Feelings, Moods, Conviction, Truth and Peace – Part 2

Finally, Think on These Things Php 4:8 

The Bottom Line is What is True?

Some say truth is flexible.

Some say truth is inflexible.

I am old fashioned and proud of it.

I love the old rugged truth.

It makes believing so easy.

In his word I meet my God, the great God.

Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. 

Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. 1Ch 29:11-12 

Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. Jer 10:6  

Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee. Jer 10:7  

Sometimes it is not about feeling, but about obedience.

Man changes.

God does not.

Man is finite.

God is infinite.

Man is unforgiving, bitter, and vengeful.

God’s mercy is everlasting.

Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: 

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; 

Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; 

Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. Psa 103:1-5  

Jesus: The Way, the Truth, and the Life

Then I dip in the gospels and there I find my truth.

My Jesus.

“And you will now the truth,” he promises. “And the truth will set you free.”

What is the purpose of life, but to feel free?

In Christ I meet the perfect truth. And where true Christ is there is true liberty.

So the verse screams:

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

But truth about what?

About Creation

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 

And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. Col 1:16-17  

About Man

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. 

Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: 

All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; 

The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. 

O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! Psa 8:3-9  

But O there is more!

O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. 

Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. 

Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. 

For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. 

Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me. 

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Psa 139:1-6 

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. Psa 139:14 

About Woman

Oh, the glory! Oh, the joy!

And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Gen 2:23  

For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. 

Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. 1Co 11:8-9 

Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD. Pro 18:22 

Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. Pro 5:19 

Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? Son 6:10  

About Life

O this life! The depth of it! The length of it! The height of it!

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Joh 3:16  

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Joh 6:35  

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom 6:23  

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. Joh 10:10  

About the Future

This world is not my home. Heaven is my home.

I am a traveler here. Pilgrim.

One day I will die, and I will be gone. Then I shall know no more pain, or sorrow or death.

Because this first world shall have passed away.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Mat 6:19-21 

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 

And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 1Jn 2:15-17  

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. Joh 14:1-3 

Yes, Think Again

So I am reminded to think on these things every day.

For my own joy.

For his glory.

Thinking is not sweet.

In fact it is boring.

But nevertheless think.

It is about discipline.

About commitment.

The road is narrow, but with him at the head everything is made easy.

Yes, for his commandments are not grievous.

They are for our peace.

As it is written:

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Isa 26:3  

There. The truth. There is a peace which truly passes understanding.

It is a mystery. Like contentment.

There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen: 

The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. Job 28:7-8  

God knows us, and he knows what is good for us. Though we doubt. Though we fight. Though we pant. But in the end we see.

The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity. Psa 94:11  

Job and his friends were very wise. Every word of theirs dripped with wisdom.

But in the end Job owned up:

I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. 

Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. Job 42:5-6  

So too the wisest king that ever lived, saw.

“Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”

God grant us to see, and to feel rightly.