What is Truth?

Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. Jhn 18:38 

Truth Has Many Shades, but Only One is Real

Pilate asked Jesus a question.

And without him recognizing it, he answered it himself. “I find in him no fault at all.”

That is truth. It has no fault.

And Jesus himself affirmed it: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (Jhn 14:6).

Again, he says: “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.”

And the writer of the Song of Songs sang of this of truth: “Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee” (Sng 4:7).

So, everyone has their version of truth. But only one truth endures.

What do you believe?

And why do you believe it?

That answer is important. It can make the difference between hell and heaven.

Truth and Faith

It is not always what you see. Many times it is in what you don't see. Truth rarely arrives with a bang. It can land as softly as snow. “Be still, and know I am God.”

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. Jer 29:13

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Jer 33:3 

Truth may arrive early. It may arrive late. But it always does, one way or another.

What Are the Benefits of Believing God (The Truth?)

The truth I am referring to is the theological one. The truth of God, not of man. The truth of man changes. But the truth of God is eternal.

1. You will know God.

It begins with God. He created us and not we ourselves.

In him we live and have our being.

We get that right, and we will get everything else right about life.

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Jhn 8:32

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Jhn 8:36 

But the world is a composite of many truths.

It begins with our parents. They told us they bought us from the market.

Everything that follows after that is invented.

Truth is always old fashioned in essence.

There is no new thing under the sun.  

It is only through God’s grace, that we come to the knowledge of truth. Hence it is by grace that we are saved, and not of our own work, but it is a gift of God, that no one should boast.

And hence we also talk of darkness and light.

In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. Jhn 1:4-5 

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. Jhn 1:9-10 

2. You will know yourself.

Contrary to popular opinion man is not very good. Without God man will become a beast. The evidence is there. We see it every day.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jer 17:9 

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. Rom 3:10 

And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.

Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.

According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence. Isa 59:14-18 

3. You will know others.

With the eyes opened to the way of truth, the first thing we have is peace. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1).

This peace is real. It is not of works, but of faith.

That is why it is a peace which passes understanding.

It is the peace of God. The peace of Christ. The prince of peace.

It is the peace and truth which, after the treasure hunter had hunted it, and found it, he sold everything and bought it.

You would too, if you knew the truth.

Then you will love others unconditionally.

You will forgive them.

The lives of others will matter more than yours.

You will be despised for it of course.

But hope maketh not ashamed.

It is the hope of glory, the hope of having eyes opened, the hope of what counts more than this life.

It is him. Jesus Christ, my hope and my truth.

I will love all. I will hope all. I will endure all.

Flesh is a prison.

The world is a prison.

Only in Christ is true freedom found.

That is a heavy truth. It colors the whole life.

“I counted everything as dung,” says the apostle.

The discovery of truth always leaves that impression.

As another king philosopher reckoned: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”

A vapour disappearing in the air.

Truth and Submission

It takes humility to accept I don't know.

We boast in our worth.

It is hard to see truth in such a mindset.

Part of the reason the world hates God is because his knowledge is indisputable.

The world frowns at such a finality.

It embraces a lie instead.

And here is the hard part.

God is love still!

So he gives a people their desire, but he sends leanness in their lives.

He does it in the hope it will save them.

It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion. Isa 29:8 

Christ called it the narrow road.

And that is the mystery of our faith.

It is hard.

But it is also very easy.

Truth and Commandments

Someone who pits our obedience/disobedience to blessing and curses feels like an autocratic.

Our view of true love is where we have absolute freedom to do as we please - without “threats.”

Hence God can feel like that hard parent.

That nosy parent.

That parent who is always instructing.

But the hardness is for our own good.

Truth cries in the streets.

Open your heart and let him in.

Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.

For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.

Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth.

Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee.

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Pro 4:1-7

The Truth and Convention

School is a factory.

Life is a market.

The individual is a spot in a large grey clothing. A mark, a stain.

But truth defies school settings.

It stands alone.

Is God right?

Am I bad?

Completely?

We battle with such thoughts.

We don't shout them. We suppress them.

But what if what I know is a lie?

Ask God.

He is the Truth.

He answers our queries.

He knows our struggles.

He knows our frame, that we are dust.

  

 These 40 Years: The Years of Itching

Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years. 

In Remembrance of God’s Faithfulness

At 62, I have nearly had 40 years of wilderness.

Remove the years of schooling.

And what remains is about 40.

There’s a sense we spend our “40” years as a tale that is told.

I read the above verse and it stirred a deep chord in me.

It is not that I loved him. But that he loved me still.

As Paul summarized his own life, I think I can so too about mine: “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1Ti 1:15).  

And yet God found me lovable!

I am not rich.

I am not famous.

But I have never lacked. I have been through the worst of worst, but in all of it God came through. I wasn’t even saved then. I hardly knew the door of a church for years. I am not a prayer warrior. I am a poet and a poor Sunday school teacher.

Yet in all these years God has been found faithful.

I have grown up now. I have shed off the childishness. I have shed off the fears and anxieties. Not that I am perfect. I am still learning.

But I understand God better.

Even more pertinent, I understand myself better.

I have come to myself!

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. 

My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 

Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. 

How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! 

If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee. Psa 139:14-18  

Yea, I have been to hell and back many times, O LORD, but thou wast still with me.

What more can a man ask?

From Slavery to Freedom

It is interesting how the scripture story weaves all into one. Christ is the fullness of God.

Then they dwelt in tents in the wilderness.

But they still murmured.

Now we dwell in stone houses, but we still murmur.

It is not the house. It has never been the house. It has always been about the heart.

And only Christ can mend that.

We are born into the world (being dead in sins and trespasses).

And Egypt is the symbol of the world in scripture. “Egypt” is where we are born, and “Egypt” is where we get enslaved. The “Pharaoh” is our idol.

But in “Egypt” we cry unto the Lord and he hears and he saves.

“Let my people go.”

A Song Worth Singing

He redeems from the world and from the irons of the devil. As the psalmist ably sang.

O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. 

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; 

And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south. 

They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. 

Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. 

Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. 

And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. 

Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Psa 107:1-7 

God has seen us through the Exodus.

God will see us through the Promised Land too.

Each one will get his inheritance.

Each one will have his mansion.

40 symbolizes completion. It is the stepping out after boot camp. So in Deuteronomy Moses gives the Israelites a recap, or a summary of all that God had done and meant to them, for their own sake.

And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. 

And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. Deu 8:2-3    

40 Years Full of Grace

40 is not the destination.

40 is the beginning of more.

And Abraham saw it.

It is was not Canaan which was the end. Canaan was the beginning.

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 

For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Heb 11:8-10  

Paul fleshens this out further in 1Corinthians 10.

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 

And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 

And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 

And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. Co 10:1-4 

So 40 has come and gone.

But what will it leave behind?

That is what is important.

Moses pleaded for his people.

Now Christ pleads for us. “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Heb 7:25).  

This is the bread which came from heaven, that if a man eat, he will live forever.

But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 

Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Heb 9:11-12 

What is the Result?

What has been the result of 40 years for me?

The itch has gone.

Now I am capable of more love.

More patience.

Better understanding.

More mercy.

More meaning.

More contentment.

More peace.

More joy.

From glory to more glory.

From faith into more faith.

These 40 years. God has been rich.

Count your years.

Count his blessings.

These 40 years.

It is not the end.

It is the beginning of a new thing.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28). 

My purpose is not your purpose.

And neither is your purpose my purpose.

Let every man abide wherein he is called.

It is your purpose.

It is your meaning of life.

Find it. Enjoy it.

But only in God.

Remove him, and the itch returns.

 

 

 

This is Why We Fight

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 1Ti 6:12 

The Unseen War

To believe is to be at war.

To read the Bible is to be at war.

To meditate.

To sing.

To share.

To pray.

It is war throughout.

God Taught His People How to Fight

Not that God is combative, but the days are evil.

And the whole world lies in wickedness.

It is exhorted: Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

To “work out” is to fight.

Daily we are at war.

Against pride.

Against anger.

Against fear.

Against lies.

Against unbelief.

Against false accusation.

Against laziness.

Against tiredness.

Against lust.

Against social media.

Against war at home.

Against war at church.

It is war up to the end. Be assured of that.

Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 

But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 2Ti 3:12-13  

So we praise, and that is war.

We serve, and that is war.

We pray and that is war.

Fight on, brethren. You are not alone.

He is there with you.

Remember his promises.

Cleave to them.

He will never leave you nor forsake you.

The Old Nature Versus The New

To “work out” is to fight.

Because the old nature will want to pull you back. It won’t die easily.

The world will want to pull you back.

The devil will want to pull you back.

Temptations and trials will arise.

Will you fight or will you resign?

To pray is to fight.

Daniel fought.

Habakkuk fought.

Abraham believed God against hope.

The prophets fought.

Paul and Silas sang in prison.

But they kept the faith.

They fought to the end.

Will you?

And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 

Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 

Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Heb 11:32-34  

 

Wrestle the Whole Night

Jacob wrestled with God the whole night.

In the morning he received the blessing.

How long have you?

And while you are at it remember to keep the joy!

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. 

So take up the whole armor of God. Girting your loins with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and shodding your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. And above all take the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And don’t forget the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

There is a war we can see. The bigger war is the one we can’t see. Hence we are enjoined to pray always with all prayer.

Persistently.

Perseveringly.

Without ceasing.

Travel Light

To win a war one must travel light.

To win war one has to fight well according to the Captain’s instructions. To win war one has to be healthy. To win war one must know one’s enemies.

Is it self?

Is it the world?

Is it the devil?

A good soldier separates himself from the world. A good soldier of Christ guards himself against pollution. 

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Heb 12:1  

A good soldier takes care whom he mixes with in this life.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Gal 6:7  

Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. 1Co 15:33  

A good soldier is loyal to his king. He does not regard his life but only that of the king.

A good soldier is faithful up to the end.

Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you. 1Sa 12:24  

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Php 1:6 

Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. 1Th 5:24 

A good soldier practices daily to stay fit.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 

(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 2Co 10:3-5 

Think Eternally

Choose well your fights.

Not every war is your war.

War comes in many nuances.

You want to do right by God, but then you also have to labour and eat.
You want to be honest, but being dishonest pays a higher wage. You want to remain pure, but you also want marriage and children. You want to marry, and marry in church, but you also have to pay dowry.
You are jobless, but faith says trust God.
To count it joy, when there's no iota of joy, is nothing but war.

To wait on God daily. To fast. To read. To meditate. To pray. To hope. To hide. To cry. To sing. To visit. To counsel. To keep silent. To speak.

That is warfare.

It doesn't seem so.

But it is.

And having done all, stand.

The night may be long, but joy comes in the morning.

Christ is the same today, yesterday and forever.