PONDER THIS

Today's post will be VERY short--as I thought about what to write ---I knew the subject did not need my pontification.  The subject really needs you to ponder--mull it over--and decide for yourself.

Out of the blue it occurred to me that every attribute God is trying to show us--teach us--He possesses.  Every fruit of the Spirit--is a virtue of God.  SO are all or at least most of the lessons contained in The Word, most of our life experiences--all pointed to growing those virtues of God Himself?  If we are created in God's image---as our own children are born in our image---does our Heavenly Father then point us toward how we should look--not physically but spiritually?  The only difference in earthly parents  and God is the earthly parents come to a point of no longer teaching--they realize we are beyond those malleable years.  God never stops teaching us--as long as we are on this road to sanctification--He continues to grow us.  

Now your turn to think this over.

"The Lord is good and upright;

Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.

He leads the humble in justice,

And He teaches the humble His way.

All the paths of the Lord are faithfulness and truth

To those who comply with His covenant and His testimonies."

Psalm 25:8-10

ON A TRUTH HUNT

 There was a sweet game my daughter played while in kindergarten at Montessori school.  "Going on a Bear Hunt"

A lot of my memories are hidden in the recesses of my mind.  This one is still front and center.  

Hunting is a huge sport here in Louisiana.  We have an abundance of wildlife from which to choose what you might like to hunt.  Many families only eat game as their meat.  If you do not count the cost of all the necessary hunting equipment involved, it becomes a cheap alternative to store bought meat.  If you count all the equipment, it may be more expensive than the most costly truffles. 

I have a great friend who is quite the hunter.  She gives me great entertainment with the stories of how the big buck taunts her, knowing when it is legal to shoot and when he is safe.  She also likes to hunt fish and is willing to share her bounty.  

We can all be hunters of one kind or another.  Some people hunt for entertainment and trips, some for art or books, some for beautiful plants, and on and on.  One thing is for certain hunting is an active activity.  You cannot sit on your rear (except in the deer stand and then you still had to get there and climb that ladder), and hunt.  It requires action.

Today's devotional was spot on when it comes to hunting.  The author spoke of the "post-truth" era.  "In a 'post-truth' era, objective facts appear less influential than appeals to emotion.  God hates lies and deception"  OH MY, he is stepping on the toes of so many.  When did we stop thinking for ourselves and seeking truth?  When did it become acceptable of take the word of some pundit as truth?  Are we willing to settle for what someone else tells us because they have held themselves out as an expert and tickled our ears?  

The Good Book is filled with accounts of how God hates lies.  We all know who the greatest deceiver is.  Why would we take his words as truth?  Because based upon our feelings, that is what we want the truth to be.  We turn our back on seeking the truth and instead accept what another feeds us.  

The author begins with David's words in the Psalms

"People all lie to their neighbors;

the flattering lips speak with deception."

Psalm 12:2

He then quotes Jesus

"These people honor me with their lips, 

but their hearts are far from me."

Matthew 15:8

He then circles back to the story of Joseph which we are reading and tells us Joseph's brothers knew in their hearts they could not deceive God.

"We are paying for what we did to our brother."

Genesis 42:21

He ends this passage with this, "God wants you to be honest with Him.  He likes candor. "

What in the world does this have to do with hunting?  I pray we all will become Truth Hunters.  I hope we can look beyond our feelings of what we think truth should be and seek to know the real truth.  The truth which is only found in God.

FEELINGS

 

"Feelings, nothing more than feelings"  Can't you just hear Barbara Streisand & Julio Iglesias singing this classic (well if you are old as dirt like me).  We all have feelings---they are the result of our emotions.  They can sometimes change with the wind and at others become so ingrained they color our heart.  I woke up this morning feeling like I should start running again.  A swift walk turned that feeling into a "What was I thinking" epiphany.  Feelings are a great deal like seasons---subject to change.  Here in Louisiana the season can change 3 times in one day--so can my feelings.  

Here is the thing about feelings---when we are "Feeling good" MY HOW WE ENJOY THAT!  OH YES,  another great song about feelings---"I Feel Good" by the rhythm and blues legend James Brown.  WOW am I dating myself with this post.  Our small group is doing a study on a Beth Moore Book, Why Good People Do Bad Things.  WARNING---don't think you are above this---seduction is lurking.  One of the points she makes is how unreliable our feelings can be and how  often they get us into trouble.  We talked about our neediness and how flattery can seduce the purest heart.  (BY THE WAY---I saw a neighbor the other day who reminded me we ALL are needy when I was laughing about my needy old man, Hero.  WISE WORDS!) 

 Back to the subject---we cannot trust our feelings 100 % of the time.  NOW, You Ladies, most of us have had a feeling of danger in some situation---my rule is ALWAYS pay attention to those feelings.   DO NOT proceed when your gut is telling you there is danger in the parking lot--down the hall--around the corner.  BUT, in general, our feelings  are fickle and cannot always be trusted. 

 

Well then what can we trust?  The truth---the truth and only the truth.  There is a line in a Jack Nicholson movie, "You can't handle the truth!"  YES YOU CAN! There are many types of truth, but the one I rely on 100% of the time is God's truth.  Steep yourself in His Word, study it, learn what He has to say and THEN use it to judge what your are feeling.  My feelings of low self worth do not come from God---His book tells me what He thinks of me.  Bottom line I am His Beloved.  Those feelings come from the whispers in my ear by the enemy.  He is a crafty devil--who is lurking around waiting for the opportunity to attack.  One of his favorite ploys is playing with our feelings.  DON'T YOU LISTEN TO HIM!  He is a liar!  

SO next time you are feeling low---feeling mad---feeling envious---feeling invisible---check that feeling with the truth.  Make certain what your emotions are telling you lines up with what you know to be fact.  Ask yourself -"If I shared what I am feeling with a trusted love one, what would they say?"  Listen to The Truth and remember the folly of trusting your feelings.  God's truth has no need for trickery, luring,  enticement, or any of those tools used by the enemy.  His truth stands on its own and is the foundation for living---NOT feelings.

"Then we will no longer be immature like children.

We won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching.

We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies

so clever they sound like the truth.

Instead, we will speak the truth of love,

growing more and more like Christ"

Ephesians 4:14-14

CLOUDY VISION

 The good news about my health just keeps rolling in--I went to see the eye doctor.  I KNEW my vision had deteriorated since my cataract surgery a couple years ago, but assumed Mother Nature was winning in the battle of decline.  (It happens, People)  It seems I have what some call a secondary cataract---or there is a clouding of the lens that has been implanted.  There is a LONG technical explanation with LOTS of medical jargon--you are welcome for not boring you with the details.  Bottom line--my vision has deteriorated in one eye because of this.  

My eye does not look like this, but you get the picture.  It is like my window has fogged up and my vision is affected by looking through the haze.  GOOD NEWS--a simple in- patient laser procedure will take care of this.  BAD NEWS---OK--so they burned a boo-boo off my nose and now they are lasering my eye.  NOT the direction I prefer to go in, BUT thankful for advancements in medical science which make this possible.  If you are interested, ask me what cataract surgery was like when I was young--it was so traumatic I remember the details.  Another piece of REALLY good news---no glasses beyond my readers---

SO---where could I possibly be going with this--and WHO cares if I have a secondary cataract?  It made me think about how often we look at life through a clouded haze and see a distortion of what is truly there.  When we begin to look through the eyes of the world, we see things not as God intended, but as our enemy would like us to believe.   We forget to seek the truth of who we are and what God has planned for us and instead see the hazy distortion of the truth.  May we all look through the lens of truth this holiday season and celebrate the truth of what Jesus has done for us.

"Now we see things imperfectly,

like puzzling reflections in a mirror,

but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.

All that I know now is partial and incomplete,

but then I will know everything completely,

just as God know me completely."

I Corinthians 13 :12

TODAY'S WORD ~

 

Today's word was sent by my sister in law (she will always be my sister in law ~ that is a truth).  First thought  ~  

There is nothing I love more than telling a good story.  If I get a laugh, invariably the story gets embellished (stretched) with each retelling.  Before long the embellishments have clouded the truth behind the story, and all for the sake of making you laugh.

There is a lot of truth in the above statement.

We Southerners are polite to a fault.  Our dear friend may look like they have been rode hard and put up wet and we still will compliment something about their appearance for the sake of making them feel better.  A little white lie because we do not want to hurt their feelings, but boost their spirits instead.

One of the things I have noticed about straying from the honesty is it can become a slippery slope.  What begins as embellishment of the truth can slowly lead to straying from the truth with little or no reason.  That can eventually lead to not recognizing what is truth, which calls into question anything we say being true.  We have all encountered those who we cannot trust anything they say--no matter how mundane the subject.

We all have heard that old adage- 

Speaking with a forked tongue means you are not telling the truth.  We all know where those forked tongues originated from.

In my experience it is best to stick to the truth, even when the truth is painful.  When we begin to stray from the truth we are going to need a map to keep up with the half-truths and untruths we tell.  When we simply tell the truth and nothing but the truth, there is never a problem in keeping our stories straight.  Admitting our truths, even when they are painful, is always the best course of action.

What is the definition of truth ~

that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality

We can cloud this by saying reality is relative.  Relative to what---what we want to believe?  Truth is truth and it can not be changed.

There is a sure and certain truth which we can always believe.  

God can not stray from the truth ~

He is truth

The shorter Westminster Catechism states the following ~

Q. 4. What is God?

A. God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable,

 in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.

Tolar lists one of God's attributes as truth.  What a great comfort these words are.  Our Eternal-Unchangeable God is ALWAYS Truth.  You can take what He has said and put it in the bank.  God is UNABLE to speak anything but Truth.  In my dictionary look under truth and you find God.  

No matter what the circumstances of this world, you can count on one sure and true thing ~

Our God is who He says He is.  That is the truth I cling to.

"Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

for You I wait all day long."

Psalm 25:5

For those who have inquired, I tracked Victor down and he has a comment on yesterday's blog you will enjoy.  Perhaps he will post one on today's blog, but since I wrote it four days ago, I cannot be certain.😁  Confused yet?

Do not forget to sign up as a blog subscriber on the right side of the page.  Having problems?  Email me at the bottom of the page and I will get you signed up.

Always enjoy your emails and comments, they often make me think!  You can email me at the very bottom of the right side of the blog page.  

THE NAKED TRUTH

One of the half dozen or so books I am currently reading (A Little ADD going on) is Beth Moore's, Why Godly People Do Ungodly Things.  She is such a gifted teacher and more important a profound truth teller.  I was hit squarely between the eyes with a few of those truths.  Truths which my head knows--but my heart forgets--conveniently.

 It stands to reason if you guys are not here, then you have no idea how many cookies I am scarfing down. Why in the privacy of my own home---none of you know what books I am reading, or shows I am watching. In the anonymity of the city, who knows what I am wearing and how I am acting?  Under the veil of aloneness, I lead a secret life.

 Watching these little grands, it did not take long to figure out if they went into another room and it got quiet--THEY WERE UP TO SOMETHING!  They seem to believe a wall separating them from my sight gives them license to meddle, snack, or even wreck havoc.  The wall will keep me from ever knowing what was done and who did it.

What state of delusion must I be in to think God does not know each and every thing I do, say, or think?  The child in me comes bubbling to the surface, and I begin to believe  I am out of His sight if I am sneaky enough. I am effectively burying me head in the sand.   "Sometimes we harbor an unexpressed suspicion that He cannot handle all that goes on in our minds and hearts.  The deep resistance to making ourselves so vulnerable, so naked, so totally unprotected is our implicit way of saying, 'Jesus, I trust you, but there are limits.' "  As I love to say, "Now you're meddling!"

What would cause me to pretend God is smaller than His true identity?  The All Knowing--All Seeing---Omnipotent---Omniscient God of the Universe---knows me better than I know myself.  My refusal to share my all with Him, "limits God's lordship over my life and makes clear that there are parts of me that I do not wish to submit to divine conversation."   BAM!!!!---GOT ME!

Not ONE THING is hidden from Him---He knows it all---my obstinate refusal to bring it before Him does not make it go away.  Hiding behind the mask of grace does not change the fact that I MUST bring it to Him---before slipping into that robe of grace.  I forget He is NEVER surprised by my admissions--my failures--my sins-----He is just waiting---for me to trust Him with it all ---and recognize His Lordship over every part of me.

"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

Hebrews 4:13

SIGNS

I recently read a blog posted on Facebook by a friend--here-is the link.  It started the wheels turning--

WHAT DOES YOUR SIGN SAY?

Are you brave enough to wear your sign and more importantly are you brave enough to declare the truth on your sign?

I have a good friend who often questions how much I reveal about myself as I write this blog---and especially if you read the book.  The friend tells me they are very private and do not understand my willingness to be so transparent.  As I read the blog above and after just finishing a book The Sin Eater, by Francine Rivers, I think I am beginning to understand why I am so open.

God knows it all---so why not reveal it to Him?  The questioning friend tells me that God does know it all, and that is enough--no one else is needed in the equation.  Perhaps they are right.  In the blog above and the book I read, the open quietness of their truth leads to mis-understanding and isolation in the midst of community.  

I feel led to share--led to reveal the not so pretty's, the ugly's--the truth of what the real story is---always with the thought--there is someone else out there that needs to know they are not alone in their pain-despair-guilt.  God's redemption of it all--is my story--His faithful presence and protection--is my reminder--and His enduring love and mercy through grace-my revelation.

So I have my sign on---do you?  I am living the truth for all to see--braving the rejection-bearing my soul-earnestly seeking Him above all!

"Therefore, having put away falsehood,

 let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor,

 for we are members one of another."

Ephesians 4:25

If God is prompting you to share this or any post, please feel free to do so.

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