By now your training and DIET should have helped you shed a few pounds and a few inches from around your waist. You may even be in need of a new belt. If not you may end up with your pants on the ground. In the military a person's level of health isn't based solely on their weight. because it is not a good gauge of your health. In his book absolution, fitness expert and bodybuilder, Shawn Phillips explains, "you see, in my body and yours, there are over 600 muscles made up of over 1 billion muscle fibers. A healthy human body is made up of over half muscle. And muscle doesn't just sit there looking good; it controls the metabolic rate, it's literally the armor that protects us, it allows us to WALK, RUN, WORK, and play. It allows us to live and enjoy life. However, when our muscles are not properly cared for, they deteriorate. When that happens, we gain fat, then we become weak and vulnerable to injury. Health begins to fail. Vitality fades. Nothing burns fat better than healthy muscles!"
That is why whenever I'm asked for advice about getting in shape I always tell people(including women) not to worry that much about their weight, but their waistline. I hate it when women are so determined to lose weight that they don't care what the weight is and end up looking like new members of the Stick Band or a waif model with toothpicks for arms and legs. The TRUTH is you need to know what you are losing. I know this is hard for you ladies, but when you lose muscle(which weighs more than fat) you are actually making it harder to lose fat. I know and I have already heard, "Martin, I don't care what I lose. I just want to lose weight." People usually associate heart disease with overall obesity, but little is known by the general public about the direct link between the waistline and heart.
It is a common misunderstanding that lean people with a cute "little tummy" are not at risk for a high blood pressure because they are not obese. This is wrong, because their waistline measurement would still be outside the normal range. The bigger the "belly", the bigger the risk for high blood pressure, heart attack, type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome. According to recent studies each centimeter (.5 inch) increase in waist circumference above the normal range limit(35 inches for women and 40 inches for men,) raised the likelihood of high blood pressure by ten percent and the likelihood of pre-high blood pressure by five percent. No wonder the writer of the book of Hebrews tells us that before we can"run the race", we must first "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles."
I know a lot of you don't want to hear that, I know that sometimes the truth hurts, doesn't it(I'll talk more about this later?) But you have to understand the truth or else in the end you will lose the battle for your health. In spiritual warfare the same principle applies. While researching for this blog I learned that the Hebrew word chagowr literally means a belt for the waist. After Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge and realized that they were naked, chagowr is the word for coverings the prophet Moses uses in the book of Genesis. The idea here is they made a belt to hide or cover their nakedness. But it didn't work did it? If you've ever seen Rembrandt's Adam and Eve you understand what I mean. There are 104 references to the word "naked" and its derivatives in 87 verses of the King James Version of the Bible.
But with the New International Version, a translation preferred by many conservative Christians, there are only 49 references in 47 verses. The NIV translators may have tampered with the original Hebrew and Greek, perhaps because they find nudity too embarrassing. However, Moses tells us in Genesis, "and they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." Until Satan deceived them and they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge, then "the eyes of both were opened and they realized that they were naked." The Prophet Moses continues, "they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord called to the man,' where are you?' He answered, 'I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
truth?
The world tries tell us that there are no absolute truths, that truth is relative. However, you have to understand that the truth. The early Christian writer and apologist Lucius Caelius Lactantius once said, "The first point of wisdom is to discern that which is false; the second, to know that which is true." When I was growing up I learned early on that if my father hated to be lied to. Tommy, you may have had this talk with dad. As he said, "when you lie to me. You tell me two things. You don't respect me and you think that I am dumb. Sooner or later the truth will come out." If my father even thought that I was lying, I would find myself picking myself up off of the ground or my father would apply his two inch Army belt across my rear.
Of course this all happened before the world and Dr. Phil convinced us that spanking and physical discipline were wrong, Pansies. While King Solomon instructs us in the book of Proverbs not to, "withhold discipline from children; if you punish them with a rod, they will not die. Punish them with a rod and save them from death."
The writer of the book of Hebrews says this, "in your struggle against sin, you have not resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement addresses you as children? It says, my son do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He chastens everyone He accepts as His child. Endure hardships as discipline; God is treating you as His children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined--- and everyone undergoes discipline-- then you're not legitimate children after all. Moreover, we have all had parents who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the father of spirits and live! Our parents disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for all those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet." You might say my father had his own belt of truth. I knew that as long as I told the truth my butt was covered. Because our belts sort of hold everything together don't they? Mark Twain once said, "if you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything." No wonder the apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the church in Ephesus to, "STAND FIRM then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist." Which is what this blog will cover, truth, untruth and what the word of God has to say about both.
Maybe you've heard of absolute truth. I have heard about two absolute truths that Americans believe in, the first is death and taxes. The second is that change is inevitable. Then again I have also heard that there are no absolute truths. However, as Christians we know there is an absolute truth, it's just that the world can't handle the truth.
I'll never forget the last Promise Keepers conference I went to in Atlanta back in 2008. The theme of the conference that year was the battle for truth, this is a huge battle that is going on within our spiritual warfare. The keynote speaker that year was Christian apologetic and author Josh McDowell.
The English word “apology” comes from a Greek word which basically means “to give a defense.” Christian apologetics, then, is the science of giving a defense of the Christian faith. There are many skeptics who doubt the existence of God and/or attack our belief in the God of the Bible. There are many critics who attack the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible. There are many false teachers who promote false doctrines and deny the key truths of the Christian faith. The mission of Christian apologetics is to combat these movements and instead promote the Christian God and Christian truth. The key verse for Christian apologetics comes from the apostle Peter's first letter to the church as he states, 'But in your heart set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect...' There is no excuse for a Christian to be completely unable to defend his or her faith. Every Christian should be able to give a reasonable presentation of his or her faith in Christ."
Josh McDowell asked the men, "what is TRUTH(I've been asking myself that a lot, lately?)" Of course most of the replies were, "GOD." McDowell affirmed that the apostle John states that Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do KNOW HIM and have seen Him." Jesus clearly says that He is truth. But what is truth? McDowell explained, "Webster's dictionary defines truth as.'that which validifies the original. And validify means, 'equal to or same as. So Jesus is saying that He is the same as or equal to the original. And who is the original? God the Father! Jesus is clearly saying that He is the same as or equal to God the Father." And then John goes on to state that Jesus says, "I and the father are one." So we know that God is truth and we also know that God does not change, He is the same today as He was in the beginning.
That tells me that there is an absolute truth that does not change and this truth will go on endlessly . Later John encourages us, "you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Messiah. As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and then the father, and this is what He promised us-- eternal life."
As Christians we know that JESUS IS ALIVE, thus truth is alive. The apostle John tells us that Jesus told His disciples, "when the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father-- the Spirit of truth and goes out from the Father-- He will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. All this I have told you that you will not fall away."
I'll talk more about lies in a moment, for now let's continue the discussion on truth. I'm sure that there are some of you thinking, "God is love." According to the apostle John's first letter to all the early churches, "dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. This is how we know that we live in Him and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. And if anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us."
In my bedroom I have a sign that lists the attributes of God. Ironically they come from the apostle Paul's first letter to the church in Corinth, where Paul states, "love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not BOAST, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrong. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres." Sounds like God to me. If God is truth and love describes God. Then it makes sense that through Jesus, love has come . Which is fitting since Valentine's Day is a little over a week away. For those of you who know me, you know that I wear a TRUE LOVE WAITS ring on my wedding finger. Now that I think about it that is sort of redundant, isn't it? Yet it reiterates that love is true and I should wait. So, I'LL WAIT. But I can't keep quiet about it, I shouldn't.
In his book Hedges, Jerry Jenkins tells his "love story" about when he realized that he was in love with his wife, "I could hardly contain my secret. I wanted to tell her something, anything, that would alert her that to me this was much, much more than a typical date or even a new relationship. It made no sense, but I knew to the core of my being that this was it. All the way to Chicago I sang, whistled, talked to myself, and tried to think of someone I could tell... I arrived home at six in the morning and peeked into my parents bedroom. My mother opened one eye.'You're in love," she said. She couldn't have paid me a higher compliment. I couldn't get over that it showed, and mom hadn't even seen the oil yet." That is how we should be. Because if love is true and BEAUTIFUL, we shouldn't be ashamed. On the contrary we should want to tell the whole world. Recently one of my friends' nephews accepted Jesus as his Savior. My friend was so happy that she announced it all over her Facebook page.
Isn't that how we act when someone we love accepts Jesus(truth?) Not much difference from when we fall(or as a friend shared with me) "grow" in love, which is some kind of wonderful. Because of love and Jesus, we should live UNASHAMED and want to tell the whole wide world. It's been said, "Truth fears no questions." That's what love is for , isn't it? When my friend Kaycie got engaged this past Christmas, she posted pictures of the proposal and ring all over her Facebook page. The apostle Paul instructs us, "over all these virtues PUT ON love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Then the apostle Peter tells us in his first letter to the church, " above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." The best thing is,this love is SIMPLY FREE. Because we are ALL SAVED by GRACE, that is ALL I NEED. all we need is love and we never have to STAND ALONE( I'll explain this more later.)
In his book Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell writes, "last year some friends asked me to be the pastor for their wedding ceremony. They have been together for a while and they wanted to make it official. So we decided to meet the morning of the wedding to actually plan the ceremony. It was a stunningly beautiful day, and we met on a cliff overlooking a lake in the midst of a thick forest. The wind was blowing the tops of the trees way above us, the sun was coming through in yellow and white beams, and at one point an eagle flew overhead. I kept waiting for someone to cue the orchestra. I asked my friends why they wanted to be married in such a natural, organic setting, since it was four hours from where we all live. They talked about the beauty of nature, its peacefulness, and the way they fell in love in this part of the state. Then the groom said something I will never forget:" something holds us all together. I then asked them, ' do you think whatever it is the holds all this together is the same thing that brought you two together?' They said 'yes, same thing.' So I said that maybe what makes their relationship so meaningful to them is that it's a picture of something much bigger. The same force that brought them together holds the whole world together. I then asked, "so today, your wedding is about something far more significant than just the two of you becoming husband and wife, isn't it?" Then they said they would call this glue, this force, 'GOD.' Ancient Jewish prophets had the same kinds of spiritual experiences that we do, and they had the same sense that something holds it all together. The prophet Isaiah had a vision of heaven, and in his vision angels were shouting, 'holy, holy, is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of glory. The Hebrew word for glory here is to kavod, which means weight or significance. The whole earth is full of the weight and significance of who God is. The prophets were deeply influenced by this understanding that the earth is drenched with the presence of God. The writer David said, 'the earth is the Lord's, and everything in it.' He later prayed, 'where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?' According to the ancient Jewish worldview, God is not somewhere else. God is RIGHT HERE. It is God's world and God made it and God owns it, God is present everywhere in it. For the ancient Jew, the world is soaked in the presence of God. The whole earth is full of the kavod of God. For the writers of the Bible, this truth is everywhere. It's here. It's there, it's all over. Truth is everywhere and is available to everyone."
Which leaves us to wonder, if truth is everywhere, why doesn't the world accept it? It seems everyone is crying "GIVE US THE TRUTH." I have two explanations for this. First, the apostle John tells us that Jesus said, "if you love me, keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you KNOW HIM, for He lives with you and will be in you." Confused? Before you say that I'm contradicting myself, let me show you how this applies to my second explanation.
Bell continues, "the apostle Paul takes it further, because for him truth is bigger than his religion. Notice what he says in the book of Titus. He is referring to the people who live in the island of Crete when he writes that even one of their own prophets and said,'Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons. He has surely told the truth. So Paul quotes one of the Cretan prophets and then affirms that this guy was right in what he said.'This testimony is true.' Anybody is capable of speaking truth. Anybody from any perspective, from any religion, from anywhere. In these words from the book of Titus, a quote from a Cretan prophet are in the Bible. So the word of God contains the words of a prophet from Crete. Paul affirms the truth wherever he finds it. Paul doesn't just affirm the truth here; he claims it for himself. He doesn't care who said it or who they were even saying it about. What they said was true, so he claims it as his own. Thus affirming and claiming of truth wherever you find it is all through the writings of Paul. In 1 Corinthians, he tells his readers, 'all things are yours,.... and you are Christ's, and Christ is of God. 'He essentially says to them,'it all belongs to God, and Christ is of God, and you are in Christ, so.... it's all yours.'Claim it. If it is true, it is beautiful, if it is honorable, if it is right, then claim it. Because it is from God. And you belong to God. The philosopher Arthur Holmes is known for saying, 'all truth is God's truth.' It is such a great statement, because what other kind of truth could there be?"
What Bell points out is you must accept truth. The apostle John tells us that Jesus told a group of Jews who believed Him, "if you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." Sadly only to those who are willing to listen with an open heart and open mind. The past can't be changed, only the future. Mistakes have been made, but its how you move forward that defines who you are. This year is a clean slate; All the closets have been opened. David G. Myers has said, "more than ever, we have big houses and broken homes, high incomes and low morale, secured rights and diminished civility. We excel at making a living but often fail at making a life. We celebrate our prosperity but yearn for a purpose. We cherish our freedoms but long for connection. In the age of plenty, we feel spiritual hunger."
In his book Pure Eyes Craig Gross explains, "acceptance is the first step in your recovery. You have the ability to be a great leader. Maybe you already are. However, leadership starts with a decision to do the right thing. The great decider, the CHAMPION in you, will get you there. As men who wish to be the great leaders, the great deciders, the champions, admitting fault and making the necessary decisions to alter the course of your life is not only admirable, it is what God, your friends, and society as a whole expect of you. We live in a fallen world. We are imperfect people. The question isn't if we will make the wrong decision, it's a matter of when we will make the wrong decision. But the tragedy isn't that we've made a wrong decision. The tragedy is in not accepting that we are imperfect, asking God for FORGIVENESS, and then making a new set of decisions that honor God, honor ourselves and honor the people who depend on us. This is what a commitment to sobriety is all about. It's about being the man God has created you to be and leading your life with God-given wisdom and leverage instead of according to your own will and through force."
In his book Hedges, Jerry Jenkins , "knowing our own weaknesses is one way to begin tilling the soil for the seeds to grow the hedges that will protect us." So why doesn't the world want this freedom? Truth is a bittersweet pill that every body has to swallow at some point in time. It is better than drugs and I don't have to worry about having an overdose. After my near-death experience I had to go to a rehabilitation Hospital to learn how to walk again. I will never forget that first morning there. The nurse had wheeled me into the dining area for breakfast. I found myself seated at a very long table surrounded by senior adults and other disabled "clients." The man directly in front of me could hardly keep his head up while he tried to eat his breakfast. I began to CRY as I prayed, "God, what am I doing here? I am not that bad off. Please get me out of here." Two minutes later I felt my breakfast cereal(I think it was Fruit Loops) begin to fall out of my mouth and into my lap. Then the reality of the moment set in. I couldn't take it and tried to wheel myself back to my hospital room. However, because my brain injury affected my left arm, I could only turn the right wheel of my wheelchair and I went in circles(isn't that true for all of us?)
I couldn't even run from my NEW REALITY, the reality that I'm permanently disabled. I will never forget THE FEELING I HAD. I felt SO ALONE and overcome. I wanted to give up. Then I heard the voice of truth tell me that I am not half the Martin I used to be, but a whole new Martin! John tells us that Jesus declared, "My sheep respond to my voice, and I know who they are. They follow me." I had to stop listening to the lies of the devil, I had to listen to the SPIRIT INSIDE. And I refuse to listen the devil today; I'm not a LOSER, I'm not a freak, I'm not CRAZY and I'm not a quitter. Eventually I would pull myself back to my room using my right arm and the armrails on the wall. Author Jerry Bridges once said, "No one overcomes the corruptions of his heart except by the enabling strength of the Spirit of God." I have learned a lot from going to recovery group meetings such as AA and open groups. The first truth that I learned was, you can fool yourself but you can never fool another alcoholic or sinner. It is a pretty sad fact. Perhaps that is why King Solomon tells us in the book of Proverbs, "As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly." Why would anyone want to CHASE THAT? This is why I hate hiding behind fake facades and masks, there is no need, the truth has set me free. Besides there is no such thing as PERFECT PEOPLE is there?
I've seen members come and go over the years. It is supposed to be a support group. But there are times we can't support those who refuse to listen. At one of meetings I attend now there is a young guy who really thinks that he is fooling everyone. Every week he comes in all giddy and wreaking of aftershave or cologne that he is trying to use to cover the smell of alcohol(sound familiar?) He has bought into the lie that he can cover his sin. We have tried to talk to him and he keeps denying it while looking around the room, unable to make eye contact. So why doesn't he want to accept it? The truth is sometimes the truth is what hurts the most. However, we must understand that this is how to save a life. Isn't that what a REAL FRIEND would do? Tell us the truth in love, no matter how much it hurts. After all, ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.
Robert Brault once said, "Cherish the friend who tells you a harsh truth, wanting ten times more to tell you a loving lie." King Solomon tells us in the book of Proverbs, "wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." According to Jesus, as Christians we are called to be the salt of the earth. If you've ever gotten salt in an open wound, you know how bad it hurts. And it seems that is how it works with the truth. Because after you apply the salt/truth then the healing begins.
While I was writing this blog I watched a dream that I have held on to for 12 YEARS, die. I had trusted, waited and prayed, still I had to LET GO. Funny thing is that with this new heart God has been giving me over the past year, He has given me new desires and a new DREAM. So it really didn't hurt that much to see my ORIGINAL desire die. Then almost as soon as I accepted this new desire. I watched it die. The disappointment was so much stronger than when I watched my original desire die, still I knew I had to LEAVE IT ALL BEHIND. Yet, I realized that there was so much MORE going on. What God was teaching me another truth. That truth is too big for me to stuff in a little box that I call my dreams. At this point I was BROKEN, BUT I'M HEALED.
There is nothing like a good dose of humility and pain to BLOW YOUR HIGH. The old Christian cliché that we've all heard many times is one of the hardest truths to accept. This life, our homes, our money, our relationships and even our dreams are not what life is all about is it? No, it's not ALL ABOUT YOU, is it? Dudley Hall once said, "when you are more Father conscious than people conscious and self conscious--- you've got your secret( inside) life in order."
The apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Philippi, "for I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return." When we get more concerned about looking like a Christian than being a Christian, we have let our pride and egos take over. At this point we are getting a little closer to falling like Satan. I know for some of us, that really hurts. But in the end we are left broken and beautiful.
Rob Bell explains, "imagine what happens when a young woman is raised in a Christian setting that hasn't been taught that all things are hers and then goes to a university where she is exposed to all sorts of new ideas and views and perspectives. She takes classes in psychology and anthropology and biology and world history, and her professors are people who have devoted themselves to their particular field of study. Is it possible that in the course of lecturing on their field of interest, her professors will from time to time say things that are true? Of course. Truth is available to everyone. But let's say her professors aren't Christians, it is not a"Christian" University and this young woman hasn't been taught that all things are hers. What if she has been taught that Christianity is the only thing that's true? What if she has been taught that there is no truth outside the Bible? She's now faced with this dilemma: believe the truth she's learning for the Christian faith she was brought up with. Or we could put her dilema this way: intellectual honesty or Jesus? I can't tell you the number of people in their late teens or early 20s I know, or those I have been told about, who experienced truth outside the boundaries of their religion and abandon the whole thing because I think it's a choice(which is a fatal flaw in thinking we'll address in a moment.) They are experiencing truth in all sorts of new ways, and they need a faith that is big enough to handle it. Their box is getting blown apart, and the faith they were handed doesn't have room for what they are learning. But it isn't a choice. Because Jesus said,"I am the way, the truth, the life." If you come across truth in any form, it isn't outside of faith as a Christian. Your faith just got bigger. To be a Christian is to claim truth wherever you find it. It's not truth over here and Jesus over there, as if they were two different things. Where we find one, we find the other. Jesus is quoted in the book of John saying, "I and the father are one. If Jesus shows us what God is really, truly like, and God is truth and all truth is God's truth, and Jesus takes us into the truth, not away from it. He frees us to embrace whatever is true and good and beautiful wherever we find it." Maybe you've heard the cliché that God brings beauty from pain, if we let Him.
No wonder Solomon wrote, " There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven. A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance(yippie.) A time to throw stones away and a time to get stones together. A time to kiss(yippie to the max) and a time to shun kissing(boo.)" According to the Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, there is "old Jewish custom of throwing three shovelfuls of earth into the grave, and did this lead Solomon to use the phrase השׁ אבּ? But we do not need so incidental a connection of the thought, for the first pair accords with the specific idea of life and death; by the throwing of stones a field is destroyed, 2 Kings 3:25, or as expressed at 2 Kings 3:19 is marred; and by gathering the stones together and removing them (which is called סקּל), it is brought under cultivation(I'll talk more about stones later.)" And that is where NEW LIFE begins after the old has passed away. Isn't it, Keith?
Shawn Phillips explains, "I discovered that short, highly intense workouts the most efficient and effective. It's quality not quantity that matters when it comes to exercise. It's focused intensity and giving each and every rep of each and every set your best effort and then some. The fundamental scientific principle of the foundation of my program is that for a muscle to become stronger, healthier, and more efficient at burning fat, it has to be stressed beyond the point that it is accustomed to. Only then will it adapt. Scientists call this"progressive resistance exercise." What that means is that exercise intensity or quality needs to consistently increase over time. Otherwise, the time and effort you spend exercising doesn't really pay off. And this is the reason a lot of people would start to plateaus and have difficulty getting in better shape-- they are simply not working out hard enough. It's the focus and intensity that counts!" The old cliché proves true here, no pain. No gain. Just like getting into shape doesn't happen overnight, sometimes we don't learn the truth right away. It usually TAKES A LITTLE TIME and it hurts, doesn't it?
As Bell continues in Velvet Elvis, "a young woman in our church gave birth last week to a 2 pound baby who died two days after being born. My friend Matt went to the hospital to visit them. When he entered the room, he realized the baby was still there. And the couple was sitting in shock, stunned that this had happened and happened to them. Matt Walked in, greeted the couple, and then took the baby in his arms and kissed it. I wasn't even there, and I could feel the moment. The pain, the anguish, the sense that something else was going on in that room that we only get glimpses of from time to time. Because it isn't just concerts and surfing and the high points, it isn't just the most beautiful moments in the midst of everyday and mundane; it is also in the tragic and gut wrenching moments when we cannot escape the simple fact that there is way more going on around us than we realize."
In the sleeve of her first CD after her divorce from Gary Chapman, Amy Grant wrote ," making this album was quite a growing experience for me, as a songwriter and as a person. If I were to start putting together a new album today, it will be all together different. That's the beauty of songwriting, of recording. We get to freeze a moment in time, a flash of emotion, a reminder of hope. Then, when you refer back to those moments, the tapestry of life, with its layers of laughter and tears, testifies to the glory of being alive. What a deep, rich gift God has given to us. 20 years ago I recorded my first album. My how time flies. I guess we never stop growing or discovering what's round the bend." A few years ago a friend of mine's wife had an affair with another man in their church. The pastor of the church told me that he would get involved "after the debris and fire died down." But that's not how our God works is it?
He works IN SPITE OF ME and I am so thankful that God TAKES ME AS I AM and doesn't wait for me to get out of my MESS to help me, even if I did bring it on myself. The apostle John tells a great story about when Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees and a woman they actually caught in the act of adultery. The Pharisees were so bent on stoning this woman, you can almost hear the anticipation in their words. John tells us that Jesus kneeled down and wrote in the sand. It is not known what Jesus wrote, but I like to think that Jesus just drew THE LINE in the dirt. On one side was Jesus(the truth) and the other the woman and the Pharisees whom Jesus had recently called Sons of vipers(Satan.) Then when Jesus stood up and said to them, "he who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." Next John tells us that Jesus stooped down again to write in the sand. I wonder If He wasn't looking for a stone. Because by the time He stands up, the Pharisees are gone.
Maybe they realized we are all broken sinners. What happens next is a truth that so many people miss. This passage is often quoted by people who feel judged. And they say, "Jesus didn't accuse the woman caught in the act of adultery." But that is only part of the truth, isn't it? As John continues, "Jesus said to her, 'go and sin no more." So after sticking His neck out for her, He tells her the Pharisees were right. Oouch, I bet that hurt. Jesus knew the truth all along, but He knew He didn't need to tell the women in front of the Pharisees. Instead, Jesus decided to teach everyone a lesson, just not at the same time. Brilliant, you might say He killed two birds with one stone(truth.) Basically Jesus was told the Pharisees to make a judgment call by throwing the first stone, life or death. However, the pharisees had repeatedly reminded Jesus that judgment is for God alone. For them to make this judgment would have been blasphemy, checkmate.
In their book Leadership Lessons of Jesus Bob Briner and Ray Pritchard explain, "to be effective over the long haul, a leader must speak the truth at all times. However he or she may need to reserve some of the truth for those in an inner circle. A leader's inner circle is defined by how much truth is shared with each prospective member. In the case of Jesus, He spoke to the multitudes and taught His disciples, but He reserved the most compelling truth for Peter, James, and John. The truth He shared with each group is very important in the way it is shared, and it's content, and in His timing. The wonderful parables Jesus shared with the multitudes were undoubtedly carefully prepared, finely honed, and presented with precision and power. They were no less important than the message shared with His disciples, just different in degree. It's ironic, in fact, that Jesus spoke in parables as much to conceal the truth as to reveal it, illustrated by Mark 4:12---' so that I may look and look, yet not perceive; it may listen and listen, yet not understand. His parables were like a thermometer of the soul revealing something of a person's spiritual perception(or lack thereof.)"
UNTRUTH?
Not long after He dealt with the adulterous woman, Jesus had to defend Himself before the Pharisees, again. John tells us that the Pharisees said, "Abraham was our father. Jesus said to them, 'if you were Abraham's children you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has just told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father.' Then they said to Him, 'we were not born of fornication; we have one father-- God.' Jesus said to them, 'if God were your father, you would love me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I not come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a KILLA from the beginning, and does not understand the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But, because I tell the truth you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God." While working on this blog, I heard a message by Bill Purvis on the devil. In which he explained that the name devil means slanderer. Purvis said, "you are never closer to being like the devil, then when you are telling a lie or an untruth.
The prophet Isaiah says this about the devil, "how you have fallen from heaven, Morning Star, son of the Dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you once laid low the nations! You said in your heart,'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the Mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I'll ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the MOST HIGH." So Satan thought that he could be the same as as or equal to the Most High(God the Father.) But that can't be true, can it? Because as I talked about earlier, Jesus is the same as or equal to God the father. No wonder the Greek form of the word used for Satan means "adversary." King Solomon tells us in the book of Proverbs that, "enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit. Though their speech is charming, do not believe them, for seven abominations fill their hearts. Their malice may be concealed by DECEPTION, but their wickedness will be EXPOSED in the assembly. If anyone digs a pit, they themselves will fall into it; if anyone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them. A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin."
This is why when I'm in a relationship with someone I keep what I say between you and me, I promise. I don't want secondhand information from anyone, friends or family. Secondhand information is a lot like secondhand cigarette smoke, it's deadlier to those who breathe you in. People tend to have different perspective on about what is true, even within their relationship. As Jerry Jenkins points out in his book Hedges, "I share my own story here only to show the types of memories you can ferret out to share with your mate. I call it my own, rather than our own, because every courtship is really two stories, yours and your spouses. Dianna's story contains parallel elements, of coarse, but the emphasises are hers, and her perspective provides an account with its unique interest." Maybe this is why we as Christians believe in having a "personal" relationship with God. You can't get to heaven by your family's or friend's faith.
How can you SEE IT HOW I SEE IT? Although some reason people love to hear things through the grapevine. However, the apostle John tells us that Jesus declared in his sermon on the Mount, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit."
Bill Purvis explains, "flattery is taking a truth and manipulating it for your own selfish purpose."But love isn't self-serving is it? William Blake wrote, "A truth that's told with bad intent beats all the lies you can invent." Georg Christoph Lichtenberg said, "The most dangerous untruths are truths moderately distorted." There is a Russian proverb that says, " With lies you may get ahead in the world - but you can never go back." If what we say or speak is self-promoting and doesn't glorify God then who is glorified? I recently asked a friend a question only to have it come back to me a few days later TWISTED and I couldn't deny it because part of it was true, but not all of it.
It reminded me of the childhood game of TELEPHONE. Good grief, people grow up! Homer Simpson was right when he said, "It takes two to lie. One to lie and one to listen." Tommy, that Johnson temper was so bad, I thought I would need ANGER MANAGEMENT classes. I understand now why Edgar J. Mohn says, "A lie has speed, but truth has endurance." There is a Yiddish proverb that states, "A half truth is a whole lie." So a lie isn't a truth that is halfway gone. It is a whole lie.
Have you ever noticed that there is just enough truth BENEATH THE SURFACE of a lie to make it appealing and believable? Do you remember what Eve said about the fruit in the Garden after Satan had deceived her? If a lie doesn't look good, it would be unbelievable. No wonder King Solomon says, "the words of the gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts." Gossips take part of the truth and use it for their own selfish gain. It's almost like they make a TRUTHMIXTAPE.
According to Moses the serpent asked Eve, "did God really say, 'you must not eat from any tree in the garden?'' Which was only part of the truth wasn't it? I think that it is ironic that in our court system we are to take an oath to tell, "the whole truth and nothing but the truth." Because clearly our government and most of the world doesn't know what the truth is.
However, like my father taught me when I was a little boy. The truth always comes out. Maybe not today, maybe not next week. Maybe not this year, but SOMEWHERE DOWN THE ROAD, the truth will come out. Remember Hebrew word for "falsehood" [שקר, sheker] is unbalanced. The base of the letter ש does not stand balanced on the baseline. It will fall. The apostle Paul encourages us in his letter to the church at Phiippi in speaking about Jesus, "by becoming obedient to death--- even death on that cross. Therefore God exalted to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, the name of Jesus that every knee should bow , in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, to the glory of God the father."
Then the apostle John warns us in his last revelation, "I want everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of the scroll: if anyone of you adds anything to them, God will add to you the plagues described in the scroll. And if anyone of you takes words away from the scroll of prophecy, God will take away from you your share in the tree of life in the holy city, which are described in the scroll. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus." Those are some BIG WORDS.
You see, the Bible is truth, whether you want to accept it or not. If you add to it or take anything from it isn't the whole truth anymore is it? Anytime one word is added to it or taken from it, it isn't the truth anymore. The Pharisees came from the scribes. They were a particular sect of Judaism that was ardent students of the law, they took the position as the teachers of the law (an assignment God gave the Levites). They were known as “the separatists.” They called themselves Haberim in the language of the Mishna it means one who is associated with the law, observe it strictly in opposition to Hellenism. They kept all the written and oral laws and added 1500 more laws. They used the Hebrew and Aramaic writings.
While according to John, there is NOTHING LEFT TO SAY. There will come a day when God will tolerate this world's sin and untruth, NO MORE and things will NEVER BE THE SAME again. Because of that I have NO WORRIES. As the apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the church in Rome, "No, in all these things we are MORE THAN CONQUERORS through Him that loved us."
WORD 2.0?
Have you ever noticed when we are asked to make a promise we are asked to give our word? Maybe it is because when God gave us His word, it is the truth and that is what holds a promise together. Rob Bell continues, "in the first line of his gospel, John called Jesus the"word". The word WORD here in Greek is the word Logos, which is where we get the English word logic. Logic, intelligence, design. The blueprint of creation. When we speak of these concepts what we are describing is the way the world is arranged. There were some sort of order under the chaos, and some people seem to have a better handle on it than others. When we say someone is intelligent, we are saying they have insight as to how things are put together. And the Bible keeps insisting that Jesus is how God put things together. The writer Paul said that Jesus is how God holds all things together. The Bible points us to a Jesus who is in some mysterious way behind it all. Jesus is the arrangement. Jesus is the design. Jesus is the intelligence. For a Christian, Jesus' teachings are not to be followed because they are a nice way to live a moral life. They are to be followed because they are the best possible insight into how the world really works. They teach us how things are. I don't follow Jesus because I think Christianity is the best religion. I follow Jesus because he leads me into ultimate reality. He teaches me to live in tune with how reality is. When Jesus said, "no one comes to the father except through me", He was saying that His way, His words, His life is our connection to how things truly are at the deepest levels of existence. For Jesus then, the point of religion is to help us connect with ultimate reality, God. I love the way Paul puts it in the book of Colossians: these religious acts and rituals are shadows of the reality. 'The reality... is found in Christ."
Jesus' half-brother James tells us, "those who listen to the word but do not do what it says are like people who look at their faces in a MIRROR and, after looking at themselves, go away and immediately forget what they look like. But those who look intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continue in it-- not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it--- they will be blessed in what they do. Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on the tongue deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless." So whose REFLECTION do you see when you look in the mirror? Come follow the truth.
In his book Stealth Attack , Ray Pritchard explains, two decades ago evangelical philosopher and theologian Karl Henry predicted that as America progressively loses its Judeo-Christian heritage, paganism will grow bolder. What we saw in the last half of the 20th century was the kind of benign humanism, but he predicted that by the start of the 21st century, we would face a situation not unlike the first century when the Christian faith confronted raw paganism-- humanism with the pretty face ripped off, revealing the angry monster underneath. His words have come true, and are coming truer with every passing day. So the apostle Paul warns Timothy, "after I am gone, things are going to get worse before they get better. Buckle up, Timothy. Terrible times are coming. That's why Paul said,'marking this' or 'understand this,' or 'pay attention to this.' Don't be naive to think that everything is going to be okay. It's not all going to be okay. But forewarned is forarmed. If we know what is going to happen, we won't be surprised when it does. But we haven't gotten to the really bad news yet. That comes in 2nd Timothy 3:5 'having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.' The word form means something like 'having the outward appearance 'of godliness. In the LAST DAYS, as men turn away from God, paradoxically, they will become more religious, not less. Religion will become more popular as we approach the end times, because people will seek some refuge in a world that increasingly has lost its way. They will ask the right questions, but will follow the wrong answers. It will be religion for religion's sake, not religion for the sake of knowing Christ. People will join the church(or some other religious organization), be baptized, attend the services, sing and pray and go through the motions , but their hearts will not be in it." We Christians need a new BATTLE SONG.
The Prophet Samuel tells us in this first letter that Jonathan gave David his robe, sword and his Belt(chagowr) before David went into battle. This belt was a warrior's belt and it had everything that a warrior needed to fight in the battle. So it is with truth, isn't it? Charles Spurgeon (British preacher) once noted, "Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong; rather it is telling the difference between right and almost right." IF EVER there was a time for Christians to STAND UP and fight for the truth(Jesus,) it is now. If not Oprah and Dr. Phil will lead us in the wussification of America. To be evangelicals means to tell 'em the good news of the truth, all of it. We can't AVERT any part of it and there is no need to apologize for it, since it is the whole truth. Playwright Lemuel K. Washburn once pinned these words, "Honesty is never seen sitting astride the fence." The truth requires TOTAL SUBMISSION. In closing this blog, I hope you see why it is important to know the truth during spiritual warfare.
I'd never heard that story about Jerry Jenkins before. Great parallel between the love that shows when we;re in love with another and the love Christ has for us and vice versa!
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