From The Inside Out

This is my song of praise for today!

What is Truth?

In our world today we are surrounded by so many things that are not based on truth. Most of the time we are hurt by the truth so we walk around trying to ignore the truth. We feel better being surrounded by fairy tales and illusions so we tend to cling to them instead of truth.

If we define truth according to the dictionary we find this definition:

Truth: a fact that has been verified.

Sounds like something from a court case. Only something that we can scrutinize very closely and verify as a fact will we call truth. If we can’t see it, smell it, touch it, taste it, and test it then it doesn’t exist.

If we use scripture to define truth we start in John 14:6 Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life.” The very foundation of truth starts with Jesus Christ. From God all truth flows and exists. Outside of God is no truth. He is The Truth.

But wait a minute, doesn’t that go against our definition of truth? Is God a fact that can be verified? We can’t see Him so some say He doesn’t exist. He is only a figment of our imagination. What then can be said to answer this age old question. Is there really a God and if so who is He?

To those who question this God I pose a question. If God does exist wouldn’t He be accessible to everyone? Would He only be a God to the rich who could afford Him, or the smart who could understand Him? Would He only be a God to the poor who really need Him, or to the dumb who need His help? Would He only be a God to the devoted who can hold a religious standard, or only a God to the sinner who cannot follow God’s ways?

If there really is a God would He not be a God for everyone? Would He not provide the needs of the rich, poor, smart, dumb, devoted, and sinner? Would He not provide for everyone? If He did not then what kind of God would this God be?

So what is truth? Is Jesus Christ really The Truth? Is He The God of the rich? Is He The God of the poor? Is He The God of smart? Is He The God of the dumb? Is He The God of the devoted? Is He The God of the sinner?

So many questions wouldn’t it be nice to know The Truth?

Taking Your Next Step

My wife emailed me the other day with a thought provoking comment. She read this on someones facebook profile so I thought I would pass this along. It made me think.

God is not responsible to show you the next step you should take…when you refuse to take the step He’s already shown you!!!

Hmmm. A quick Google search doesn’t find the original author of this quote so maybe it was her Facebook friend. Anyway, God does ask us to take steps and make descisions in life. I could see some truth to this statement given the fact that if we are not obedient to what God has asked us to do in the past then why would He show us what’s along the path next. But, God has always made provisions for His people.

I am thinking of the children of Israel after they left Egypt. They came into the desert and to Mt. Sinai where the Lords presence descended upon the mountain. God intended for this to be a place where His people came up into the mountain and visited with Him. He gave Moses instruction in Exodus chapter 19 to tell the people not to come up into the mountain until they heard the trumpet blow. If they came and touched the mountain before it was time they would die.

We know from reading this chapter that they became afraid and even Moses didn’t understand God’s original instructions. He too thought the people would die if they touched the mountain. He forgot the part about the trumpet. When the trumpet sounded then they could all come up into the mountain in an orderly fashion. We know that because of their fear and lack of trust in God they did not experience God’s presence that day. The path they chose ultimately led them into rebellion and way from God.

Sometimes God’s ways can seem a bit freightning at first, but when we put our trust in Him He will lead us in the ways that we should go. If we choose to not follow because we are afraid then our ultimate path will be one like the children of Israel in the wilderness. It is also refreshing to see how merciful God was to them by even providing for their basic needs in the widerness.

God had so much more in store for them in the promise land and He wanted them to walk into it. However, He mercifully provided their basic needs in the wilderness by giving them mana, the pillar of fire, the cloud, and water from the rock. Don’t settle for a wilderness experience with God. He has so much more for you in the promise land.

The promise land for us today is not physical land somewhere on the earth, but it is a spiritual promise land. When Christ was crucified on the cross he made a way for you and I to enter into this beautiful spiritual promise land. It is a beautiful place where you can drink water that quinches your thirst forever. A place where you receive rest for your weary soul. Oh how beautiful is the promise land of God when you find it by way of the cross!

God is our General Contractor

We all have a dream house in our mind. One that we would love to build for our family. Our plan is unique to us and fits our needs perfectly. However getting to the place in life where finances line up is what limits most of us from accomplishing this dream.

The purpose of Build Your House On The Rock is to encourage you to trust in God. He is our Master Builder, if He builds our spiritual house then it will stand forever. In fact without trusting in Him to do the building all we will be able to build is a shack of a life. It may look fancy but the first big storm that blows through will wipe it out and leave us with nothing.

Our life is like a house under construction. Consider on what foundation your house will be built. What foundation is your life built on today? Are you facing disaster in your life? Has your house fallen to pieces? If you can relate to any of these questions then God wants to help you rebuild your life.

God is our general contractor on this building project of life. He knows how the house needs to be built and we should allow Him to direct the entire project.

Psalm 127:1-2

If God doesn’t build the house, the builders only build shacks. If God doesn’t guard the city, the night watchman might as well nap. It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don’t you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves? (MSG)

Trusting in God

“All I have seen teaches me to trust in the Creator for all I have not seen.”
R.W. Emerson

TRUST IS DANGEROUS

Trust is a dangerous thing. It means placing our welfare, our wellbeing, in the hands of another. Therefore, trust is only as safe as the thing or person we’re trusting in.

We must make the choice of whether to trust God or not. Indecision will cripple us and keep us bound in a prison of hopelessness. If you have a hard time trusting God for the future you can look to the past and gain strength.

If the person or thing has demonstrated trustworthiness in the past, we are comfortable trusting him or it for the future. If the person or thing has not demonstrated trustworthiness in the past, we are not comfortable trusting him or it in the future. It is as simple as that.

On a side note I recently read a book titled The Present by Spencer Johnson, an absolutly wonderful book. I would recommend that you read it. I will not divulge the secret of the book here but I will just recommend that you read this book. 

KING SOLOMON

In Proverbs Solomon spends much of the time telling us the reults of wisdom and the results of foolishness. When we see how consistently foolishness produces pain and how consistently wisdom produces joy, there is every reason to trust God and follow his principles of wisdom in life.

When we have a healthy view of the fool and his foolishness we can clearly see that foolish living will only bring us pain and suffering, ultimately it will bring death to our life if we follow it.

THE EXAMPLE OF A CAR

Our trust in God is simply the same type of trust that we give to several other things in life every day. Let me give you an example:

Everyday I travel in my car, sometimes at speeds of 70 mph on the highways. This is a deadly thing to do given the statistics of people dying everyday in car accidents. Yet, I trust my car with my life. I trust in it’s power to get me where I need to go, I trust in the streering wheel to direct my car down the winding roads, and I trust in it’s brakes to stop me when I have an emergency.

Now some of you may read this and say my car is a piece of junk, I don’t trust it as far as I can throw it. To that I would ask, why do you not trust it?

I know your answer already. “because it is a piece of junk and has let me down before.” That is how we base our trust in God as well. We can see a great cloud of witnesses all around us that give us great reason to trust in God. The reason your car is not very dependable is either because it is old and time to be replaced, or it has not been treated in a good manner.

God never grows old and weary, and his hand is never too short to reach down and save us. But, we have to trust him to receive it.

AN EXERCISE IN FAITH

Grab a piece of paper, a pen, and plan on spending about 10-15 minutes on this exercise. Now don’t hit your back button already. This will be the most encouraging 15 minutes you can spend.

Find a quiet place where you can think without being disturbed. Answer the following three questions after thinking on them for a few minutes each. Don’t rush through it.

1. Think back to your earliest memory of God in your life. Maybe a sunday school class when you were a kid or maybe even a church when you were 21. Just think about your first encounter with God. Go back to your childhood and try to see a place where you heard about God. Write down as much detail as you can about this first encounter.

2. Think over your whole life and find 2-3 situations where God answered a prayer for you. Descibe as much detail about the answers as you can.

3. Think over your whole life and find 2-3 times where God did NOT answer your prayers. Try and find prayers that cannot be answered anymore. You want things that have no chance of being answered anymore. Be careful as you think about situations. Try and list other things that could have stopped your prayer from being answered.

CONCLUSION

Most people will wonder why I would ask someone to try and find 2-3 things that God has not done for them. Well, this challenges our mind to think. This kind of thinking usually helps us take a good look at why we feel the way we do about God. It helps us identify things that have happened in our life that has caused our faith to lessen.

If we look hard at these things we will most likely see something or someone that failed us rather than God failing us. But we must look at them from a clear vantage point. If we are still in the midst of the emotions tied to them our thinking is skewed.

People can hold onto prayers they did not feel were answered by God for a long time. This leads to our faith growing stagnant and weak. King David encouraged himself in the Lord. He knew what God had done in the past for him and this helped him trust God for the future. If God had worked in his life before than surely God would do it again.

1 Samuel 30:6
And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

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Related Articles: Remembering the Past to Build a Future

Let Me Grow – Re-Published

I wrote this article in February of 2007. I was reading it again today and it brought tears to my eyes again just as it did the day I wrote it. I was not mearly writing this article from my own intellect but I know God was speaking directly to me the day I wrote this. I decided to re-publish it again in hopes that it will bless someone else.

Increasing Your Attention Span

If you have kids then you can really understand the human attention span. How many times a day do you have to remind your kids to pay attention and listen to you? If you want to increase your attention span and be more attentive to God this article will help point you in the right direction.

I have been studying the book of Proverbs for a while now, and have learned many things. I wanted to blog about what I studied today.

Being attentive to God and His Word is like a springboard to gaining wisdom. The most common command in the first nine chapters of Proverbs is a call to pay attention. Being attentive to God is crucial to gaining wisdom.

If we listen to human reasoning or philosophy them we will end up with earthly wisdom, so let us listen all the more to God so that we may end up with heavenly wisdom.

Here are five practical steps to attentiveness:

1. “Make your ear attentive” – Proverbs 2:2 NASB, Matt 13:9-15

Choose to listen actively and receptively.

2. “Incline your ear” – Proverbs 4:20; 5:1 NASB

When we want to be sure and hear someone we will lean forward and turn position ourselves so we hear every word.

3. “incline your heart” – Proverbs 2:2 NASB

Lean forward mentally as well as physically. Placing much value on the words being spoken or read.

4. “treasure” – Proverbs 2:1; 7:1 NASB

Place a high value on it and make it a point to retain what you have learned.

5. “do not forget” – Proverbs 3:1; 4:5; cp. 3:21; 4:21

Wisdom is so valuable that a sensible person wants it to be a permanent part of their life.