Truth

Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life. I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him. – 1 John 2:18-27.

What is truth? Over 2000 years ago, truth was put on trial. Truth was taken by force from the Garden of Gethsemane and put on trial in front of an illegal meeting of the Sanhedrin. Truth was then taken in front of the High Priest who in the process of judging truth broke over seven laws. Caiaphas found the Truth guilty because Truth claimed to be the Son of God. Being unable to legally kill Truth, Truth was sent to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor for trial. During the conversation between Pilate and Truth, the question I asked at the beginning of this paragraph was asked by Pilate and has been asked ever since. Here is what I think is a good definition of what truth is not:

• Truth is not simply whatever works. This is the philosophy of pragmatism – an ends-vs.-means-type approach. In reality, lies can appear to “work,” but they are still lies and not the truth.
• Truth is not simply what is coherent or understandable. A group of people can get together and form a conspiracy based on a set of falsehoods where they all agree to tell the same false story, but it does not make their presentation true.
• Truth is not what makes people feel good. Unfortunately, bad news can be true.
• Truth is not what the majority says is true. Fifty-one percent of a group can reach a wrong conclusion.
• Truth is not what is comprehensive. A lengthy, detailed presentation can still result in a false conclusion.
• Truth is not defined by what is intended. Good intentions can still be wrong.
• Truth is not how we know; truth is what we know.
• Truth is not simply what is believed. A lie believed is still a lie.
• Truth is not what is publicly proved. A truth can be privately known (for example, the location of buried treasure).

From a philosophical perspective, there are three simple ways to define truth:

1. Truth is that which corresponds to reality.
2. Truth is that which matches its object.
3. Truth is simply telling it like it is.

Here is what truth is:
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. – John 14:6

Father, help me to always speak the truth. Help me to be truthful in all that I do and do everything that I do in Your love. Amen.

Gadgets

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
– 1 John 2:15-17

Okay, I admit it. I am a gadget nerd. I love electronic and non-electronic gadgets. I am one of those people who can spend hours in Lowes or Home Depot and dream about all the power tools that I know I don’t need and yet would love to buy. Since I do a majority of the cooking at home, I can also go into Williams Sonoma and spend hours dreaming about how I can use a lot of expensive kitchen gadgets that I don’t need. Let’s not even talk about going to Best Buy.

The key is to keep everything in perspective. It is not that gadgets and all the other wonderful things this world has to offer are all evil. The problem comes in when the things of this world become my focus. If I am working 40+ hours a week in order to buy the latest and greatest item, whether it is a car, a computer, or a blender, then my priorities are skewed. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Does this mean that if I seek God first in my life that I will get all the wonderful things that the world has to offer? NO! What Jesus is talking about is our basic needs. We need to go back to verse 31 and 32, “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” If I surrender to Christ, He will provide for my daily needs which is enough. Will I get to enjoy some of the things this world has to offer? Maybe, but if I don’t get to enjoy the things of the world which will one day pass away, that is okay because I at least have Christ. And that is for eternity.

Father, help me to be content with the blessings that you have given me. Help me to put You first in my life and keep the things of this world in their proper perspective. Give me eyes that see eternity and not the things of this world that will one day pass away. – Amen

 

Love

Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake. I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.  1 John 2:7-14

Have you ever been around someone who just exudes joy? I mean, joy just flows out of them so much that you begin to feel joyful yourself. Then, have you been around someone who has a dark cloud of despair and depression hanging over them? Unless you try very hard, you may find yourself getting depressed and despaired right along with them. We are affected by the company we keep. So does this mean we should avoid anyone who is depressed? No, we should be with them and help them carry their load.

The Apostle John is not telling the church anything new. It is almost a “duh” moment. We are to love. Why? Because God is love and we know God, so we should also love as he does…. with abandon. The command to love is the total sum of God’s moral love. If we love God, we will persevere and not sin, and be transformed spiritually. If we know God and love God, then we will love others, even if they do drive us crazy sometimes.

Did you realize that the word love, or at least a form of the word, is mentioned over 697 times in the Bible? Love is the cornerstone of what Christ did. God loves us so much that he sent his Son to die. Jesus loves us so much that he did the will of the Father on the Cross. The Holy Spirit loves us so much that at times he moans for us. We are to love others because He first loved us. End of story. No ifs, ands, or buts. If we do not love, we are not in the light but in utter darkness. I don’t know about you, but I want to be in the light (see my previous post)

The more we know God, the more we will love. The more we love, the more we know the will of God. You can’t truly know God and not love.

Father, help me to love more. Help me to look past myself and show your love to everyone you place in my path. Amen.

 

 

 

The Real Me

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with, the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. 1 John 2:1-6

Who am I? Do people around me really know me? I ask myself these questions sometimes. You see we judge people by how look look at first, then as we observe their actions we begin to form perceptions of who they are based upon how they act. Think about it. When you are sitting at the coffee house or donut shop and see someone come in, do you begin to evaluate that person based upon how they look? Of course you do…it is human nature to do so. Then if you hear them talk and watch them as they interact, or don’t interact, with those around them your initial opinion is either solidified or modified. While we are doing this to people, those same people are doing it right back at us. I cannot control the other persons looks or actions, but I do have control over my own. So again, do people really know me.

In the scripture above, John is stating that if we know Jesus, Jesus will be our advocate with God. But knowing Jesus is not just knowing about him. You cannot be Facebook friends with Jesus and state that you really know Him. If you know Him, you keep His commandments. So, what are His commandments? In the Gospels Jesus says the greatest commandments are “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself.”  We are to love God and love others. If we truly do these two things with all of our heart, soul, and strength it will show in how we act. John finishes in verse six by saying we ought to walk in the same way that Jesus walked. It is not enough just to know Jesus. If I know Jesus it changes me so that I want to walk like Jesus. Understand, walking like Jesus is not about salvation, it is because of salvation.

Father, I do love you with everything I am and I long to have the love that you have for those who are hurting and lost around me. Help me to be more like Jesus and walk as a child of God so others will see You in me and then use me to help those who are hurting.

Light

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. – 1 John 1:5-10

I love light. As my eyesight has gotten worse and I have to wear glasses I appreciate light even more. I used to be able to see easily in the dark and could actually read a book with very little light. Now, I can barely walk around in the dark without hurting myself. Even with my glasses on I can hardly see in the dark.

Light is an amazing creation of God. After God had created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was formless, the next thing He created was light. Imagine a world of darkness immediately drenched in pure light. This is what we are, darkness drenched in pure light. John tells us in 1 John that God is light and there is no darkness in him. Before we know Christ, we are darkness with no light. Jesus came to bring us light, but darkness doesn’t want to give up too easily. Paul calls this darkness the “flesh” and explains that we must overcome it, because as John says if we walk in darkness we cannot have fellowship with the light.

So how do we overcome the flesh? John explains that we need to confess our sins and Christ will forgive us and cleanse us from unrighteousness. This is step one, but not the end of the matter. In order to have fellowship with the light, we need to walk in the light. I love the visual of walking in the light. This means daily trusting in the Holy Spirit to help us overcome our fleshly desires. It is a team effort, us and God. We cannot do it alone, and God will not do it without us.

Father, please help me to overcome my flesh today and walk in the light so that your light may shine through me.

Why?

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Why am I doing this? I don’t even have enough time to keep my Facebook page up-to-date. I barely have enough time to read the books that I want to read. Why would I take on the task of writing a blog? Insanity? Maybe.

I don’t know who is going to read my blog, if anybody, but I guess that I am doing this for me. Sounds pretty selfish doesn’t it? What I mean is that I am writing this blog to share my thoughts about what I am reading in scripture, experiencing in the church, reading from books, and how I am seing God working in my life. I know that not everyone will agree with what I am going to write or experience everything that I am, but that is not the point. The point is to share what I am experiencing and probably connecting with those who read this on a deeper level.

It is like what the Apostle John wrote in 1 John 1:1-4:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 　And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

John wanted to share the Good News of eternal life that was brought to him by Jesus Christ the Son of God Himself. Why? So that his “joy may be complete.” This is my hope, that my joy might be complete in sharing what God is showing me and challenging myself and those who read my blog to keep striving to know God more and more each day. By doing so, all of us will find more joy than we could ever imagine. So, I will write whenever I can and just ask that you are patient with me…a redeemed sinner who is trying to know God more and to surrender to Him more each day.

God Bless.