Truth

“Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don't think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” (The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans 12:3, NLT)

Paul was well educated and a leader.  He traveled throughout the Roman Empire teaching.  He was chosen by God to lead the start of the Church among the nations.  From such a position he thought it was important to “give each of you this warning.”  We do tend to think we are better than we actually are.  It is easy to look at others and think our way is better.  The divisions in our world run deep.  There are divisions between liberals and conservatives, gays and straight, pro-choice and pro-life and the list is endless.  Each side knows that their side is right, and because of that conviction it seems that we start thinking we are better.  Just as a thought, perhaps what Paul says immediately before what is quoted above is an answer. 

“Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:2, NLT)

Why let everyone else tell you how you should think?  If God is Creator, is it possible He can show us truth, real truth?

God's Children

To all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. (John 1:12-13, NLT)

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. (Romans 8:14-17, NLT)

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. (Galatians 3:26-27, NLT)

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! (1 John 3:1, NLT)

We are children of God through faith.  This is accomplished through Jesus Christ and is a result of God’s great love.  We have received the Spirit of “sonship”, who brought about our adoption.  We are legally, practically and wholly God’s children.  This is by His will not our own.

Confused and Helpless

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”  Matthew 9:36, NLT

Jesus was traveling through towns and villages teaching and healing.  Crowds gathered wherever He went.  Here we have a report of what Jesus thought when He saw the crowds.  Matthew wrote in Greek.  The Greek words behind our translation of “he had compassion” imply that this was a gut wrenching experience for Jesus.  Also, the words behind “confused and helpless” are emphatic.  “Confused” is an interpretation of a word that originally meant “to flay” and could accurately be translated “painfully annoyed”.  The word behind “helpless” has a root meaning “to throw”, and thus carries the idea of scattering or dispersing.

This is the way we are without Christ.  Where do you go for truth?  How do you measure truth?

Avoiding the Pitfalls

The Bible tells us, “Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day.” (2 Peter 2:8, NLT)  Lot lived in the midst of wickedness that claimed even his family and yet he remained righteous.  There has to be a secret. Psalm 1 gives us that secret. Verse 2 says, “But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.” (Psalm 1:2, NLT) I want you to consider the meaning of the word “but” as used in this context.  The Hebrew author used two words that are directly translated, “for lo”.  “For” could also be translated because.  So the writer is saying, “Because, look, he delights in the law of the Lord.”  The point is this is not just the contrasting behavior; this is the reason for his happy avoidance of the traps. 

Shelter

"Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty." (Psalm 91:1, NLT)  God is a shelter during times of trouble.  In each generation there are many who attest to this truth.  It defies explanation, and like the taste of honey has to be experienced to be understood fully.

Peace with God

“All we like sheep have strayed away.  We have left God’s plans to follow our own.” (Isaiah 53:6, NLT)  To find peace with God we need to repent of all our efforts to get our own way.  Some of us try to do everything right and in turn expect God to give us everything we want.  Others of us decide to say, “I will do it my own way.”  Both need to repent.  Here is an irony:  We strive to get our own way with God, but for His part God already wants to give us more than we can even imagine and the only thing stopping Him is us.  The greatest thing any of us can have is to be at peace with God, and He has already given His Son to make peace possible.  The only thing standing in the way is us.

Thirsty?

Have you ever been thirsty, really thirsty? 

The desires in our souls are often compared to thirst.  When you are thirsty, the desire for water can override everything else.

We pursue money, sex, entertainment and a thousand other desires like our lives depend on it. Driven by an overpowering thirst, our lives are poured out in a passionate pursuit.

God saw this happening with the ancient people of Israel and said: 

“My people have done two evil things:

They have abandoned me—

the fountain of living water.

And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns

that can hold no water at all!” (Jeremiah 2:13, NLT)

Here in this passage God is using a metaphor.  He is comparing the thirst of the soul to the thirst for water.  Our souls hunger and thirst for God.  Without God we are parched and thirsty on the inside.  God says here that He is the fountain of living water.  There are two evil things God addresses.  The first is that His people have abandoned Him.  The second is that they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns.  The cracked cisterns are a metaphor for things that we pursue to satisfy our thirst.  A cistern stores water so that when the spring rains are finished and the dry months of summer come people do not die for lack of water. We are dying for lack of "living water", because money, sex, entertainment and all our other pursuits can never satisfy out souls.