TRUTH

     Truth is not fluid.  It is never changing, but timeless.  When people say, "I'm following my own truth," I cringe.  No one person owns truth.  Truth is a person, Jesus Christ.  Truth is God's word.  Both of which are never changing throughout all eternity.  Truth is solid, it is something you can hang your hat on, risk your life for, bet your eternity on.  In an ever changing world, where darkness is called light, and truth is everyone's opinion, we need this Absolute Truth.  Society needs acknowledgement of this Truth to govern and to abide together in peace.  So why are many turning their backs on this Truth?  God tells us in His word that people want to be their own gods and that they are too proud to surrender their lives.  They love their sin more than their Savior.  Therefore their  hearts are hardened by those sins, and they are blind from the Truth.  I know that to be true because I used to be one of them.  Even though I claimed to be a Christian, believed that Jesus died and rose, believed in the Bible, I took a long time to actually lay down my life and take up my cross and follow Him.  I was looking to other things to be my Savior, and I was too stubborn to turn from my sins.  They were comfortable to me, they took no effort, until I started to see the slow death of my soul and God opened my eyes to see that each sin brought death and meaningless.  I slowly realized that nothing could fill that giant hole in my heart but God.  Each of you that has not accepted Christ as your Savior has that giant hole in your heart as well, and I can promise you that if you are trying to fill it with ANYTHING OR ANYONE BESIDES HIM, you will never be fulfilled, and you will die a slow death every day you wait.  

     Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one comes to the Father but by me."  At the same time, highly respected "Christian" Oprah Winfrey is saying to society, "There are many paths to God."  I have loved Oprah Winfrey from the first time she set foot on stage, but she is DEAD wrong.   No other religion in the world has a leader that claimed to be God, but the Christian Jesus.  That is what sets Him apart.  So when someone says to you, "Yeah, I believe in Jesus, He was a great teacher, just like Muhammad or Buddha," you can know that they too are DEAD wrong.  If Jesus was walking around claiming to be God, either He was God or He was a nut.  There is no in between.  Therefore, He would not be just a good teacher, and anyone who says that is an anti-christ.  Jesus also warned us of this in His word, that many anti-christs would make claims that would be false.  Christians are to have nothing to do with these people.  Jesus was God in flesh that dwelt among man, was crucified and died for our sins, and on the third day He rose from the dead, and dwelt among us, until He ascended back to Heaven and now sits on the right hand of God the Father.  He is alive.  If that were not truth, then Christianity would have died out thousands of years ago.  If there had been no risen Savior then all His early disciples would not have risked imprisonment and/or being martyred for His glory and the church would have never been established.  BUT, Jesus was God, and he humbled himself to come to us as man, and live among us, and pay for our sins, so that we can dwell with Him forever and ever.  Wow, that's such good news!  We can have a relationship with the Creator of the universe!  We can have a relationship with Him now on Earth and forever in Heaven.   So when the Corona virus comes, or social injustices happen, or when our country starts falling apart, Christ followers can be assured that they are safe and have nothing to fear, for whether in life or death we are abiding safely in His loving arms.  

      In the meantime, as we try to navigate this crazy earth, we have His Word and the Holy Spirit to build us up, to protect us from evil, and to sanctify us as we get ready for His return.  Jesus was also the Word that dwelt among us.  The Bible is not just a holy book, but it is the inerrant, God breathed inspired word of God.  Therefore, it is to be handled with fear, respect, and trepidation.  Just like there are people trying to dispute Jesus as the only way to God, there are also many people, even people in the church, trying to minimize the word of God.  I believe if you don't believe all of the Bible you are not really believing any of the Bible.   People who worship science and/or the creation more than the Creator try to discredit sections of the Bible all the time.  Once again, that is man's pride standing in the way of him finding Truth.  From Creation to Revelation, the entire Bible is truth.  Richard Rohr, I think, is the priest that says that the New Testament is just letters written by man with suggestions for living a good life.  That is simply not true.  Yes, the New Testament does consist of letters written by Christ's apostles, but they were God breathed, meaning God wrote the scriptures through man.  These were men that intimately knew the Savior, that shared in His sufferings, they walked with Him and talked with Him, and God spoke through them.  The Bible is God's word, it is absolute truth, explicit truth.  It is tried and true, and instead of looking at it as a book telling you all the things you can't do, it is a book that reveals Jesus to you, from Genesis to Revelation.  It is a cohesive story of God loving and pursuing His people, laying down His life for mankind, and saving us from death and sins that enslave us.  It explains our past, our present, and our future.  You need not worry about all the darkness in the world, because you can read for yourself how it's all going to end.  Whether you believe or not, one day we will all bow in His presence, every tribe, nation, and tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.  You can accept that truth now and live a life of meaning and substance, or you can wait till the day that you bend your knee in fear and regret.  My prayer is that you will not wait one second longer, but you will choose this day whom you will serve.  I promise you that you will never regret a decision for Christ.  You can come as you are, but as you experience His love and sacrifice, you cannot stay as you are.  Surrender your life to Him now.  You won't regret it.