A Nugget from New Life Network
(some excerpts from Scriptureinsights.com)
Scripture for the Day (August 4, 2016)
Woe to those who call good evil and evil good, who put darkness for light and light for darkness (Isaiah 5:20).
We live in a megaphone world where conflicting political sound bites, blogs, conspiracy theories, dueling newscasts and expanding social networks are constantly stirring the pot. How are we to discern the truth???
Our school children and college students are being taught that all truth is relative, that there are no enduring moral standards, that there is no such thing as good and evil, and that it is wrong to make any judgment that something is good or evil. However, in our criminal justice system the inability to tell good from evil is considered a sign of criminal insanity. What a stark contrast!
Scripture rejects relativism. It says that there is absolute truth. God’s word is truth (John 17:17). He is the God of truth (Isaiah 65:16). “All [God’s] words are true” (Psalm 119:160). “God does not lie’ (Titus 1:2; see also Hebrews 6:18). Jesus Christ is “the truth” (John 14:6). The Holy Spirit is “the Spirit of truth” (John 14:17, 15:26). On the opposite end of the spectrum we have the devil who is “a liar and the father of lies”, “there is no truth in him” (John 8:44). To deny that there is absolute truth is to reject Scripture and to reject God.
God desires truth in us. He wants us to “walk continually in [his] truth” (Psalm 26:3; see Psalm 86:11). God desires truth in our inner parts (Psalm 51:6). He wants us to choose the way of truth (Psalm 119:30). He wants all men “to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). He wants us to love the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:10), to rejoice with the truth (1 Corinthians 13:6), to “believe and… know the truth” (1 Timothy 4:3), to “put off falsehood and speak truthfully” (Ephesians 4:25), and to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). “Do not lie to each other” (Colossians 3:9). The truth will sanctify us (cleanse and purify us) (John 17:17; see 1 Peter 1:22). “The truth will set you free” (John 8:32). God rejects those who “exchanged the truth of God for a lie” (Romans 1:25). God’s wrath comes on those who “suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Romans 1:18; see 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11). “All liars” are condemned to eternal punishment (Revelation 21:8)
God’s words are not just temporary truths, applicable only to the times in which Scripture was written, as some have asserted. They are eternal. They are always true. “Your word, O Lord, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens” (Psalm 119:89). “The word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8). Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35). God does not change, and his truth does not change!
Please read all the Scriptures listed above, think about them, pray about them, and ask the Holy Spirit to show you what they mean and how you need to apply them to your life. This is one issue which I think we must understand in the megaphone world that we live in. If you do not know the truth (God’s Word), you will be led astray and you will not be able to discern good from evil. We need spiritual discernment to recognize a lie and the only way you get that is through knowing Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and God’s Word.
