September 2, 2010

Dear Reader…

Welcome this week to “Time With God!” This weeks devotion is

titled…”Truth…the Gift From God that Keeps Us Free.” My prayer today, is that God will fill us with His true wisdom; that His truth will keep us free from the deceiving lies of Satan.

It seems, that as we are living in these end days; Satan is trying to confuse us and keep us from the truth of God. This week, on Time With God; we are going to open up some truths from God’s word, that will help us to identify and understand more about the truth, which God uses to keep us free from evil.

How many times does God reveal the truth to us but that’s as far as it goes? Do we really know how important it is to walk in the footsteps of God’s truth? What can happen when we leave the pathway of God’s truth, to walk in our own desires? These are a few things that we will be discussing this week, on Time With God.

This week we are going to study 12 truths that will help us to understand God’s truth, and how it can keep us free from evil, so let’s begin with our first one, which is…”Recognizing the truth vs. living the truth” and our reading is found in Job 32:7-9, which reads…”I thought, Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom. (8) But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding. (9) It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right.” In this reading Elihu recognized God as the only source of wisdom and truth; but at the same time Elihu never used the wisdom, that God gave him to help Job. How many of us live like Elihu? When God gives us the truth; are we taking God’s words of wisdom and placing them into action? How do we expect God’s truth to set us free, if we are only identifying with the truth; but not walking in it? When we live in this way; how do we expect God to help us? We can pray and beg God to help us all we want; but until we step into the footprints of truth, that God has laid out before us, we will never be able to press on with our lives.

The next truth that we are going to discuss is similar to the previous paragraph. Instead of recognizing the truth vs. living the truth, we are now going to discuss…”Being Close to the Truth vs. Being Committed to the Truth” and our Bible reference is found in Acts 1:16-17, which reads…”…Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus…(17) he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.” When Judas followed Jesus; he was just as close to Him, as the other disciples. Judas knew the truth, which Jesus spoke to them all; but instead of remaining committed to Jesus’ truth; Judas’ heart became hardened, while choosing to go his own way and live out his own thoughts and desires. There’s a difference between being close to God’s truth and actually being committed to it. We can know the true gift of truth, that God is offering us but are we committed to His ways of truth or are we seeing our ways and desires as something better?

The next truth that can keep us from experiencing the free life that God longs to give us through His truth, is “Stubborn Disobedience” and our Bible reference is found in Exodus 8:19, which reads…”The magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hard and he would not listen, just as the Lord had said.” When we allow our own stubbornness to get in the way of God’s truth, then we become blinded to the truth. God gave Pharaoh the opportunity to know the truth of God’s ways but because he became stubborn in his own ways; he never was able to truly know the truth that God was offering him. Stubbornness can become an obstacle, that gets in the way, so we aren’t able to find the truth from God, which can set us free. We need to lay all of our own thoughts and desires to the side and keep the pathway open, so God can continually use His truth, to free us from the deceiving ways of Satan.

What can happen when we apply a true principle in the wrong way? This is the next thing that we are going to discuss and our Bible reference is found in Job 13:4, which reads…”You, however, smear me with lies; you are worthless physicians, all of you!” In this reading; Job compared his 3 friends to physicians, that didn’t know what they were doing. His friends weren’t helping the situation; in fact, they were taking the truth and using it to judge Job, instead of encourage him. We can find ourselves doing the same thing. In order that we may use the true principle of what God may be laying upon our hearts; we should first look beyond the fault and see the need of the person more. When we can live in this way, then we aren’t going to be using God’s principles of truth in the wrong way; instead, we will be using them to help the person, instead of judge the person.

God may also use His truth to set us free from a sin in our life, so the next thing we will be discussing, is…”Denying the Truth Doesn’t Change It” and our Bible reference is found in Jeremiah 6:14, which reads…”They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. Peace, peace, they say, when there is no peace.” It’s so easy to ignore the truth; thinking that the problem will just disappear and everything will once more be ok; but until we take the truth, that God gives us; we will still remain in our sin or trial, no matter how much we try to ignore it. In this reading; God was using Jeremiah to speak the truth; but instead of using the words of truth, which God was trying to give to Israel; they were covering up the problem , by listening to other predictions of peace. When we deny God‘s truth…the truth that can either free us from sin or a circumstance; we will find that no matter how much we try to ignore the sin or problem; it will remain with us. Instead, we must get back with God and use His truth to restore our lives back with Him.

What happens when we seem to know more than God? Will we ever be able to understand and know His ways? The next truth we are going to discuss is…”We Can’t Receive God’s Truth, When We Think We Know Everything” and our Bible reference in found in John 7:46-49, which reads…”No one ever spoke the way this man does, the guards declared. (47) You mean he has deceived you also? The Pharisees retorted. (48) Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? (49) No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law…there is a curse on them.” The Pharisees resisted the truth of Christ; thinking that their ways and laws were the only true way to follow. They didn’t follow the truth of Christ because they never had it to begin with. When we choose to follow our own so called truth, then like the Pharisees…we will never obtain the real and only truth, that can come from God. Our thoughts and hearts need to remain open, so we can know the real and only truth that can set us free.

Why is it that we are seeking for the real truth that can set us free one minute, while the next minute we begin to push away God‘s truth, so we can go back and do everything our own way? Let’s see why…and the next truth we are going to discuss, is…”Why Many Push the Truth Away?” and our Bible reading is found in Acts 13:50, which says…”But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.” Instead of accepting God’s truth, they pushed the truth away by running Paul and Barnabas out of town. Truth doesn’t always come to us, the way we think it will come from God. Sometimes the truth can be difficult to accept; but when we push His truth away, we will only find that our circumstance either remains the same or becomes worse. The more we push God’s truth away; the more we are going to become distant from the only truth that can free our lives from sin or our circumstance.

Do we really know what the truth is? Are we finding ourselves confused, when it comes to knowing God’s truth? Our next truth is “Determining What Is And Isn’t The Truth” and our reading for this one is found in Luke 9:35, which reads…”A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” We can go to others for help and guidance but the way to know if God’s truth is the right way to follow, is through His word. If we are not comfortable with the truth we are being given, then we need to go directly into God’s word and ask Him to guide us into His real words of truth. We also need to remember that the truth we are receiving, should coincide with God’s word. We can ask ourselves…”Is this something God would accept and do?” If not, then we need to check again and make sure that the truth we are receiving, isn’t a trick from Satan, to get us off of God’s pathway and unto his instead.

Now we are going to study…”Who God Reveals The Truth To?” and our reading is found in Mark 4:11-12, which reads…”He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you, But to those on the outside everything is said in parables (12) so that, they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.” There may be times when we don’t understand God’s real truth and that can be because we are not ready to accept the truth. Maybe we aren’t ready because the truth may allow more temporary pain into our lives. People who have been down a long road of pain and heartache already; find it hard to accept the real truth that only comes from God because they feel as though they can’t deal with one more thing in their lives. One thing that will help us to receive and accept the truth that God is offering us, is when we pray and ask God to give us a heart, that will be willing, able and open to accept whatever He has for us. If we aren’t seeking for His truth, then we will find that is will be more difficult to discover His truth.

Now that we understand who God reveals the truth to; we need to understand…”How God Can Reveal The Truth To Us” and our scripture reading for this one is found in Mark 4:24-25, which reads…”Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you…and even more. (25) Whosoever has will be given more; whosoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” The light of God’s truth is not hidden from us. God’s light may not always reveal the complete truth of what He has for us, so as He sheds His light within our hearts and minds; He will unveil His truth, as He longs for us to walk in it. Only as we walk daily with Him and follow in His footprints; will we begin to see His truth unveiled before our very eyes. As we obey and follow only in His ways; we will have a clearer vision of His truth. Sometimes, the problem can be, that we see His truth but we don’t trust enough in His truth, to live it.

Just as we were recently talking about walking in God’s foot prints of truth; we can also discover that “Truth Provides the Right Pathway to Follow” and our reading is found in Psalm 43:3-4, which reads…”Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. (4) Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight, I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.” The psalmist was asking God to send forth His light and truth, so he could be guided on the right pathway, to where God would be. How many times do we find ourselves walking through a dark circumstance; but instead of asking God to shed forth His light and truth; we continue to suffer needlessly in the darkness of our circumstance? If we are only feeling the dark and dismal feeling, that comes from a circumstance, then we need to ask for God to shed His light of truth upon us, so once more, we can find His pathway…the pathway that will lead to where our God dwells!

Once we have discovered the gift of truth, that God is giving us, to keep us free from the deceitfulness of Satan…”How Do We Hold Onto The Truth?” I have chosen 2 Bible references for this one and the first one is found in II Thessalonians 2:15, which reads…”So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.” We can face pressures, that come from Satan’s side and these pressures can cause us to walk away from the truth, instead of clinging to the truth, so we need to continually build a closer and closer relationship with God. When we are truly connected to God each day, then there won’t be any room for Satan to interfere. Our second Bible reference for this topic is found in Revelation 2:6b, which reads…”You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans , which I also hate.” So we just learned that we need to remain close to God and His truth and now we learn that we need to not make compromises or excuses, when it comes to living God’s truth. The Nicolaitans were people of compromise; they compromised their faith, in order that they may live the way they desired. When we compromise the real truth of God, with our own excuses; we can find that we are being drawn away from the real truth, that can keep us free. When we have to make excuses…saying that isn’t as bad as it seems or that won’t hurt our faith, then we are compromising our desires with God’s truth.

We need to remember that recognizing God’s truth is nothing, in comparison to living the truth He freely offers us. We need to ask ourselves these questions…”Am I just close to the truth or am I committed to living the truth? Are we allowing our own stubborn ways to blind us from God’s truth? Are we living the truth according to our own desire, instead of living it according to God’s will? Are we trying to deny God’s truth and push it away, so we don’t have to deal with the things that God wants us to make right before Him? Do we seem to know more than God? Do we really know how to find God’s truth, so He can reveal His way to us? Truth can become a pathway for us to walk on…a pathway that will keep leading us closer and closer to God; but when we are more willing to walk our own direction and make up our own footprints to follow in, then we will find that we become more distant from God and His truth, which only places us back into bondage.

If we are going to hold tight to God’s truth and remain free in Him, then we need to do it His way and be willing at the same time, to lay our own thoughts and desires to the side. Truth can either become more distant and take us away from God or truth can bring freedom and peace into our lives, through Jesus Christ? What pathway are we walking on today…our own or God’s pathway of truth?

May we all continue to know and understand God’s truth for our lives, that we may be set free from the deceitfulness of Satan. May God give you His very best today!

Blessings…

It’s Only Because of Him…

Diane