VerseD: John 8:32
“. . . and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:32, ESV
Jesus is the truth. True freedom is knowing, believing in, and trusting Him.
Ultimately, freedom is from sin and fully realized in eternity.
a simple man of God
Hopefully making theology simpler to understand! (2 Corinthians 1:12)
Posts Tagged ‘ Truth ’
VerseD: Psalm 18:30
This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
Psalm 18:30, ESV
Scripture continues to be proven true, whether through fulfilled prophecy, archaeology, or by living it out.
Live out God’s Word, and your soul shall find refuge.
VerseD: John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6 ESV
As the bumper sticker states, “No Jesus, No Peace. Know Jesus, Know Peace.”
Contrary to popular belief, Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
VerseD: Colossians 4:5-6
Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Colossians 4:5-6, ESV
Do not complain about the sins of non-believers. Do not berate non-believers nor treat them with disrespect.
Show love and grace. Speak kindly, but truthfully.
And remember: treat a wayward brother as a sinner (non-believer).
Play-Doh Heart
Find solid wisdom through the thoughts at Proverbial Thought!
There are some things in this world that are rock solid and others that are softer, more pliable.
Something that should never be seen as pliable is Truth. While some things may not be black and white, set in stone (such as one person thinking the weather is beautiful while another thinks it is horrible) most truths are firm (such as the weather is overcast and rainy).
One truth that is never negotiable, no matter how much someone may want it to be, is that God is real and sovereign, and Jesus Christ is His Son who died for the sins of the world.
On the other hand, there are some things that are just better the softer they are: some cookies and cake, gelatin (without being melted, of course), your seat on an airplane, water after you have been pushed from the side of the pool, Play-Doh, and on and on.
Something that should always be pliable is your heart and mind. While you hold firm to certain truths, you should always be willing to always learn, always love, and always seeking after truth. Just as Play-Doh is soft, pliable, and even fun to shape and mold, so must our hearts be in this world of pain, injustice, and competing attentions.
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
1 Peter 3:8
Here is the thing: you must entrust your Play-Doh heart to the Rock of Salvation. Only in His hands can it be properly and lovingly formed for the greatest good.
Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind.
Psalm 26:2
On our own, we will only have some fun, waste some time, and forget to put the lid back on at the end of the day. Then our Play-Doh hearts become hard. In hardness they either become brittle or useless … or both.
1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers put me to the test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known my ways.”
11 Therefore I swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter my rest.”Psalm 95, ESV
Mythic Jesus?
Find truth in myth by finding wisdom in proverbs over at Proverbial Thought!
My wife and I have been in a class at Phoenix Seminary for the past two months, and this class is “Technology in Ministry”.
One of the first ideas introduced to us is the idea of technology becoming mythic. This idea is that once a technology is introduced it relatively quickly seems to have always been with us, usually within a generation.
Think about it: what would life be like without the wheel? What would life be like without light bulbs or refrigerators or running water? What would life be like without the internet or cell phones?
And to drive that last part home, cell phones are less than 20 years old (affordable, small, portable, able to fit in a pocket), yet almost every people group on the planet has cell phones. I personally witnessed it in the mountains of Morocco, and a friend has seen them in the mountainous regions of China where there is almost no other modern technology.
Children born in the past decade will have no experience in a world without the internet or touchscreens. For this children, touchscreens and the internet are mythic. They have always been here.
Other things become mythic, too.
When we hear the word “myth” we automatically jump to the same conclusion as C.S. Lewis before he converted to Christianity: myths are lies and fancy.
What J.R.R. Tolkien and Hugo Dyson showed him, however, is that myths are always based on some element of truth.
The ancient myths most likely were derived from actual people and events in history, but over time they became embellished and twisted. They are not lies, but they are stories that lost their way.
In other words, myths are simply stories. Some contain more truth than others.
Over centuries and even millennia, many stories of human history, stories that pointed to the truth of God, were embellished and twisted. Many people assume there could not have been a global flood. It just seems so outrageous. Yet, virtually every ancient culture around the world had flood stories that are eerily similar, stories that may have been embellished and twisted here and there.
But because these stories have always been with us, we just disregard them as mythic.
But what if a myth was shared that was not embellished or twisted? I mean, it always happens, especially in an age of instant gratification in which people share a story before having all of the facts and the story gets blown out of proportion and people get hurt (like the woman who sued McDonald’s over hot coffee).
Our stories quickly become mythic. There is truth, and it is possible to find that truth.
The thing that Tolkien and Dyson helped Lewis to see is that the myth of Jesus Christ is a true myth.
For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
2 Peter 1:16, ESV
Weekend Words & Sunday Stanzas – 03/09/2014
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25, NIV
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|when Truth speaks|when Truth is spoken
people get defensive
when Truth is shared
people must face how they live
when Truth is lived
no one can deny
when Truth is displayed
no one dares to try
when Truth speaks
He changes our lives
when Truth speaks
He says follow Christ
when Truth speaks
He moves within us
when Truth speaks
He speaks with justice
when Truth speaks
He gives living water
when Truth speaks
He shows all favor
when Truth speaks
He points to the Truth
when Truth speaks
He says “I died for you”
when Truth speaks
the Messiah speaks
when Truth speaks
He says “I am He”
when Truth speaks
we better listen
when Truth speaks
we become different
when Truth speaks
it is for repentance
when Truth speaks
it is not just for fun
when Truth speaks
it is to set us free
when Truth speaks
He says “Come. Follow Me”
a simple man of God
Do we truly love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths? Maybe I can help with the mind part, at least! This is Daniel M. Klem, apparent poet, reluctant yet passionate Disciple (Peter?), and foolish man attempting to understand theology!
