pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: truth


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These Truths Remain

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever.”  These same words begin and end Psalm 118.  These eternal promises of God are reaffirmed by Jeremiah and he adds, “His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

The middle of the psalm is filled with the trials of life – anger, hate, rejection.  These are the things Christ battled in the week leading up to His crucifixion and they are the thing we face too at times in our lives.  Trials are sure to come our way.

But, thanks be to God!  Just like this psalm, at the beginning and end of each day, God is still the same.  He is good, His love never fails, and His mercy is unending.  In the midst of whatever we are going through, these truths remain.  Thanks be to God.

Scripture reference: Psalm 118: 1-2 & 19-29


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A Work in Progress

How true of a vision of ourselves do we present to others?  In sharing a story, do we fully and honestly tell “the whole truth and nothing but the truth”  or are we more selective?  There are times when we may want to stomp our feet and scream, but we don’t.  Why not?  Because we like to keep the ugly locked away and hidden.

Are we the same way with God?  Do we come before Him with partial truths and incomplete confessions?  Even though we know that He knows all, at times we are not transparent and open.

Do we offer God partials?   All of my heart?  Really?  Can’t I just keep this part here and that part over there?  Isn’t ‘most’ good enough?  Not in the end. Is some better than none?  Certainly!  But God wants to be our “all in all” not just our “some of a bit”.  It is a journey.  The question we need to be asking is do we love Jesus more today than we did yesterday or a week or a year ago?  Is our faith growing?  After all, in reality, we are a work in progress.

Scripture reference: Psalm 17: 1-7 and 15


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God Needs Time

In John 14, Thomas’ concern is so often our concern too – “how can we know the way?”  Jesus’ words of reply show us.  He is the way, the truth, and the life.In my head I know this to be true.  Yet at times I struggle to live this out in my life.  I doubt and question.  I wrestle with God for control of my life.  I want to follow John’s way.  But then I realize that I am insufficient.  God is necessary.

In both weakness and conceit, I need God.  In one to give me strength and in one to humble me.  At all times, God is good.  At all times He gives me just what I need.  It is our task to take in the things God offers at all times.

To be able to do so, we must really know Him.  To know Him requires frequent trips back to the basics – time in the scriptures, bowing in prayer, lifting our voice in praise, serving others.  The list goes on.  All are paths to come to know the way, the truth, and the life.  Faith is a pretty simple thing.  We must give of ourselves – mostly in time – to come to really know the way, the truth, and the life.


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Our Words

Isaiah 50:4 reads, “The sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.”  God’s word is a guide to us too and can also be a mean of holding us accountable.  His word is always true.

Our words can be both good and bad, truth and lies.  We can use our words to teach about God, to encourage and bring hope, to counsel and correct.  But we can also use our words to bring conflict, strife, and disagreements.  Because our words are so powerful, we must choose them carefully.  The expression “Think before you speak” comes to mind.

Despite the power of our words, our actions often ‘speak’ louder.  Anyone can talk.  Anyone can say almost anything they want.  But most think that what we do is more indicative of who or what we really are.

The reality is that for all of us, both our words and our actions must mesh, must come from the same source.  The Word of God is that source.  To matter in our world, as Christians we must act and speak the words of love, healing and justice all the time.  The message of Jesus needs to come through loud and clear in all of what we say and do.  In order to speak and act on God’s word, we need to be in the word.  Happy reading!!