Good morning, my Friends. Same scenario as last week…. I just got in from both my dog walk and then my walk with Pam, its 6:40 am; its 68 degrees in St. Louis ON AUGUST 5TH; there is virtually NO HUMIDITY. What a treat. Thank you God!
As Pam and I were driving back from Lake of the Ozarks yesterday, I couldn’t get this topic out of my mind. It was probably sparked by a recent conversation I had, but the question lingered and wouldn’t go away. “What is truth?” What I find interesting is… that’s the same question Pilate asked Jesus, and it is the same question I get many times when I speak of the truth of scripture. I frequently hear “what truth are you talking about…there are many truths”. Humm…as I recall Oprah said that too.
I will concede that there are many truths. There are the truths (or laws) of mathematics, of physics, of aerodynamics, there are laws of nature, there are truths of life (ie. if you place your hand on a hot surface, you will get burned; if you disturb a hornet’s nest, you’d better run). But the truth I am talking about is the truth Jesus was talking about when he told his apostles in the Gospel of John, 8:32: “…if you hold to my teachings you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
As I see that verse there are three distinct sections. From the back to the front, the nugget of truth is, “the truth will set you free”. But not just any truth; Jesus is VERY specific. The truth he is talking about is found in “MY teachings.” In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life….” Jesus was the Word incarnate; he was the Word of God in the flesh. That was one purpose for which he came; so we could not only hear the truth but to see it in action. Jesus modeled God’s truth in everything he said and in everything he did. Oh yes, FYI… Jesus response to Pilate’s questions was… “I was born for this purpose. And I came to bring truth to the world.” John 19:37
The unfortunate truth about the truth listed above is this truth: it is all predicated on the first two words: “IF YOU…” In order to reap the blessings of the truth of God’s word, one first has to participate in the process of being exposed to Jesus’ teachings. It all begins with a willingness on the part of the “newcomer” to put forth an effort….to explore the possibility of “what if”; to be willing to open their eyes, their minds and their hearts to the transforming power of Jesus’ teaching, ie. the truth of God’s Word. This is the only way faith can develop.
Only when we begin to see and experience the truth of the scriptures can we begin to grow our faith and build our new life on that solid rock known as The Word of God!
I hope you all have a great week, and I’ll see you next Monday.
God Bless ya…
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
Thanks for the post above Danny. I miss talking to you about scripture, Jesus’ teachings, and God’s love. I’ll be checking in regularly here at your Website. Vey glad you put yourself out there.
Take good care my forever friend. All the best to you and Pam always.
Eddie Boy-