A Thought on The Whole Truth

I read a few statements tonight that said, “Sadly, many people who assume they are saved are lost.”  Here’s another one, “Verbally professing that Jesus is Lord is necessary, but it is meaningless apart from a faith commitment to follow Him.”  And let’s finish off with, “The only way to know Jesus personally is to yield our hearts to Him by faith, that is, to make Him Lord of our lives.  Anything less is just religious ritual and activity.”

These were just three of the statements I read again tonight, and taught in a Sunday School lesson just a while back.  By themselves they were enough to get my attention, and in truth just those three statements can provide me with more than enough to meditate on for a long time.  How about you?

Are these statements true?  Sadly, the truth is that the majority of people reading this probably don’t know for sure if you believe what the statistics say about people and their knowledge of God’s Word.  And, you see that’s the problem.  A lot of people say a lot of things, and they write a lot of things, too.  How do you know that any of them are true?

There’s only one real way to know, and that’s to search it out in not what others publish about God’s Word, but IN God’s Word.  Yet, even in this, we must be careful because people like to use what are called “proof texts” which are exactly what they’re called, text that can be used to make a particular point.  Many, many people quote Scripture in this way, and in and of itself there’s nothing wrong with quoting Scripture, but just remember that the devil can quote Scripture with the best of them, and like him, there are people in this world who use it to mislead others every bit as much and as well as he does.

Please remember that even the best, most well-intentioned, most literate, and most educated people on earth can be wrong, and that’s why we need to do more than just trust what someone tells us.  We need to make sure by doing the work to find out if we’re being told the truth.

And remember this, too, getting a part and parcel of truth is as much a blatant lie as a lie.  People teach God is a God of Love and so He is, but He is also a God of Justice, Holiness, and Perfection.  You’ve heard the phrase “The truth and the WHOLE truth,” and there’s only way to know the difference.

 

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Every Woman Is Just As Beautiful

My friend Michael over at “Have A Dream” wrote this Every Woman Is Just As Beautiful, and I think it’s one of His best.  It’s deserving of a wide readership, and I hope it’s read by a great many.

It’s About Forgiveness… by Wayne Augden

You know there are a lot of things that speak to who a person is, and where they are on this road we call life.  Sometimes, we think we’ve come a long way, and we can even delude ourselves into thinking we have, but nothing is more telling on us than how we respond when we’re hurt.  Sometimes, depending on the severity of the offense, it’s fairly easy to forgive, and then there are times, when forgiveness is almost impossible.  What we have to realize though is that “forgiveness” isn’t about “forgetting,” but rather laying aside our pain, and our desire to get even, and being willing to do good to those who hurt us.  It’s about trusting God to deal justly with people.  Forgiveness is a supernatural act… it’s takes the love of God to help us do it, but we must allow and desire Him to help us if it is to take place.  If you need some help to get started…. Just imagine a man hanging on a cross, wearing a crown of thorns, spikes driven through His hands and feet…. and then listen as His pain-soaked voice speaks into the night… “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do…”

Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 

Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

My Prayer to the Father, August 25, 2012

Heavenly Father
I come to You, Father in humbleness
And praise for all that You are,
And for all that You have done.
You are the great and eternal God
Who reigns on high,
forever and ever.
You are the Author and the Creator,
And all things worthy
And deserving of praise
Are from Your hand.

Heavenly Father
You have made us in Your image;
You have made us to be people
With the capacity for thought
And the ability to feel,
And for these gifts we thank You
For without them
We would have no knowledge of You,
Nor be able to feel such love for You.
These are the gifts
Whereby You have made known
Unto man
All that they encompass
In Your Son
Jesus Christ.

Heavenly Father
With what love You love us;
With what mercy You treat us.
How would any of us
Endure but a second
Life in the darkness of this world
Were You not to show us daily
Who You are and what You
Do for us.
Who of us could within ourselves
Wake and start breathing on our own?
Could awake and begin our day
And see the sun rise
and the sun set
Apart from Your desire
That we should do so.

Heavenly Father
In the midst of this world
Corrupted by sin
Let us never forget as Your children
That You have not forsaken us,
That You have not left us comfortless,
That You are not beyond us.
Help us to always remember
That we are never beyond Your
Love, Grace, and forgiveness.

Heavenly Father
I come to You with just one plea.
Father, help Your children
To remember and never forget
That we are just that,
Your children.
That we are not capable of
Walking this earth alone;
That indeed we are not even
Capable of thought
And feeling
In ways that honor You
Apart from Your Spirit.

In Jesus name, I pray,
Amen.

Nugget # 64 Life is like a box of Crayons!

This Nugget # 64 Life is like a box of Crayons! is a short one.  Read it.  I dare you not to like it.  Matter of fact read all of her stuff.  You’ll be glad you did. 🙂