimate, absolute, and divinely revealed, but at the same time difficult to distinguish from all the world’s noise. That still small voice is a whisper against the clamber of everything around us. Oh how wonderful it would be if the Holy Spirit had a blow-horn poised by my ear to direct me! But instead I must listen…and listen acutely for His voice. Do you want to know the truth? Then you must train your ears to listen carefully, blocking out the din around you and disciplining your mind . As this verse says, the truth lives within you…you just need to listen.
II Timothy 4:3-4 ” For 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. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
There’s nothing more uncomfortable than the conviction of the Lord as He shines the light of truth onto our sinful lives. Conscience-stricken, we nervously look for a way to escape the situation and the guilty feelings that are overwhelming us. Humans don’t like feeling convicted…instead, we’d rather hear lovely, benign platitudes and feel-good stories that don’t offend. Over history, mankind has fabricated falsehoods in their minds…lying, deceiving fables and myths that go against the teachings of the Bible…but help to make them feel less guilty about their own forbidden and unrighteous desires. These fables and myths gloss-over doctrinal truth…rejecting the Gospel and deceiving the listener.
Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”
I can’t stress too much the need for you to be in the Bible…to be reading for yourself…learning for yourself what is said within the book covers. Devotionals and commentaries are good…but they’re telling you about God. To have a full, complete, and enlightened instruction of what’s in the Bible, you must read it for yourself…allowing the light of truth to illuminate the areas of your life that need change. So I ask you…are you brave enough to have the word of God shine a light into the dark places of your soul?
John 17:17 ” Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.”
In this chaotic and deceptive world today, how do we know what’s true and what’s false? With fake news and questionable anonymous sources spewing misleading information…where are we to find balance and authenticity? So I ask you this, how can we not search for the truth from the Creator of all truths? God’s words are trustworthy, (II Samuel 7:28). The truth found in the Bible is absolute, transcendent, and divinely revealed to you…if you but open the book. When you are armed with God’s truth, you will not be easily swayed or deceived…for when God’s word is your bedrock, you will be able to look past confusion and see God’s hand at work.
Acts 26:18 ” I am sending you to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”
In this verse the Apostle Paul, (then called Saul) was describing his conversion on the road to Damascus. The Lord’s commission to Paul then was simple…Go, uncover the truth, and open blinded eyes. The Lord commissioned him as a servant, (a bringer of light and confirmation) and a witness, (a minister of the Word of Christ) to both Jew and Gentile. But if we think about it, as Believers, this commission applies to us also. We are all called to tell others about the Good News of Jesus. The easiest way to do that is to share your testimony…your personal story of how Jesus came into your life and how now your life has been changed forever by Him.
II Corinthians 6:14 ” Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? “
If you’ve ever seen oxen yoked together…you’ll see one thing quickly…they must move together as one. The yoke forces them to move in the same direction, even if they don’t want to. This hitch they are joined together by suddenly becomes a burden as they both pull in opposite directions. When we are unequally yoked with unbelievers, it soon becomes a wrestling match of the wills…a match between light and darkness…truth and deceit…with no one winning.
Ephesians 1:17 ” I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better.”
What’s motivating your thoughts and actions today? Is it the Lord or something else? Is the driving force behind what you think and do Godly or worldly? When we are motivated by the desire to know God better, each day is a new discovery of divine knowledge…not just shown to us, but clarified and witnessed by the Holy Spirit within. And with that daily recognition of the truth, our motivation shifts from selfish to selfless.
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