The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth

1 John 2:1-6 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

“Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.” Quote from Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774), an Anglo-Irish writer, poet, playwright and physician.

Sadly, the quote rings loudly of the mentality and ethics held by far too many. Lies and deception are so commonplace we are stunned when we hear and recognize the truth. I do not need to list the reasons people justify lying…we all know them and have at one time or another used all them ourselves. Before we were walking with Jesus Christ, we were numbered among the liars and deceivers. Since choosing to follow Christ…sadly, we are numbered among the liars and deceivers. We just think we have better motives now for the half-truths, omissions, and assumptions we allow people to believe, right? Wrong!

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

There ya go…the rationalization some Christians use to let themselves off the hook for their sins. “But”, you might say. “it is scripture!” Of course it is…and Jesus will stand as our advocate for us when our shortcomings slap us in the head. But read on… Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. This may sting, Friends, but in case you missed it, He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Harsh? Perhaps…but why is it we would want use Jesus as our ‘life preserver’ per se, if we really KNOW Him? I can’t imagine that Jesus would want His Bride to be known for being deceptive and sinning while waving the ‘Jesus flag’, can you?

But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. That’s where we should be… in Him…not using Him as our scapegoat as in the days before He died on the cross for us.

He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. Jesus didn’t deceive or lie or lead people down the merry path of sin and destruction as He paraded through waving His own ‘Son of God’ flag. He IS truth! He IS love! He IS mercy! He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

“Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no lies.” has NO place in the life of a person who abides in Christ. This hits me hard because I'm guilty of that. Quoting myself, "My private life is just that...private." I do not believe we need spill our guts to everyone we know but there is a fine line between maintaining my need for 'privacy' and allowing people to believe that which is not true. Sadly, some people ask questions out of curiosity more than concern and are lying to themselves when they pass it off as such. Holy moly! Fine line, indeed!!

Shepherd's Voice

This morning found me sleeping in till almost seven! For me that is very late. The pups were still snuggled under the covers and didn’t wiggle until I started to get up. We were all lazy sleepy bums this morning. I changed bedrooms yesterday, moving from one end of the house to another and the first night in a different room found me waking several times; new room, new noises. My ‘momma ears’ heard many. Then, of course, the weather changed; wind blowing in from the south made quite an impression in the middle of the night here on top of Hacienda Hill.

Yet for all the newness, some things remained the norm, the constant little things I love and appreciate. The pups snuggling for one, the comfort of my bed, the whirl of the fan providing the white noise that is supposed to help me not notice every little bump in the night and the peace of knowing my Lord Jesus is watching over me and in charge of my life. I may wake during the first noise of a storm but I am able to rest in the back of the boat with Jesus regardless.

As I started me reading and study time this morning, both pups wanted up in my lap. I gave the command, “Momma’s working” and they know that means they can’t get up with me and sat down. Nikos lay down under my chair and Pan sat as close has he could, glancing up once in a while at me. It fills me with warm fuzzies all over to see their faithfulness and love. I reached down to scratch their heads and told them I recognized their faithfulness and loved them all the more for it. Then it hit me, does the Lord get all warm and fuzzy when He sees His people faithfully waiting at His feet? Can you imagine the magnitude of love outpouring from Him to know His faithful are just waiting for His touch, His voice and His commands for their lives? It blew me away!

The Bible uses sheep as an example for people in many parables. Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are His sheep. David risked his life to care for his sheep. Mat 18:12  How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

In our culture and day it is neither necessary nor feasible for each family to raise sheep for their food and income source. The actual sheep are not the issue either. It is the care, nurturing and mutual love and faithfulness to which I speak. John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: About the time you think you are all powerful and influential…try ordering someone else’s dog around. You will quickly be reminded that they know their master’s voice and follow him/her. You can go stick your head in the sand for all they care.

I’ve said all that to say this…Who is your master? At whose feet are you waiting? To whom do you depend for your provisions? Are you waiting at the feet of your employer, your significant other or your children for that pat on the head and unconditional love and appreciation? You can be waiting a long time if that be the case. Employers come and go, as do our children. People, in general, come and go through the different stages of life. And, yes, my pups will only be with me for a season. The only lasting relationship is the one we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

My babies are grown and raising babies of their own; my shepherding days are over for them. I want to be the best shepherd I can to my little pups and I will guard and protect them. My life is blessed by them and theirs by me; mutual love and faithfulness. It is my Shepherd, Jesus, whose voice I listen for and whose feet to which I sit as close as I can. He is the example to which I aspire. No other voice can move me; I know my Shepherd’s voice.

Dead Sea or Living Waters?

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.” —Matthew 16:24-27

A few miles south of Jerusalem, the Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth—1,476 feet below sea level. Six and a half million tons of water flow into it every day from the Jordan River. But the Dead Sea has no outlet. Everything flows in—nothing flows out. Because of that, the water has become incredibly salty and absolutely nothing can live there. Plant life cannot exist. If a fish flows into the Dead Sea, it dies almost immediately. The whole thing is completely dead.

A lot of Christians are just like the Dead Sea; stuff flows into them like crazy, but nothing flows out. The way to grow spiritually is not to pack every study, every sermon, and every lesson into your skull and store it. You might think you are some great Bible scholar but more Bible information in your cranium than anyone around does not make you spiritually strong. You’ve got to transfer truth to others in order for it to make a difference in your own life by living your faith out loud. Maybe that’s the reason why many don’t have a clue what it means to live in the Lord’s strength. They hoard their knowledge of Christ and salvation rather than sharing it with a neighbor, co-worker, and family…every nation, tongue and creature. Sound familiar?

How about this: find someone next week and entrust to them an insight God has shown you. Talk about what you’re learning in your Christian life over lunch or in a phone call. How about it? Don’t become ‘The Dead Sea’ of the Word. Jesus taught His disciples and told them to go tell everyone else what He shared with them. Jesus is alive! The Word is alive! Keep it flowing in and out of you. Be a living witness in the dead world around you.

Something To Ponder

My mother loved instant mashed potatoes. She loved the convenience it provided, the not having to do all the work of regular mashed potatoes. Also, in the mornings, she could not wait for the fresh pot of coffee to be made so she would heat up a cup from the night before (she drank it 24/7) while the new pot was brewing. That used to gross me out! I have to have fresh hot coffee. I’ll wait for the real deal. By the way, I do not like instant mashed potatoes either. I happen to think real mashed potatoes are worth the time and trouble.

I believe people have gotten into a mindset that says I want it now, I want it fast and I want it easy. I want it to be pain and trouble free. We don’t want to pass through times of troubled waters either. We are Christians, after all, we should be walking around in the ‘glow’, a walking billboard of happiness, and joy personified. We want life to be pain and trouble free, too. My question would be, “Why do we think we should have it better than Jesus?”

Dr. Russell Moore said, “The “normal” human life isn’t what is marketed to us by the lives we see projected on movie screens, or, frankly, by a lot of Christian sermons and praise songs. The normal human life is the life of Jesus of Nazareth, who sums up in himself everything it means to be human (Eph. 1:10). And the life of Christ presented to us in the Gospels is a life of joy, of fellowship, of celebration, but also of loneliness, of profound sadness, of lament, of grief, of anger, of suffering, all without sin.

As the Holy Spirit conforms us to the image of Christ, we don’t become giddy, or, much less, emotionally vacant. Instead, the Bible tells us we “groan” along with the persecuted creation around us (Rom. 8:23). We cry out with Jesus himself, experiencing with him often the agony of Gethsemane (Gal. 4:6; Mk. 14:36). And, paradoxically, along the way, we join Jesus in joy and peace (Gal. 5:22). A human emotional life is complicated, and a regenerated human emotional life is complicated too.”

No instant happiness, no pain-free walk through life. We cannot shut our eyes to the pain and hardships in the world around us or the starvation of babies in drought stricken countries or people being killed because they worship differently than those around them. And we certainly do not get to shut our eyes to our own situations and pretend everything is coming up roses. I for one, sometimes would prefer to pretend my life is better than it is, happier than I feel, and less complicated than I know it to be. I would like to project an image for the world to see that hides my pain and reality. Fact is that would make me a great pretender, a seeker of instant happiness, and not at all the Christian that follows in the footsteps of Jesus. Jesus felt the same heart wrenching emotions we feel today. I do not believe His message was to act as if nothing is wrong. It is not the lack of problems that differentiates a Christian from a non-believer but they way in which they walk them out.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying we should go around with our bleeding hearts on our shoulders or beating people up with a bloody stump of despair. The key is, as Dr. Moore pointed out, in three little words…all without sin.

Christ felt life of joy without sin, celebration without sin, loneliness without sin, profound sadness without sin, lament and grief without sin, anger and suffering… all without sin. He felt the same emotions we feel today. He didn’t hide His anger in the Temple or grief over the death of His friend, or sadness in the conditions in Jerusalem. He felt it, lived it, and persevered through it. He did not pretend life was easy, instant or rosy. Why, then, do we expect that of ourselves and other Christians? Something to ponder…

Seed of Need

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Hebrews 10:23-25 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

I heard the saddest thing the other day. I forwarded a post of Truth in the Morning to a family I know via email. I had been hearing how life was stressed with long work hours, home remodeling projects and meeting extended family needs. Been there, done that…so I thought a little encouraging word from the Lord might be helpful. I told them, as I tell everyone, if you like, I can add you to the mailing list. They wrote back that they enjoyed the post but didn’t have time for daily encouragement with all the demands on their time. How sad is that?!

I know them to be people of faith and it was obvious they were struggling with many issues. Aren’t we all? My issues are probably different from yours but we all have some areas on our lives that weigh on us. God knows every issue we deal with and instructs us, through His word, to encourage one another, to stir one another up to love, and to build one another up. Chances are, if they don’t have time for encouragement, they aren’t making time for seeking God either.

 
Friends, as members of Christ’s family, we need to ask our Brothers and Sisters how they are doing spiritually. It is too easy to get so caught in the things of day-to-day life that we forget to take our own spiritual temperatures. A haggard look may indicate a health issue or lack of sleep but it may also reflect a spiritual life that is being neglected. Expect an awkward moment, maybe even a defensive attitude, but love your family in Christ enough to encourage and inquire. Chances are you may plant a ‘seed of need’ they had not even considered.