Tag: Truth

Devotional

Thoughts on Speaking the Truth

whenravenscryLeave a comment

The Bible tells us to be “speaking the truth in love” (Eph. 4.15). It doesn’t use the word” speak”. It uses “speaking”. So it seems  that this isn’t a once and done thing.

“But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:” Ephesians 4:15

Sometimes it seems easier to say nothing, then cause a stir. But, what if someone never got right with the Lord because we always strive to not offend someone? 

Proverbs 29:5 says, “A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet.” 

The Lord requires us to warn people.  The Lord said in Ezekiel 3:18, “ When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.”

Leviticus 19:17 commands,

“Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.”

Proverbs 27:5-6 says,  “Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”

If we don’t tell someone the truth, we don’t love them. It seems today that people are too afraid of offending someone that they won’t say anything.

But when we speak the truth it should be motivated out of love. 

When we speak it should not be because we think we are better than others, or done out of a mean spirit. God hates this. Proverbs 8:13 reads, “[P]ride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.” 

Even the Pharisees spoke the truth (sometimes). Jesus said in  Matthew 23:3-5, “All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. . .  But all their works they do for to be seen of men . . .”

Matthew 12:46 reminds us, “  . . . That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” We will give account of our words, whether they were from God or not.

God bless.

Thoughts

Reason, Evidence, Thoughts

whenravenscry

These are just a few thoughts that I had as I was reading the Bible lately.

Proverbs 26:16 reads,

“The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.” 

A sluggard can find more reasons not to do something, than seven wise men.  If you really don’t  want to do something you will find a reason. If you really want to do something you will also find a reason (Pr. 23.35).  And if they don’t want to, men will find a reason not to believe in the Lord.

We might not win an argument with a lost soul by reason. But God can change hearts.

Proverbs 21:1 reads, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.”

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26

Our Lord in His earthly ministry  spent so much time in prayer. The last thing He did before going to the cross was getting alone with His disciples in prayer. As our perfect example we too should dedicate a lot of time to prayer if we want to be victorious.

“(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)” II Cor. 10.4

Sometimes we wonder why men don’t see the Lord. It isn’t because there is no evidence to point to Him. 

John 1:3-5 reads,“ All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” 

But men are blinded by the Devil and sin.

“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not . . .” II Cor. 4.4

“That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:” Acts  17.27

Reason might not help. But we can pray for them, and the Lord can change their heart. And He

can open their eyes.

“[O]ne thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” John 9:25

The Bible tells us that sin blinds us.

Matthew 7:3 reads, “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” 

If we ourselves haven’t been seeing the Lord like we want, maybe we need to make a change.

Matthew 5:8 tells us, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”

These have been just a few thoughts.

God bless.

Thoughts

Thoughts on John 3:14-18

whenravenscry

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

 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.

 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:14-18

Here Jesus talks about Himself the Son of man. He says that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so He must be lifted up. What is He talking about? Numbers 21 gives the account of God telling Moses to make a serpent of brass. Why did God do this? Earlier the people sinned against the Lord, and so He judged them and sent poisonous snakes among them, and they bit them. But the Lord was merciful. He told Moses to make a brass serpent on a pole, that anyone who looked on it would be healed. If people believed God and turned to look  they would be healed.This represents Jesus. 

Why was it a serpent on a pole? The people were bitten by serpents. It represented the judgment of God. Jesus on the cross shows the judgment of God. God couldn’t let sin go unpunished. And even when our sins were placed  on  His only begotten Son Jesus, God judged.

But like the brass serpent was for healing and not for condemnation, so the Father didn’t send Jesus into the world for condemnation. He sent Him to be a Saviour. If we just look to Jesus, acknowledge our sinfulness, and ask for forgiveness, we will be healed.

Just like the people bitten by the snakes were already doomed to die, so is every one of the human race condemned already who hasn’t trusted Jesus as Saviour.

“ For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:17-18


“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Romans 5:12

Jesus says, “ . . . I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”(John 14.6).

“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation . . .” (Heb 2.3).

Unless we ask Jesus to save us, we will have to face the judgment of God.

Scriptures

Thoughts on Covering Up

whenravenscry

These are just some different thoughts I had on “covering up” when reading the Bible.

Proverbs 28:13-14 reads, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.” 

“How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?” John 5:44

I had these two Scriptures in my Bible reading one day and it got me thinking. If we lie to cover up something, whose honor are we valuing more? The world talks about “white lies” a lot. But if we lie to cover up something ( not necessarily sin) are we loving the praise of men more than the praise of God? Does telling a lie please our Heavenly Father? 

If we are doing something wrong we should change it. But we ought to consider or ask what God thinks of what we are doing. If  we are pleasing God, then other people might have a problem. If so then they need to work it out and not us. It might be that society has a problem. 

The same Proverb in verse 1 tells us,“[T]he righteous are bold as a lion.”  If we keep our focus on what God thinks of us, and not what men think of us then it surely will help us to be the  bold witness that the Lord wants.  But if “white lies” are a habit we might lose our boldness.

When we lie to cover something up then we aren’t fearing the Lord like we should. And then that leads to the hardening of the heart according to Proverbs 28:14. Then it seems like there is a danger of deceiving ourselves.

Surely admitting when we are wrong helps us stay humble. But not doing this might invite pride.

Confessing our sins makes us love our Heavenly Father more (Luke 7.41-43). It helps us love other people more (Matt. 24.12).

John 3:20-21 reads, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” 

I guess not only does sin hinder our relationship with the Lord, it hinders our relationship with God’s people. God is light (I John 1.5), but He also called His Churches to give light to the world. (Rev. 1.20;Matt. 5.14-16). If we are doing evil, we won’t come to the light.

Also a scorner doesn’t love one that reproves him (Pr. 15.12). According to this verse it seems doing this could make us  fall into a scornful attitude.

It seems like from the Bible we all learn early to lie (Ps. 58.3).  The Proverb says we will be “happy” if we confess and forsake our sins. If we want the happy  life that God wants we need to ask the Lord to help us and listen to Him. 

God bless.

Devotional

Just the Facts

whenravenscry

Is just listing facts the same thing as telling the truth?

Does just listing the facts paint a complete picture?

This is something I’ve been thinking about. 

Now the  Lord commanded Moses to send out twelve men, rulers of the people to search out the land of Canaan and give a report of the land.  If you know this story, you know that there were two reports given. Joshua and Caleb gave a good report, while the other ten gave a bad report.

The ten told how strong the inhabitants armies were. But Joshua and Caleb told how the Lord was able to overcome all their problems. Most of what the ten actually said was true, but the picture that they gave wasn’t clear. Even though they gave facts, the picture they gave wasn’t clear. Joshua and Caleb remembered what the Lord did for them in the past. The others left God out of it. 

“Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.”( Mat. 22.29 ). If we are leaving God out of a matter we surely don’t have all the facts about a situation! And  we won’t have a good picture. 

When a story has a fact to back it up, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is true. We find this in the first three chapters of Genesis. We read how in the Garden of Eden the Lord gave man everything he needed, and every tree. But Satan moreless comes in and points to the one tree that God didn’t give. The one that was basically poisonous. And he makes it sound like that God doesn’t love them, and is holding something back from them. It was a fact that God said not to eat from that tree. But it wasn’t because He didn’t love them. And it was not because God was holding something back from them. 

False claims can have some facts to them. In life there are going to be multiple sides to stories. But if one voice is against the Lord, we can be certain we aren’t getting the complete picture from them.

If Satan  could do that in Eden, what could he do with our view of other people if we let him? The Lord doesn’t have faults, but people do. If you look at any one long enough you will  find something wrong .”For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Ecc. 7.20).  But we might look at them and forget the good. For Christians they do have the Lord in them.  We need to ask the Lord to help our view of them.

I just read recently how Death Valley California experienced a flash flood. Does that mean that Death Valley is usually a wet swampy place? Just because there is data to back up a claim that doesn’t mean it is the complete picture.

Jesus said, “I am . . . the truth” (John 14.6).  And what Jesus says about something, and what He thinks about something is truth. Even what facts we see don’t necessarily add up in the moment. 

Jesus also said of His Father’s word, “ . . .thy word is truth.” (John 17.17). If we want to know the truth, we need to seek  the Lord and His Word.  And if we want to know the truth about anything we need ask the Lord to always help us see it.

These have been just a few thoughts. God bless.

Scriptures

Thoughts on Talebearers

whenravenscryLeave a comment

Thoughts on Talebearers

Proverbs 4:22 tells us of the words of God, “ For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.”

Jesus said in John 6:63, ” [T]he words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.“

The Bible tells us that God’s Word heals and brings life. But on the other hand lies hurt.

Proverbs 26:22 reads, “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.” 

Now I just thought of a talebearer as a person who gossips. But there is more to it than that.  It can be  a person that bears false tales. They can be bringing idle tales, false tales.  Part of the meaning of the word “talebearer”  has to do with  slander and lies. If we are just telling a tale and rather what God has said or done for us, it can hurt people rather than help them.

Proverbs 26:28 warns, “A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.”

Proverbs 12:17-18 says, “He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.“

Something can have a Biblical basis, but still be untrue. We read in I Kings 22:6, “ Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.” If we keep reading we see these men are lying. God didn’t say He would deliver them.  This tale might have had a Biblical basis, as the Lord said He would fight Israel’s battles for her. But the Lord didn’t have that to say to them at that time.  

Job said, “But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.” (Job 13.4).

The Bible tells us that if we want our words to help, we can’t tell lies or tales, but what God says (whether good or bad).  And we can’t mix in God’s Words, and say what we  want and think someone needs to hear.

Ezekiel 13:22 reads, “Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:” 

These have been just a few thoughts.

God bless.