“What’s true for me isn’t necessarily true for you.” “Truth is relative.”

These are very common concepts in today’s society.

George Barna, a national pollster (http://www.barna.org) has reported:

Feb 2002

the data from a pair of nationwide studies conducted by the Barna Research Group of Ventura, California showed that less than one out of three born again Christians adopt the notion of absolute moral truth

Dec 2002

The perspective was even more lopsided among teenagers, 83% of whom said moral truth depends on the circumstances, and only 6% of whom said moral truth is absolute.

I wrote the other day about the WORD, God’s Word. Jesus is the WORD made flesh (John 1:14 and the full expression, the exact representation of God’s nature (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus himself said,

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. (emphasis mine) John 14:6 (NKJV)

The Bible is God’s written WORD. It is TRUTH.

But, in spite of that, George Barna reports that…

Americans still revere the Bible and like to think of themselves as Bible-believing people, but the evidence suggests otherwise. Christians have increasingly been adopting spiritual views that come from Islam, Wicca, secular humanism, the eastern religions and other sources.

Check out these books (and their rankings) from the New York Times Best Seller Hardcover non-fiction list (October 23, 2006)

#10. THE GOD DELUSION, by Richard Dawkins. Houghton Mifflin

An Oxford scientist asserts that belief in God is irrational and that religion has done great harm in the world. Ranking last week: 8 Number of weeks on list: 4

#11. LETTER TO A CHRISTIAN NATION, by Sam Harris. Knopf

The author of ''The End of Faith'' responds to Christians' arguments in defense of their beliefs. Ranking last week: 6 Number of weeks on list: 4

#21. THE END OF FAITH, by Sam Harris (Norton) (in paperback non-fiction)

Who is going to stand up for truth? For Christ? For God’s Word?

2 Timothy 1:13 - 14 (NLT) ^13. Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me—a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. ^14. Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.

Have you ever been tempted to do something you weren’t supposed to? Maybe for you it was to go somewhere you were told not to go. Or perhaps to see someone you weren’t supposed to see. You may have given in to one or more temptations in your life and had to accept the consequences. There are always consequences.

Jesus was tempted just like you and me. The most famous examples of Jesus being tempted are found in Matthew 4:1-11. But Jesus, rather than giving in to the temptation, ALWAYS did the right thing and honored His Father in heaven.

That is what earned him the right to be our High Priest. He became the perfect offering for our sin, a human being like us, but yet totally without sin. And, as a result, our sin can be forever wiped out by believing in Him and accepting His sacrifice on our behalf.

Hebrews 4:14 - 16 (NKJV) ¹⁴Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Who better to talk to than someone who totally understands what you’re going through and actually knows how to get you past your problem?

Jesus not only knows the answer, He IS the Answer.

WORD...

One day we will all “stand before the judgment seat of God” and give an account of our lives (Romans 14:10-12). If we accept God’s ways, trust Jesus and live obediently according to His word we will get an “A” on our report card.

He has given us all the tools we need, the most important of which is His Word.

Hebrews 4:12 - 13 (NKJV) ¹²For the word (logos) of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ¹³And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. (account is actually from the Greek word - logos)

He has given us the Word... (Greek: logos)

John uses this term (Word/logos) to describe Jesus

¹⁴And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (NASB)

He has given us the Word...

The written word of God – the Bible

¹⁶All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16 - 17 (NKJV)

SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD…Immerse yourself in His Word.

Listen…

Did you ever have a conversation with someone where you knew that they weren’t really listening to you? You could tell that they were simply waiting for you to finish so that they could say what they wanted to say! And, to top that off, we’ve probably all been guilty of it. We could all stand to be better listeners.

God was speaking to Ezekiel after the Israelites had been exiled to Babylon. He showed Ezekiel incredible visions and gave him messages that he was to then give to the Israelites. Listen to God’s admonition to Ezekiel in chapter 3, verse 10 from the New Living Translation:

“Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself.”

A word used in the Old Testament for this is meditate. In today’s society this word has taken on some negative connotations with the advent of TM (Transcendental Meditation) and the influence of Eastern philosophies. However the word “meditate” (Hebrew: śı̂yach) simply means to muse, meditate upon, study, ponder, or consider. In other words THINK.

Remember Paul’s words in Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Emphasis mine)

Listen to what God has to say.

Think about what God is saying to you.

Then “go” as Ezekiel is told in 3:11 or “do” as Paul tells his readers in Philippians 4:9. It kind of sounds like the old adage “Think before you speak.”

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

Gone…(in less than 60 seconds)

Psalms 103:10 - 13 (TEV)

¹⁰ He does not punish us as we deserve

or repay us according to our sins and wrongs.

¹¹ As high as the sky is above the earth,

so great is his love for those who honor him.

¹² As far as the east is from the west,

so far does he remove our sins from us.

¹³ As a father is kind to his children,

so the Lord is kind to those who honor him.

(The King James and the New American Standard use the word “fear” in verses 12 & 13 where CEV uses worship and TEV uses honor.)

When we honor God, fear & worship Him, and accept His free gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ…

Our sins are GONE!

Now, I’ll bet if I were to take a poll there are some of you that would still be “hanging” on to some of your sin “memories.” Some of you might even still be kicking yourself for how “bad” you were.

In the sentiment of Paul in Philippians 3:13-14, forget what is behind and press on…

If God has put your past to rest, you need to as well.

When you do, you can go forward with being the person that God has created you to be.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

God spoke directly to Adam and Eve…

They chose a path of disobedience.

God spoke through a burning bush to Moses.

The people chose to rebel and made a golden calf to worship.

God spoke to Israel through many different prophets.

The people chose to kill them

God spoke to us through His only Son, Jesus Christ!

What will we choose?

Hebrews 1:1 - 4 (NLT) ^1. Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. ^2. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. ^3. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. ^4. This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names.

Philippians 2:9 - 11 (NLT) ^9. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, ^10. that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ^11. and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

God chose to reveal Himself to us through Jesus

…greater than the angels

…name above all names.

…exact representation of God the Father

…the Word of God become flesh (John 1:14)

It doesn’t get any better than that.

Through Jesus Christ we can have peace with God. All of God’s love for us is summed up in the person of Jesus Christ.

And though He was crucified on a cross, was buried in a tomb…after three days

HE AROSE

And is sitting in the place of honor at the right hand of God in heaven.

Acts 4:12 (NLT) There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Name by which people can be saved…there is no other way to God in heaven. Don’t reject God’s final offer.

Come to Him today.

Accept God’s free gift today.

Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. ²⁷There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. Hebrews 10:26 - 27 (NLT)

(If you know Jesus as your Savior, share this with someone who doesn’t know Him)

Useful?

Have you ever known someone who didn’t like you very much and whenever they were around it made your life miserable? Maybe they hurt you very deeply, lied to you or about you, whatever!

What would you do if that person came to you and said, “I’m sorry, would you please forgive me?”

Would you forgive them? Would you welcome them back with open arms?

While he was in prison, Paul had met and taught a slave named Onesimus (that means “useful” in Greek) about Jesus Christ. Onesimus accepted Christ as his Savior. Onesimus was the runaway slave of Paul’s friend Philemon.

In the letter to Philemon, Paul appeals to him to accept Onesimus back as a brother in Christ. His position as slave had changed…

Philemon 1:10 - 19 (NLT) 10 I appeal to you to show kindness to my child, Onesimus. I became his father in the faith while here in prison. 11 Onesimus hasn’t been of much use to you in the past, but now he is very useful to both of us. 12 I am sending him back to you, and with him comes my own heart. 13 I wanted to keep him here with me while I am in these chains for preaching the Good News, and he would have helped me on your behalf. 14 But I didn’t want to do anything without your consent. I wanted you to help because you were willing, not because you were forced. 15 It seems Onesimus ran away for a little while so that you could have him back forever. 16 He is no longer like a slave to you. He is more than a slave, for he is a beloved brother, especially to me. Now he will mean much more to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord. 17 So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 I, PAUL, WRITE THIS WITH MY OWN HAND: I WILL REPAY IT. AND I WONT MENTION THAT YOU OWE ME YOUR VERY SOUL!

That reminds me of how you and I were separated from God by our wrongful actions and sinful hearts. Man once was “useful” to God. After all, man was created in God’s image. But then sin entered the world and men became slaves to sin.

The Good News is that when we heard about Jesus Christ and accepted his sacrifice on our behalf, we were freed from those bonds. Listen to Jesus’ words to his followers in John 15:15 (NLT),

I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.

He has forgiven us. Our past is gone and what lies ahead is a new life with Him. It begins the moment we accept him.

Now back to the first question…Would you accept that friend back after they had turned their lives over to Jesus; after they had asked to be forgiven?

Matthew 6:14 - 15 (NLT) 14. “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Be useful to God once again and exercise His forgiveness!