2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
The Lord leads me to tell you that He is the God of Truth. This is so important to Him that there simply wasn’t time in one devotion to say all He wanted me to say about it. So today, He leads me to continue on this very crucial subject. I hope you will begin your time with God today by reading Psalm 15: 1-5, a song by David titled “What God Requires.” Our desire is to be secure, and God tells us through David exactly what we must do to achieve that. (1-3) “Lord, who may enter your Temple? Who may worship on Zion, Your sacred hill? A person who obeys God in everything and always does what is right, whose words are true and sincere, and who does not slander others. He does no wrong to his friends and does not spread rumors about his neighbors.” Someone called me today and told me how a third party had overheard a confidential conversation he was having with his boss. That third party went to the subject of the conversation overheard and told him about it to cause trouble. This is hardly Godly behavior. The evil consequences that come from this kind of sinning can be far-reaching. Yet, things like this happen every day. When we obey the Lord, gossip is not a part of our lives. I’ve been the subject of malicious gossip myself in the past and can testify how hurtful and unproductive it can be, not just to the subject of it but to those engaged in it too. Betraying confidences is another way truth can easily be exchanged for the devil’s work. A counselor, doctor, pastor, parent, friend, or anyone who is entrusted with confidences can’t carry out their role without respecting them seriously. It is a mark of professionalism that a person can keep sensitive things said to them to themselves. The God of truth knows and teaches us that disobedience in this area can only lead to sin and tragedy.
As I have often said before, one could draw the conclusion that David was pretty reprehensible without the view of his inner soul that is revealed to us through the Psalms. Look at PS 25:5 and see his attitude toward truth in this prayer he offers for forgiveness. “Teach me to live according to Your truth, for You are my God, Who saves me. I always trust in You.” This is a prayer we should all offer. David obeyed God as He matured spiritually. He shows us that no matter what went on before in our own lives, God forgives and blesses those who repent and come to Him. This is what David did. The more David obeyed, the closer He came to God. The same is true for us. The more we obey God, the better we get to know Him. This same need to ask God for forgiveness is shown again in PS 51. Once again, David reiterates in (6), “Sincerity and truth are what You require; fill my mind with Your wisdom.” Now look at what follows in (7-15) to see where this wonderful confession leads David. “Remove my sin, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear the sound of joy and gladness; and though You have crushed me and broken me, I will be happy once again. Close Your eyes to my sins and wipe out all my evil. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from Your presence; do not take Your Holy Spirit away from me. Give me again the joy that comes from Your salvation and make me willing to obey You. Then I will teach sinners Your commands, and they will turn back to You. Spare my life, O God, and save me, and I will gladly proclaim Your righteousness. Help me to speak, Lord, and I will praise You.” What we see here is a genuine confession and desire to repent. As David’s prayer continues we can see a path God is taking him on directly to service which not only carries out God’s will but also brings David and others great joy-the joy that comes from obedience to God! If David (and us) obey God, that security spoken of in the earlier Psalm is right there waiting for us. Now, I find that pretty awesome.
JN 8: 31-47 is the passage that talks about free men and slaves that contains these famous words, “So Jesus said to those who believed in Him, ‘ If you obey my teaching, you are really My disciples; you will know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ ” When we refuse to repent, we are slaves to sin. Christ pointed out that the only way to break that yoke to sin is to repent and come to faith in Him. Here we learn that real freedom comes from knowing the truth. (34-35) have some huge implications for us. “Jesus said to them, ‘I am telling you the truth; everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave does not belong to a family permanently, but a son belongs there forever.’ “ Our great desire as believers is to inherit God’s Kingdom and have life eternal. To stop sinning, we need to know God’s truth and come to believe it. In other words, without the truth, we can’t live forever with the Father. (44) reminds us of the worst enemy God has, laying this issue right on the line. Christ calls the devil “a murderer who has never been on the side of truth.” The devil is a “liar and the father of all lies.” The bottom line is found in (47), “He who comes from God listens to God’s words…”
I know that I cite certain Scriptures often, but it is never to annoy or bore you. It is because the Lord tells me that they are so important. RO 1: 18-20, “God’s anger is revealed from heaven against all the sin and evil of the people whose evil ways suppress the truth, preventing it from being known. God punishes them, because what can be known about Him is plain to them, for God Himself made it plain. Ever since God created the world, His invisible qualities, both His eternal power and His divine natures, have been clearly seen; they are perceived in the things that god has made. So those people have no excuse at all [for rejecting God]!” The rest of this section through (32) shows the evil consequences of how sin spreads from the mind to actions. There are consequences for both the sinner himself and for the society around him too.
PRAYER: O Lord, You reveal Yourself as the God of Truth, because You want us to understand that our thoughts, decisions, and actions affect not only us but those around us. Sometimes they affect people we will never actually meet. You want to do Your work through us, and we need to realize that by obeying You, You are able to do that. Help us to make Your truth a major priority in our lives the way Joshua, Samuel, David, Paul, and Your Son did. You deserve nothing less than that from us. In Christ’s name, amen.
Remember that RO 8: 28 is a message from God Who loves all of us who believe. Our loving Abba wants what is best for us and is showing us how to make that possible through all the examples of obedient people from the Scriptures by which we can learn His ways. He reveals Himself as the God of Truth, because He knows we can’t have joy in our lives without truth. Peter and I wish you joy and send our love today and always.
Grace, Peace, and Love,
Lynn