Walking in Truth (2)

'...I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.' Romans 7:21 NIV

Unless you make truthfulness a priority. 

There's an actual 'law at work' which dictates that even when you 'want to do good, evil is right there'.  

That means our natural 'default' setting (the one automatically selected by our internal computer unless we deliberately choose another option) is always set toward a lower standard.

One author writes: 

I lived in Atlanta...there's a vine there called kudzu...and once it creeps onto your tree or fence, if you don't kill it immediately, it'll overtake your entire property. Any deception...subtle omission...telling a tiny white lie...is like planting a kudzu seed in the garden of your heart...  

For me it's a slippery slope, like taking a side route on an unmarked path, thinking I've found a shortcut. I get sloppy...lazy...then I get lost. I let one infraction of integrity slide without correction.  

I feel the tug of the Holy Spirit, but I shrug it off and stay busy...and I've taken the first step into shadow-living... 

Tiny lies are like snowballs rolling downhill

...they're sticky, and they get bigger fast! How do we stay in truth when the potential resides in us to compromise? 

First: we must recommit to our walk with God every morning before we do anything else. We do that through prayer and reading the Scriptures. By doing this we're choosing light over darkness while it's still too early to mess up.  

Second: we must align ourselves with the promptings of the Spirit. This is a highly personal thing which grows in direct proportion to our time and devotion to our walk with God.

Soul Food: Num 30:1 - 32:24, Matt 13:1-9, Ps 125, Pro 4:3-4

Written by Bob & Debby Gass
Saturday, 8 February 2014

APPS available here

Walking in Truth (1)

'...Each of you must...speak truthfully to your neighbour...' Ephesians 4:25 NIV

Jesus said,

'You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free' (John 8:32 NAS).

But in the process, the truth can make you miserable!

One author says: 

"Truth can be very uncomfortable"

We have pivotal moments when we're asked to step up and say it or act on it. In those moments...character is forged and relationships solidified. For example...one summer day some of my Bible study sisters and I had our kids piled into our 4x4s and were headed to a friend's ranch for the night. Another buddy who wasn't invited called the driver of the lead car in our caravan to see if she wanted to get together.  

Panicking, and fearful of hurting our friend's feelings, she mumbled something about being busy doing something else; a lie of omission...intended to guard feelings and preserve relationships. Soon...I called the same friend to tell her a group of us were headed to the ranch and I'd see her tomorrow...Suddenly, on the phone, silence.  

She wasn't so much hurt that she wasn't invited...she was hurt that our other friend lied to her. She'd have preferred the sting of the truth...to the isolation of deception. 

Paul says, 

"Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbour, for we are all members of one body"... 

We've been socially conditioned to be pleasing and avoid making waves, so some of what we have to learn about truth is actually a process of unlearning... Later our Bible study discussed this incident.  

We all grew from the conversation and we learned an important lesson: however painful, friendship deepens in the fertile ground of honesty.

SoulFood: Num 27-29, Matt 12:38-50, Ps 67, Pro 4:1-2

Written by Bob & Debby Gass
Friday, 7 February 2014

APPS available here

Walking in Truth (3)

'...Put on the new self, created to be like God...' Ephesians 4:24 NIV

It's one thing to desire truth, but to pursue it 

you must 

'...Put off your old self...and...put on the new self, created to be like God...' (Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV).

One author writes: 

'We must be willing to have the conversations our "old self" would have avoided... It's not easy...it requires heavy doses of humility, and accepting that we're going to be uncomfortable... The quickest remedy is the most immediate and uncomfortable: "fessing up" in the moment.  

I tried it. At a party some women were discussing involvement in an organisation and I wanted to fit in, so I said I'd tried to get involved but could never break in... I knew I was a liar. I never had any desire to spend my time doing that...committees give me a rash!  

So, though my intent was good, my delivery was clumsy as I blurted out, "Sorry, I just lied to you. I never volunteered there and I've no desire to." 

Everyone was silent, and I was trying to recall where I left my purse so I could hightail it out of there, when miraculously everyone burst out laughing... 

No matter how uncomfortable it is...the truth sets us free. 

Pursuit of truth is like a salmon's upstream journey; we're literally going against the current...the world says truth can change based on circumstances, comparisons, new data and levels of experience. 

But ultimate truth isn't relative. 

It can't be rationalised or customised to fit our moods and preferences. 

That's why the status of our heart is so important...

when we're unable or unwilling to think our way into the truth, we must rely on the cultivation of our heart.'

Soul Food: Exo 20:13, Gen 4:8-16, Pro 18:21, Mt 5:21-22 (Commandment 6: Do not commit murder)

Written by Bob & Debby Gass
Sunday, 9 February 2014

APPS available here