Tag Archives: Truth

Really, What is Truth – Living a Life of Differentiation

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We are in scary and bizarre times.  We are now approaching eight full months since we went entirely online for our Sunday worship.  At that time I am sure most of thought that we would be back together by summer, we are way beyond summer.  We had a surge in Covid cases then a decrease now we are hitting record numbers again and predictions of a surge of infections that we cannot fathom.  We have seen racial unrest and a major ‘Love your neighbor’ reckoning that should have been dealt with, by the church, decades, if not centuries, ago.  We have craziness in our politics and now an election just two days away that has many feeling anxious and afraid.  We have seen domestic terrorist groups come out of the woodwork, unapologetic white supremacy no longer hiding behind masks and hoods, and people of color continue to be killed. We have seen confusion at our borders leaving thousands of refugees in danger while border officials attempt to adapt to constantly changing rules and processing record numbers of families and children with as much dignity and humanity as  is possible under the circumstances. This morning we have faces on our screens that have dealt with trees and branches falling due to ice build up, power outages that have gone on for days, and neighbors depending on their fireplaces for heat and to cook, not to mention our homeless looking for a safe and somewhat warm place to take shelter.  In additions to those faces, we also are able to see those living in the southwest who have immediate family members fighting dangerous fires while leaving family at home with concerns of their own fires.  We also hear of the hurricane devastation to our south for a region that is still recovering from the last weather disaster. 

Bizarre times.  Scary times. Exhausting times. Frustrating times. But, Hopeless times?

And so, in these times, on this morning, we gather.  We gather to seek and search for truth in a time when deceit has become acceptable and expected.  We gather to look for light in a time when darkness has become comfortable.  We gather to worship a God who does not desire us to live in fear, in exhaustion, in frustration, in hopelessness. 

The most frequently used group of words in the combined Old and New Testaments are the words – 

‘Do,’  

‘Not’, 

and the word ‘Fear’. These words in various forms are found 365 times. One for each day of the year.  One for every day to remind us that God does not desire that we live in fear. One for every day that we are overwhelmed, out of control, or simply not in control of our situation, the behavior of others and our surroundings.  One for every fearful situation, every tragedy, every failure, every loss, every emotional roller coaster, every time living in this world is more difficult than the day before. One for every single day that God desires us to live in peace, regardless of the situation and emotions.

This is not a ‘just don’t be fearful’ grouping of words, we know that would be a waste of words.  Sometimes ‘just don’t be afraid’ combinations of words are beyond impossible.

When our daughter Grace was very young, she was convinced there was a monster in her room.  Every night I would look under the bed, behind the door, in the dresser drawers only for her to eventually figure out that the monster was in her closet. So, I began looking in there as well – thanks to a Pixar animated movie where a furry looking blue monster with hhis annoying yet funny eyeball friend were able to not be seen hiding in closets by adults, an adult looking in the closet was a total waste of time.  There was no way for this adult, me, to sooth this fear from a child who was the only one capable of seeing the monster.  Finally, I realized that I was incapable of removing this scary monster from her bedroom and probably the entire house, but, I was capable of removing the ultra scary impact of this monster hiding in the closet.  So, we installed a latch at the top of the closet doors which made it impossible for the monster to get out at night.  So, after that, every night I would simply latch the monster lock and she could go to sleep in the same room with a monster in the closet.

God is not removing the scary things, we live in a world where we all have the choice to be scary, to be deceitful, to be hateful, to be racists, to be all the things that can hide in our closets – however, God give us truth, he gives us light,  which, in turn, gives us hope and peace. God gives us the latch to take away the need to Be Afraid in the midst of our scary situations.

Jesus, in our gospel passage, and Micah in our Old Testament passage, for this week, are both addressing this truth. They are warning the people of who they listen to and who they follow.  

“Thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who lead my people astray” cried the prophet Micah, “those who cry ‘Peace’ when they have something to eat, but declare war against those who put nothing into their mouths.”

Micah 3:5

Micah, a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah, was calling the people back to God before disaster hit, at the same time false prophets appointed by the politicians in conjunction with the religious leaders were telling the people ‘Everything is fine’ and the people were choosing to listen to the easy message.  All the while, Micah knew that the only way to avoid the oncoming very scary situation was only avoidable if they listen and turned to God.  The people, much like people today, didn’t want to be inconvenienced or uncomfortable, so they listened to the voices that were soothing, those who were not going to cost them anything, those who were not going to call for a sacrifice of any kind. 

“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat;” Jesus later proclaimed, “therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

Matthew 23:2-4, 11-12

Jesus, just two days from his arrest that would lead to the cross, was preparing his followers for another oncoming tragedy, the cross and their ultimate persecution.  His warning was also about who they listened to, they could listen to the politicians and religious leaders or they could remember the words spoken and lived out in the life of Jesus.  While Jesus was being called a radical liberal threat, the political and religious leaders were familiar to the people,, they were comfortable.  Jesus was pointing out the hypocrisy and deceit coming from the leaders’ mouths.

Jesus and Micah both were calling the people to seek truth and to step into the light. It remains our calling today. 

“O send out your light and your truth;” the Psalmist begs God, “let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling.

Psalm 43:3

“We constantly give thanks to God for this” the apostle Paul  says later to the believers in Thessalonica, “that when you received the word” (Remember that ‘the Word’- Logon/Logos (root), a word that has been spoken by God/Jesus and implied through the life of Jesus-how he lived consistently – it is the truth) Paul continues “ when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers.

I Thessalonians 2:13

’What it really is – God’s word’ – Truth – Paul is calling the believers to live a life of differentiation, to separate lies from truth.  To not become comfortable with the darkness.


When we speak of ‘Truth’ and ‘Light’ we often designate the both to religious or holy things, but truth is for all things, all times, every area of our life.  Truth and Light are timeless. Our bibles give us God’s Words and his workings, it provides us with a real life portrait of this spoken and lived out word in the life of God’s son.  That Word, verbal and lived out, are to give us the wisdom and the tools to seek, search, and find, Truth and Light.

Biblical scholar Peter Enns puts it this way, “When we allow the Bible to determine our expectations, we see that Wisdom, not answers, is the Bible’s true subject matter.”

See, God gives wisdom to differentiate truth from lies, wisdom to differentiate darkness from light.  Truth does not always give us specific answers, because questions change over generations, but truth, and light, leads us to the wisdom to find the answer.  This is why God was so pleased when King Solomon, who could ask for anything he wanted, asked for wisdom.  God knew that wisdom could give him the ability to differentiate between truth and lies, between light and darkness.

Now, wisdom only takes us as far as our use of wisdom is permitted to lead. Solomon chose to step away from the wisdom he had been given and soon was unaware of the lies and darkness that he was choosing.

Oddly, in a time where we have access to facts and figures, it is also a time when we are least determined to search and find truth, it is a time when light is at our fingertips but we have become satisfied with darkness.  We settle for the information that comes from the source we have chosen because it appears to align most with our own viewpoints, we are fed our own choice of news by the algorithms that match our data, and we angrily defend our stance based on truth that has not been truly vetted by us. We get angry and hostile when other views are expressed which is what happens when we have not verified truth for ourself.  A recent study has found that this is a problem across the spectrum, young people, elementary age through college and young adults are ill prepared to find truth, instead they, like us, are settling for the lies and the darkness

Truth works in tandem with Light.  One leads to the other and then back again. Light differentiates between truth and lies – Truth leads us to a life in the light. Truth leads us to light, light leads us to truth. Truth leads us to light out of the darkness, light leads us to truth out of the lies.

When our power went out this past Tuesday we didn’t think much of it, however as the week progressed, the darkness and the cold began to take its toll. We had assumed that we were pretty tough, but as the numbers on our thermostat began to decrease, and we had to live in darkness and without Netflix day after day, night after night, we began to recognize a truth – we are not so tough. Solitaire and carrying branches can only keep your attention so long.  So, on Friday afternoon, when we first experienced power of light and heat and hot water….and Netflix, we were reenergized, we suddenly had the ability to carry more limbs and play more solitaire.  We could see as we walked down the hall, we could feel the tips of our fingers again, and home was home once again.  Now, it went out again after two hours, but those moments in the light were amazing!  We did get it back that evening, when we, once again, realized that we are actually super tough. 

Look at the difference – Darkness divides, Light unifies

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

I John 1:5-7 

Light or Darkness, it’s Your Choice

“And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds  have been done in God.”

John 3:19-21.

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” 

Ephesians 5:8

Four Questions to Ask Yourself in All Your Searches for   Light and Truth.

  1. Is it in harmony with God’s baseline to Love God and Love Others? Or, does it conflict with that baseline?  Is this going to enhance and grow my love for God and others? Does it lead me to ‘Love my Neighbor” does it lead me to “Love all my neighbors?’
  1. Does it hold back the darkness, or does it seem to have dark shadows itself” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse recently said, “When you find hypocrisy in the daylight look for evil  in the shadows.”
  1. Is it consistent with God’s word? Remembering that God’s  word is the words spoken by God, [which is not the same as the things that humans say God means] Also, God’s word is the transparent life lived by God in the person of Jesus Christ.  Is it consistent with the life lived by Jesus? 
  1. Will it lead me to have attitudes and actions that will guide me to a life that positively impacts others? Will it lead me to lead others to truth and light?

What is YOUR choice?

Rubbish

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The apostle Paul is an interesting study one that is still very pertinent to each of us two thousand years later. He is responsible for at least thirteen of the  books in the Bible, most of the New Testament epistles are ascribed to him, however, it is in is life and journey that we see even greater correlations between his life and our lives. 

He is a an extremely unlikely prospect in our eyes, and ill suited, to become a leader in the New Testament church that he becomes – yet he does.  He seems to be among the last people who would be chosen by God to extend God’s truth of love and mercy – yet he was.  Paul seemed to be going in a strange direction to grow the church – yet it was the exact direction, and the exact place, where God was waiting to focus this one man’s truth seeking journey.

His resume was impressive, full of all the credentials Jewish religious leaders ascribed to but seldom achieved.  Credentials that opened most any door to him by the time he was in his mid twenties.  He was just 27 years old when we first meet him, he was already a Pharisee, he was holding the coats of those hurling the stones at Stephen. Then, by the very next year he was on an official mission of the religious institution to take care of the Jesus problem – to stop the growing underground followers of Christ.

The followers of Christ feared Paul very early on their faith movement.  He was on no one’s radar to become their leader – yet he was God’s choice and he would become a passionate leader of the Christians.

He had all the credentials and accomplishments one would imagine for a person on the fast track to authority and power.  He laid out his resume as he was communicating with the church at Philippi.

‘If anyone has reason to be confident in their own abilities and accomplishments, I assure you that I have more: I was circumcised on the eighth day after birth, I am a member of the people of Israel and of the tribe of Benjamin, I am a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the obeying and known the law, I was a Pharisee; and I had zeal, enough zeal that I was made a persecutor of the church of Jesus; and mostly if you are looking at my life as to being righteousness under the law, I am blameless.’

Philippians 3:4-6

Paul’s determination and genuinely sincere passion had thrust him before the eyes of the religious institution as well as the regional Roman governing authorities.   He was a young man, just short of 30 years old, as he traveled to Damascus to pursue his passion, to stop what would become known as Christianity.

The thing about Paul is that for him, all of his accomplishments were not about gaining power just for power’s sake, nor were they about achieving more accolades and bullet points for his resume.  What he did, he did out of a sincere pursuit of truth, and ridding Judaism of those people and teachings that would dilute the truth and harm their faith was at the top of his list.  He believed what he fought for, – there was a genuineness at the core of his being.

This answers the first question – Why did God choose Paul? God was looking for a purity in passion, a person who recognized the value and necessity of truth, one that had an unstoppable pursuit of truth, and a human to whom a truth formed challenge to his faith and politics would not cause them to abandon their journey.  A person that, when finding truth, would see it as the next step, not a roadblock that had to be avoided and dismissed or plowed through. He did not respond with hostility or defensiveness when truth made him uncomfortable about his religious or political stances. In that time, when  politics often dictated to faith, when the religion and governmental leaders used and abused each other, a time when to hold one political stance you had to conform your faith to that stance – it that time, he let his faith be his guide.

God looks for individuals who will not be threatened when their perceptions and beliefs are challenged and when change is essential. God is looking for those who recognize that they have much further to travel in their faith journey.

As Paul traveled to Damascus, it was in his passionate quest to maintain a purity of doctrine.  This ‘Jesus’ movement, in his mind, was perverting truth and therefore would diminish the Jews’ preparation for the coming Messiah.

Jesus was the last person he expected to encounter on the road – but – Jesus was the exact person he expected to encounter on that road.  He had been looking for Jesus his entire life, but it was not until this day, blinded by the light, he saw the Messiah that he had been seeking.  It was Jesus, this was the truth that he had been seeking, and this was the Messiah his faith had led him to with for with all his might.

This was not a bump in the road, it was not a halt to his journey, it was not a controversial challenge, it was actually his next step.  He had found the one he was looking for, he was surely surprised to discover it was Jesus – but it was Jesus.

If Paul had been any less passionate in his pursuit of truth, when he was blinded he would have scoffed at the idea of going to Damascus, there were renown experts and physicians back in Jerusalem to restore his sight.  If Paul had been motivated to stop Christianity more than he was devoted to finding the truth – he would have never agreed to go to the house of a nobody named Ananias.  If he had been primarily set on pleasing the religious institution and in keeping his good name before the Roman political establishment – he would not have asked for help from a follower of Jesus.

But he was a true seeker of truth – and he knew that he had blindly found that truth exactly where it was waiting for him. In this blindness, he was beginning to see.

Why did God choose Paul, because Paul was the one who was looking for God. Notice that God did not alter the direction that Paul was going, he still sent him on to Damascus, his original destination, however, now he saw things differently, now he saw the truth that didn’t match up with his mission, his mission changed but his journey had just gotten on the right course.

Blindness didn’t halt Paul’s mission, it just refined it, it filled in the gaps, he was beginning to see better than he had ever seen before. He was not going to stop this new Jesus movement, he was going to be a part of this movement.

On this day, on this road, this man who sought truth, was blinded by God in order that he could see. On this day, on this journey, Paul eyes could no longer see any truth in the things he had accepted through his religion and in his politics.  Suddenly, he began to notice the earthly afflictions of his people, he began to experience the incongruency of the collusion between his religious institution and the Romans politicians, he saw the contrast between those teachings and his God who he now saw.

About 3 decades after Paul met Jesus on that road to Damascus, he writes a letter to his dear friends, the believers in Philippi. In this letter we see Paul reminding the believers of his achievements as well as the proof of his faithful to God that has been evidenced in his life. 

‘Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.’

Philippians 3:7-9

Paul is not calling his Jewish faith as rubbish, nor is he saying that his achievements and accomplishments were a waste of time – instead, he is proclaiming that it is not about him, it is about Christ. While there was a time when he thought his acts of persecution done for the cause of stopping the Jesus movement were holy, now he realizes that it was not, now he is grateful that his search for truth changed that pursuit. Looking ahead he says,

‘I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.”

Philippians 3:10-14

Let’s look at a few basic from the example of Paul, basics that are very pertinent to us.

  • Paul was chosen by God because he was willingly available to God.  He was not only a truth seeker, but he when he discovered truth he permitted it to make the changes and refinements that needed to be made in order to continue to be usable.
  • Paul’s pursuit of truth resulted in truth being applied to every area of his life, regardless of the risk.  When he met Jesus on the road, this discovered truth became the filter that guided his life and his passions.  With this he was able to see how the practices of his religious institution and the impact of his politics were not aligned with truth.  As he began to see the suffering of an oppressed people, his eyes were opened to the inconsistencies of the message of God and the message of religion and politics.  Honoring truth over his earthly pursuits, opinions, views, politics, and religion caused him to lose friends, power, position, security, and more. This loss, however how hurtful it must have been, was nothing in comparison to the truth he found in Jesus Christ.
  • Paul genuinely felt that following Christ was a natural next step in his faith, and truth, journey.  It seemed to be the most honest way.  As we saw in our look at Romans 9-11, he was genuinely shocked and disappointed that his own people, the Jews, had rejected Jesus.  In the end, he admitted that he did not understand that rejection and, at the same time the choseness of the Jews, he knew that all that God had done in the Jewish history was from God for this people and that God would still keep his promises to the Jews even though it was an almost overwhelming mystery to Paul.
  • Paul lived in the ‘in-between.’            

Paul considers himself to be living in a state of in-between-ness. He is trapped or suspended in the middle of a journey. The longing for arrival is strong, but what he has in front of him is the journey. The arche (beginning) of this journey is Paul’s Judaic background, the telos (goal/aim/end) is his new Christian identity. Paul clearly shows his deep embeddedness in a Jewish tradition. He is from a Benjamite tribe, his is a Pharisee, he is passionately zealous about his Judaic identity, and so on. He describes himself as the best of the best. Abandoning this Jewish identity should be unthinkable to him. To be clear, it is not his Jewishness that he considers as “rubbish”- it is the idea that he can be considered blameless, that he has achieved his goal, that he has arrived, that is what is rubbish. He says that he has not reached the goal of being perfect. In other words, Paul argues that he has not achieved the telos, the goal, the end, the perfection. Paul seems to understand himself and his life as an ongoing process – His existence is in between “what lies behind” and “what lies ahead”.  Paul’s outlook is that to know Christ is to to realize that no one has arrived yet. Everyone is on a journey, in the process of making.

Ekaputra Tupamahu

Paul continued to be a seeker of truth until his death.  He continued to face the challenges of his journey with genuine consideration, he continued to give that truth the freedom to confront every area of this life. On this earth, he knew his journey would not ever end.

May we allow this holy journey of Paul, a journey to know Jesus more every day, may that journey be an example to us in our journey as we work out our salvation. 

Sticking Around

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On the morning after the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene headed to the grave to anoint the body of Jesus.  She could not get there quick enough; she was beyond grateful for the impact He had made on her life.  He delivered her from demons and the extensive mental and emotional baggage accompanying such a traumatic experience.  He brought peace to a life that had been consistently and constantly at war.  He restored joy and hope, and brought the stability to face the struggles and demons that life would throw at her.  Jesus had delivered Mary, and she was beyond grateful. She was committed.

She arrived at the tomb determined to see Jesus and was shocked to find nothing.  The tomb was empty.

While the disciples witnessed the empty grave and headed home, Mary stuck around.  She was not leaving until she saw Jesus.  She kept looking.  Even though the men had left after seeing all they needed to see, or not see, she stuck around.  Peter and John saw that the grave was empty and therefore they believed that the grave was empty.  That was all they thought there was to see and to believe.  The left satisfied, and somewhat amazed, even though they saw nothing.  Mary needed to see something; Mary had a purpose, a mission.  She needed to see Jesus.  Mary stuck around.

Although he did not realize this truth, John needed to see Jesus.  Jesus had become his closest friend.  Peter was also unaware of his need to see Jesus.  He desperately needed to experience release and forgiveness for the guilt and shame of his triple denial of Christ.  However, both of these men were satisfied with seeing nothing.  They went home.

Not Mary, she was sticking around.

She remained at the tomb.

Even though Mary had also seen nothing, and all hope seemed to be gone, she stuck around.

Eventually Mary saw two angels.  Then she saw Jesus. She didn’t recognize him until he said her name, then she saw what she came to see.  She knew that voice due to the fact that she had been a constant seeker of that voice.  She had experienced the full scope of what it meant to depend upon and know Jesus.  She knew that this was Jesus.  She grabbed hold of him and was not about to let go.

She was sticking around.

Later, when the men finally saw Jesus, He told them to stick around.  To wait until God sent their needed helper, the Holy Spirit.

This time they stuck around.

Paying Attention,

Rick