We are all aware that there are many voices clamoring for our attention. Some proclaim one thing and some another. It is hard to know if the people behind the voices really believe what they are saying. A good example of what I am referring to are the politicians in which one party says one thing and the other party the opposite. It can be very confusing as to what to believe. Many people will just believe what they want to believe without ever really knowing the truth. Others will be suspicious of everything that is said and will not believe anything. Some will be influenced by their emotions or popular trends and never make an effort to find the truth.
Most of the time, if we hear the same thing over and over, we will eventually start to accept it as truth. We can be made anxious or fearful when we accept bad information as truth. Truth is so important in our decisions that affect our lives, yet so many do not make an effort to know it.
In John 8:31-32 Jesus said: “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
When I was growing up in southern Ohio, I would hear people talk about someone that was truthful. Truth is something that is acquired through instruction and experience. We all have had many life experiences that can equip us with truth. For instance; when I was about 12 years old I was throwing a bale of hay out of the second story of the barn down to the stalls. It was winter and I had on a heavy pair of gloves. The gloves stuck in the binder twine and when I threw the bale down it took me with it. I fell from the second story to the first and landed over a stall. It really hurt. The wind was knocked out of me to the point that I felt as if my lungs had collapsed. This was an experience that taught me a lesson I won’t forget.
In the same way I learned not to touch a hot wood stove, try to ice skate on thin ice, make a pet of a snake, and many more painful experiences. As children we learn the truth through experiences and instruction.
Proverbs 22:6; Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Not everyone had good training as a child but the answers are available to everyone. Jesus told Satan in Luke 4:4; “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”
The bible, which is the very source of truth, teaches us to be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. If you know the word of God you will know the truth.
We discuss the truth of God’s word on Wednesday evening at 7 and Sunday morning at 9:30 and 10:30 at the Gathering Place Church. On Sunday evening we have Youth Group and recovery class at 6. Plan to attend Easter Sunday service with us.
