Preserved & Prolonged (Prov. 20:28)

Read Proverbs 20:28.

Rulers, to be successful, need both truth and mercy. It is mercy (MEV) that is mentioned twice.  I would've expected truth to be mentioned doubly. Perhaps the double mention of mercy is to remind us that leadership, while it has principles and rules, is primarily about people. Our pursuits and decisions affect people. Let's not minimize truth; rather, let us maximize mercy. To whom can you show mercy today? What will that look like?

Truth And Lies (Prov. 12:22)

Read Proverbs 12:22.

Lying lips seek to cover sin, to divert attention from violation and irresponsibility.  Lies promote the continued convenience of self.  To deal truly is to look at things and call them what they are, not what you think they are or hope they become.  You must confront reality.

• May my mouth not speak until my heart, under tutelage of the Holy Spirit, has settled on the truth.
• May my mind think God-implanted thoughts and not entertain self-glorious, vain imaginings.
• May my hands do what is right and what is expected, not what is fruitless and unprofitable.
• May my feet pursue the direction and vision God is revealing.  Don't try to push forward that which is expedient but not anointed.
• May my knees bow regularly in submission and humility, drawing strength from God and depending upon Him.
• May I not live insulated and isolated, but may I receive counsel from others.

The Opposite of Truth (Jn. 3:20-21)

Read John 3:20-21.

For John, and therefore for us, the opposite of truth isn't mistake or falsehood but is evil.  A lack of truth means more than you were wrong, in error or led astray.  That summary allows for too much passivity, as if evil is only something that happens to you.  John says that lack of truth is an active pursuit, a doing of evil.  You end up in evil because you refuse the truth and embrace its opposite. You choose to reject God's light and walk away from it.  See also Romans 1:18-19.

"And They Took Offence At Him" (Mt. 13:57)

Read Matthew 13:57.

"And they took offence at Him."  Why?  The context (13:53-56) says that offence came because Jesus said things straightforwardly, powerfully and wisely.  Their common sense had no place for His truth. What they couldn't explain they refused to accept.  As a consequence, they received the "nothing" that their framework conditioned them to expect (13:58).

Today rationalism works like this:  "This claim of truth has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system."  What's the pre-determined message?  If it's not what I want to hear or if it challenges any dearly held understanding, then reject it.

Heart Cry: Keep Me True (3 Jn. 3-4) (Part 4)

We must reciprocate God's heart cry with our own.  Our heart cry is, or at least it should be, “Lord, keep me true.”

In the early eighties, there was a worship chorus that went like this:

“Keep me true, Lord Jesus, keep me true.
Keep me true, Lord Jesus, keep me true.
There's a race that I must run.
There are victories to be won.
Every hour, give me power to be true.”

The writer of that chorus understood that staying true (walking in truth) wasn't always easy.  He also understood that so much is at stake when someone doesn't remain true to Jesus. 

Bring your heart cry to Jesus.  Tell Him: “Keep me true, Lord Jesus. Help me to know the truth, love the truth and live the truth. Just as the people in 3 John brought Pastor John joy because of their testimony that they walked in the truth, my desire is that I might bring You joy, Jesus, as Your Holy Spirit leads me into the truth and enables me to live it.'

Heart Cry: Keep Me True (3 Jn. 3-4) (Part 3)

Second, let's deal with the word “walking.”  “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him” (Col. 2:6).  The word “walking” suggests three things.

• It suggests beginning.  There was a time when you were not walking in the truth.  Something happened that compelled you to start walking.  That something is called repentance.
• It suggests process.  Once you took the first step, you took the second step, and then the third step, and so on.  Each successive step might not have been as easy as the previous, but you kept putting one foot in front of the other.  Process is determined by repetition, not distance.
• It suggests progress.  You don't want to keep putting one foot in front of the other, only to end up getting nowhere.  It is okay if progress is slow, so long as you are making progress.  If you aren't making progress, check the process.  If the process is altered, then progress is stalled.  In baseball a pitching coach talks to his pitchers about mechanics. If a pitcher's mechanics (process) are wrong, he won't consistently throw strikes (progress, results).

Pastor John didn't write that he was glad those in the congregation started in the truth.  He wrote that he was glad they were continuing in the truth, that they had adopted truth as their lifestyle.  The congregants lived it, and their testimony was obvious enough to Pastor John's helpers that they had to tell him.  These weren't just good people or moral people; they were truth- saturated people.  What they believed about Jesus affected every area of their lives.

We can't talk about walking (living) in the truth without mentioning certain things.

• Those who walk in the truth will develop the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).
• Those who walk in the truth will follow through on their word (Mt. 5:37).
• Those who walk in the truth will not avoid reality by pretending (Prov. 13:7).
• Those who walk in the truth will not pursue crooked business deals (Prov. 20:14).
• Those who walk in the truth will not seethe on the inside while they smile on the outside (Eph. 4:25)

Heart Cry: Keep Me True (3 Jn. 3-4) (Part 2)

First, let's deal with the word “truth.”  Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth?” (Jn. 18:38).   I don't think Pilate was trying to be philosophical – sarcastic, maybe, but not philosophical.  It seems to me that he didn't know what truth was, or didn't believe such a thing was attainable, so he asked.

Pilate is similar to many people today.  They have been taught to believe that there is no such thing as absolute truth.  They have been taught that truth, whatever it might be, is for each person to define. When this happens, you end up with a situation similar to Judges 21:25: “ . . . every man did what was right in his own eyes.”  Why had truth become so relative, so individualized, so neutered?  “In those days there was no king . . .”

You can say you live in a Christian nation all you want.  That isn't the issue. The issue is whether you will submit to the King. His name is Jesus.  It appears we don't have a King (capital 'K' - Jesus) in the United States.  We have 380 million of them!

Truth is your final authority to which you appeal when making decisions or declaring statements.  It is a system of belief that invades, infects and directs your thoughts, intentions, desires, behaviors, pursuits, actions, conclusions and speech.  It is a filter that determines what you will and won't consider, allow or investigate.

When someone says, “There is no such thing as truth,” he or she is not speaking truthfully.  Certainly, he or she has some rationale for choosing to live the way he or she does, even if that rationale is selfishness or rebellion.  That rationale usually begins with the word “I.”

• I feel that . . .

• I think that . . .

• I believe that . . .

The problem is that the King has written His own truth and He expects all people to follow it.  Once His truth is altered, minimized, trivialized or marginalized, it displeases Him, and the failure to adhere to His standard won't produce His desired results for individuals, families, businesses or nations.  Once His truth is customized, editorialized or criticized, the King takes notice.  The King of the Universe takes offence at the profaning of His high standard!

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life . . .” (Jn. 14:6).  Notice the three-letter word “the.”  It doesn't say “a.” That's the indefinite modifier.  No, it says “the.” That's the definite modifier.  The definite modifier is absolute and exclusive.  When Jesus said, “I am . . . the truth . . . “, He said that there could be no other source.  That doesn't mean people listen to Him. That doesn't mean people agree with Him.

When it comes down to it, you must decide who is right: Jesus or you? Jesus or man? Jesus or society? Jesus or the philosophers? Jesus or postmodernism?  If you believe a source other than Jesus is right, then you are calling Jesus a liar. I'd be careful, if I were you!

Heart Cry: Keep Me True (3 Jn. 3-4) (Part 1)

Yesterday morning, we began a new series called “Heart Cry.”  The idea of crying might not be popular, but the idea of heart tied in with Valentine's Day.

When you think of Valentine's Day, what comes to mind? Responses from the congregation included

love, romance, flowers, candy, cards, and expense.  Every man knows that, on Valentine's Day, you bring your wallet.  He is also wise enough to know this is money well invested!

Heart is an essential thing at Valentine's Day.  Agreed?  It helps if you have a heart.  It helps if you show it.  Aren't you glad for God's Valentine, Jesus Christ?  The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus were Hallmark moments: God showed his heart, his love, for sinners (Rom. 5:8).  He cared enough to send the very best.

We distributed boxes of heart candy and then asked, "Do you remember these from when you were a child?"  Congregants opened the boxes and put a few hearts in their hands.  I asked what the hearts said and allowed for responses.  (Some candy maker had a very long day at the office, and you can tell he or she was quickly losing creativity – and maybe sanity!)

Those were sayings written on candy hearts. I wonder what's written on God's heart?  Did anyone get a heart that said, “Be true”? Truth – that's one of the things on God's heart.

Our main Bible verses were Third John, verses three and four.

God's heart is that you would want what He wants for you.  What does God want for you?  God wants for you to walk in truth – to know the truth and live it.  If John, as a pastor, was so moved to hear that people in the church walked in the truth, how much more is God Himself moved when He sees this!  The key phrase in these verses is “walking in the truth.”

Sanitized But Not Sanctified

"Even though hand sanitizer kills 99.9% of germs, only .1% of germs make us sick." (1)

According to this statement, sanitizer kills germs that don't make you sick and might not kill the germs that do.  Hand sanitizer seems to be overrated.  You feel better using it, knowing it might not prevent anything.

That reminds me of self-righteousness.  Just because you're sanitized (self-improvement, moral, sin management) doesn't mean you're sanctified (new nature, new life, victory over sin).  Self-righteousness emphasizes the 99.9% external, minimizing the .1% essential (thriving personal relationship with Jesus Christ).

Below are several things that will sanitize you but not necessarily sanctify you.

• Going to a church.
• Giving in the offering.
• Reading in the Bible.
• Serving on the board.
• Helping with a ministry.
• Counseling with a pastor.

Why are those things good, helpful and desirable but not ultimate?  They could be distractions that keep you busy as you avoid the truth.  Only truth moves a person beyond sanitation and into sanctification.  Only truth can deal with the .1%.  Only truth can set a person free (Jn. 8:32).

“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." (Jn. 17:17)

"I am the Way, and the Truth and the Life." (Jn. 14:6)

"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth..." (Jn. 16:13)

(1) Www.Twitter.com/UberFacts.  8/3/12  8:17 A.M.

The Twenty-Seven Percent is Wrong

I recently saw this on Twitter:  Twenty-seven percent of Americans don't believe that the U.S.A. put a man on the moon.  What?

Truth is determined by what happened, not by what someone thinks happened. There is a need for an objective record.  Keep holding to the standard.

If the percentage of disagreement climbs, it doesn't mean the facts changed.  It means more people have chosen to ignore truth.

The longer that time passes, the more that truth must be reinforced.  What is not reinforced will be reinterpreted.  What is reinterpreted will be marginalized.

It is harder to believe the lie than to believe the truth.  To believe the lie, you must discredit the eyewitness.  If we didn't put a man on the moon, then what -- NASA lied and Neil Armstrong was a fraud?  The moon walk on July 20, 1969 neer happened?  Did Apollo 11 happen?

Some people find their identity in controversy.  Avoid them.