Category: Book Reviews

         In an age of endless Internet gossip, tabloids, false advertising, lying politicians, and “made up reality,” how important is the truth? Reformer Ulrich Zwingli wrote, “The business of the truth is not to be deserted, even to the sacrifice of our lives.”

          Luke makes a profound observation: Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).

          They searched the Scriptures – probing, not just skimming. The Bible should be primary, all other truth-claims secondary. We need a worldview informed and corrected by God’s Word.

          They searched the Scriptures daily. (People died to get the Bible into our hands; the least we can do is read it!) Unless we establish a strong biblical grid, a scriptural filter with which to screen and interpret the world, we’ll end of thinking like the world. We desperately need not only Bible teaching, but group Bible study that explores the text and applies it to daily life.

          The test of whether scripture is my authority is this: Do I allow God’s Word to convince me to believe what I don’t like, what’s contrary to what I’ve always believed and wanted to believe? Do I believe it even when it offends me?

          It’s impossible for me to write a book on truth without repeatedly citing God’s Word. John Newton said, “He has not promised to reveal new truths, but to enable us to understand what we read in the Bible.” Jesus said he would send us the Holy Spirit who “will teach you everything and remind you of everything I have told you” (John 14:26 NLT).

          This book contains reflections not only on the general topic of truth, but also on many facets of truths found in Scripture, including eternity, purity, holiness, and happiness. I hope you you’ll spend time meditating on these brief reflections, great quotations, and Scriptures. Ask God’s Holy Spirit to illuminate your mind as you read these 200 daily devotionals illuminating His Truths in an Eternal Perspective

          I always encourage readers to carefully evaluate my words and thoughts in light of Scripture, our objective standard of truth. “This God – His way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true” (2 Samuel 22:31 ESV).

          As you read and contemplate and share these insights with others, may you gain a deeper, more worshipful appreciation for our wonderful Savior Jesus, who is the perfect embodiment of Truth.

          FYI, Thrift Books recently had 3 used copies @ $6.19 ea. Amazon is currently out of stock. Randy is a wordsmith in that he creates a wealth of focused impact in usually less than 150 words. Certainly the kind of communicator I need to aspire to become! merlin

          Unlike God, the devil promises without delivering. He’s always denying, revising, or spinning the truth, rearranging the price tags. Jesus called him a “liar, and the father of lies.” He said “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language” (John 8:44).

          Everyone speaks their native language fluently. Have you ever known people who lie so convincingly that it’s difficult not to believe them? Satan’s the best liar in the universe. “Go ahead, you deserve it. This won’t hurt anybody.” He’s articulate, smooth, and persuasive. He murders people, and he lies to cover his murders.

          When we speak the truth, we speak Christ’s language. When we speak lies, we speak Satan’s language. Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice” (John 10:27). He says, “But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will flee from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice” (v. 5).

          We’re to become familiar enough with God’s Word that we learn the sound of our Master’s voice, and can tell the difference between his voice and the devil’s impersonation.

NEXT UP: Part Four, and the conclusion, Examining Truth-claims

          A common Old Testament word expressing truth, emeth, speaks of a dependable reality that’s solid and binding. Truth is the bedrock of human relationships (Exodus20:16), involving an integrity of thoughts, speech, or actions.

Over half the New Testament uses of truth, the Greek word aletheia, are in John’s Gospel. Truth is reality. What seems to be and what really is are often not the same. As I develop in my novel Deception, “Things are not as they appear.” To know the truth is to see accurately.”

          God has written His truth on human hearts, in the conscience (Romans2:15). If truth is spoken graciously, many are drawn to it, instinctively knowing it will fill the moral vacuum they feel. Every heart longs for truth – even the heart that rejects it.

          As followers of Christ, we’re to walk in the truth, (3 John 3), love the truth, and believe the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12). We’re to speak the truth, in contrast to “the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4: 14). We’re to be “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4: 15).

          Truth is far more than a moral guide, it’s inseparable from God’s own person. Jesus declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me” (John14:6) He didn’t say he would show the truth or teach the truth or model the truth. He is the truth. Truth personified.

          That Jesus is the God-man, the second member of the Trinity come in human flesh, is central to our faith. To deny this is to be a “liar” (I John 2:22). If we get it wrong about Christ, it doesn’t matter what else we get right.

          The Holy Spirit leads people into truth (John 16:13). We’re commanded to know the truth (1 Timothy4:3), handle the truth accurately (2 Timothy 2:15), and avoid doctrinal untruths (2 Timothy 2: 18). Christ’s disciples do the truth (John 3:21) and abide in the truth (John 8:31-32). The “belt of truth” holds together our spiritual armor (Ephesians 6:14).

          God “does not lie” (Titus 1:2). He is “the God of truth” (Isaiah 65:16 ESV). “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? (Numbers 23:19).

Christ, as the Living Word of God, is inseparable from truth. He not only is the Truth, he is the source of all truth, the embodiment of truth, and therefore the reference point for evaluating all truth-claims.

          Those in countries where democratic ideals are embraced might have the illusion that they should have a voice when it comes to truth. But the universe is not a democracy. Truth is not a ballot measure. God does not consult us to determine right and wrong. It’s we who must go to revealed Scripture to find out what we should believe. Our culture appeals to whatever now is; God appeals to his intentions and design, to what ought to be.

When we wonder what’s right, we’re to turn to God’s Word: “For the word of the Lord is right and true” (Psalm33:4). As Psalm 119 depicts on every one of it 176 verses, God’s truth is at the heart of the spiritual life.

NEXT UP: Christ the Truth-Teller v. Satan the Liar

Pascal was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic writer. In 1642, he started a pioneering work on calculating machines (called Pascal’s calculators and later simply Pascalines), establishing him as one of the first two inventors of mechanical calculators. Following a religious experience in late 1654, he began writing influential works on philosophy and theology. His two most famous works, “Lettres provincials” and the “Pensees”, the former set in the conflict between Jansenists and Jesuits.

This week’s remaining four posts are the four sections of Randy Alcorn’s 1500-word introduction for his 2017 book titled:

TRUTH: A Bigger View of God’s Word

Introduction: Truth Matters

In the Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo Baggins say to his young cousin, “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

          To “keep our feet” in this world requires putting our weight upon what is true.

          Theologian J. Gresham Machen wisely said, “Nothing in the world can take the place of truth.” Yet we are constantly bombarded with lies that attempt to do just that.

          Truth is not something we invent, only something we can discover. God reveals it to us in His Word.

          Truth is rooted in the eternal, all-powerful, and unchangeable God. Therefore, His promises cannot fail: “Every word of God proves true” (Proverbs30: 5 ESV)

          As Christ the living Word is truth, so is His written Word. Though Heaven and Earth will pass away, God’s truth never will (Mark 13:31).

          Truth is not something we act upon. It acts upon us. We can’t change the truth, but the truth can change us. It sanctifies (sets us apart) from the falsehoods woven into our sin natures.

          Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).

NEXT UP: Introduction – Part II. Truth in the Bible

OK, the past two posts were indeed quite intense, if you had so engaged! Wednesday morning I was doubly blessed with both this Proverb & Utmost, but I opted yesterday to post Utmost first & do so ASAP, as it complimented the persecution sermon so well. This proverb chapter is purely R & R, & especially so, if read from The Message! Since Jan 1, I’m trying out the routine of reading a Proverbs daily for several months. Here’s Chapter 8 for Jan 8. FYI, I bought a like-new NIV/The Message Parallel Bible at MCC Connections for $4, and I use it often!

Proverbs 8:1-36 (MSG) 

1. Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling? Can you hear Madame Insight raising her voice?

2. She’s taken her stand at First and Main, at the busiest intersection.

3. Right in the city square where the traffic is thickest, she shouts,

4. “You—I’m talking to all of you, everyone out here on the streets!

5. Listen, you idiots—learn good sense! You blockheads—shape up!

6. Don’t miss a word of this—I’m telling you how to live well, I’m telling you how to live at your best.

7. My mouth chews and savors and relishes truth— I can’t stand the taste of evil!

8. You’ll only hear true and right words from my mouth; not one syllable will be twisted or skewed.

9. You’ll recognize this as true—you with open minds; truth-ready minds will see it at once.

10. Prefer my life-disciplines over chasing after money, and God-knowledge over a lucrative career.

11. For Wisdom is better than all the trappings of wealth; nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her.

12. “I am Lady Wisdom, and I live next to Sanity; Knowledge and Discretion live just down the street.

13. The Fear-of-God means hating Evil, whose ways I hate with a passion— pride and arrogance and crooked talk.

14. Good counsel and common sense are my characteristics; I am both Insight and the Virtue to live it out.

15. With my help, leaders rule, and lawmakers legislate fairly;

16. With my help, governors govern, along with all in legitimate authority.

17. I love those who love me; those who look for me find me.

18. Wealth and Glory accompany me— also substantial Honor and a Good Name.

19. My benefits are worth more than a big salary, even a very big salary; the returns on me exceed any imaginable bonus.

20. You can find me on Righteous Road—that’s where I walk— at the intersection of Justice Avenue,

21. Handing out life to those who love me, filling their arms with life—armloads of life!

22. “God sovereignly made me—the first, the basic— before he did anything else.

23. I was brought into being a long time ago, well before Earth got its start.

24.I arrived on the scene before Ocean, yes, even before Springs and Rivers and Lakes.

25. Before Mountains were sculpted and Hills took shape, I was already there, newborn;

26. Long before God stretched out Earth’s Horizons, and tended to the minute details of Soil and Weather,

27. And set Sky firmly in place, I was there. When he mapped and gave borders to wild Ocean,

28. built the vast vault of Heaven, and installed the fountains that fed Ocean,

29. When he drew a boundary for Sea, posted a sign that said, no trespassing, And then staked out Earth’s foundations,

30. I was right there with him, making sure everything fit. Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause, always enjoying his company,

31. Delighted with the world of things and creatures, happily celebrating the human family.

32. “So, my dear friends, listen carefully; those who embrace these my ways are most blessed.

33. Mark a life of discipline and live wisely; don’t squander your precious life.

34. Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me, awake and ready for me each morning, alert and responsive as I start my day’s work.

35. When you find me, you find life, real life, to say nothing of God’s good pleasure.

36. But if you wrong me, you damage your very soul; when you reject me, you’re flirting with death.”

Isn’t the above a real Deal R & R passage? And for me to read NIV scripture continuously with out those pauses during which my brain is trying to figure out on the fly the idioms and nuances, is a treat. Frequently though with the Parallel, I read both versions, NIV first to break the ice, and then The Massage for more enjoyable kayaking! To each his own.

Abraham built an altar…; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar… Genesis 22:9 In light of Tuesday’s post on historical persecution, and today’s Utmost reading on sacrifice, I’m compelled to post this reading to further guide our focus for next Sundays sermon, on just how are we to respond to Persecution; whether Today, Tomorrow or Beyond? merlin Perhaps this event is a picture of the mistake we make in thinking that the ultimate God wants of us is the sacrifice of death. When actually, perhaps what God really desires is the sacrifice through the death of our “ungodly earthly attachments” which then enables us to do what Jesus did, that is, sacrifice our very lives… Perhaps it is not so much that— “Lord, I am ready to go with You…to death” (Luke 22:33). But rather — “I am willing to be identified with Your death so that I may sacrifice my “living” life to God.” Our vain humanistic default thinking tends to believe that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself. Perhaps it is a matter of loosening the bands that hold back our lives. Those bands are loosened immediately by our identification with the death of Jesus. We then, may enter into a relationship with God whereby we may sacrifice our lives to Him. It is of no value to God to give Him your life for death. He wants you to be a living sacrifice”— to let Him have all your strengths that have been saved and sanctified through Jesus (Romans 12:1). This is what is acceptable to God.

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS Defenders of the faith are inclined to be bitter until they learn to walk in the light of the Lord. When you have learned to walk in the light of the Lord, bitterness and contention are impossible.

Today I fortunately discovered this clip of Dallas Jenkins speaking at BYU two months ago about his Five Loaves and Two Fishes encounter and The Chosen’s seven years since. Since we’re all hard pressed for time, striving relentlessly to increase our spiritual efficiencies, I am therefore suggesting the bulk of you may prefer this simpler “street version” for the significance of the parable in the unfolding history of The Chosen, versus Peterson’s more intense psychological MDiv. version. Both clips are worthy vehicles to practically guide us into the new year, but now you have a choice of intensity.

Plus, you’ll skip Peterson’s commercials!

Dec 30 My Utmost For His Highest Oswald Chambers

…All my springs are in you. Psalm 87:7

I’m so thankful our Lord never “patches up” our natural virtues, that is, our natural traits, qualities, or characteristics. But rather, He completely remakes a person on the inside— “…put on the new man…” (Ephesians 4:24).

In other words, see that your natural human life is putting on all that is in keeping with the new life. The life God places within us develops its own new virtues, not the virtues of the seed of Adam, but of Jesus Christ.

Now, once God has begun the process of sanctification in your life, watch and see how God causes your confidence in your own natural virtues and power to wither away. He will continue until you learn to draw your life from the reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus. Thank God if you are going through this drying–up experience!

The sign that God is at work in us is that He is destroying our confidence in the natural virtues, because they are not promises of what we are going to be, but only a wasted reminder of what God created man to be. We want to cling to our natural virtues, while all the time God is trying to get us in contact with the life of Jesus Christ— a life that can never be described in terms of natural virtues.

It is the saddest thing to see people who are trying to serve God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them. They are depending solely on what they have by virtue of heredity. God does not take our natural virtues and transform (Rather, He exchanges them with His) them, because our natural virtues could never even come close to what Jesus Christ wants. No natural love, no natural patience, no natural purity can ever come up to His demands.

BOTTOM LINE: But as we bring every part of our natural bodily life into harmony with the new life God has placed within us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus. And every virtue we now possess in Him Is His alone! “AND AS SUCH, DEFINITELY ARE not to be shared with, or controlled by, or influenced by culture, environment, end times principalities, diseases & afflictions, weather extremes, geopolitical conflicts, acts of terrorism, contracts, personality disorders, etc.” – anonymous

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

You must understand there is nothing, naturally speaking, that makes us lose heart quicker than decay—the decay of bodily beauty, of natural life, of friendship, of associations, all these things make a man lose heart; but Paul says when we are trusting in Jesus Christ these things do not find us discouraged, for His Light shines through them. (from The Place of Help)

dailylightdevotional.org December 30 morning

Who shall also confirm you until the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. I Cor. 1:8

You, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel. Col. 1:21-23

Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. II Pet. 3:14

That ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ. Phil. 1:10

EVENING

If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. I John 1:6, 7

The Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. II Tim. 4:18

“That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” KJV Phil 2:15 The Message: “Go out into the world not corrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living empowered by the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night.”

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with ALL the saints. Amen. Revelation 22:21

            Just as Genesis is the book of beginnings, Revelation is the book of endings, bringing the Bible full circle. Scripture begins and ends in Paradise. The devil isn’t in the first or the last two chapters of Scripture, but the Tree of Life is. In Genesis 1, God creates the heavens and the earth; in Revelation 21-22, He recreates them. In the Bible’s opening scenes, humanity is perfect, sinless, happy, immortal, and in constant fellowship with God – and so in the final ones.

            Between the beginning and the ending of Scripture are 1185 chapters that tell us the story of the ages – how sin and suffering entered the human race and how God loved us and became a man to save us through the shed blood of the Lamb. Though written in sixty-six installments by forty plus authors over 1400 years in three languages on three continents, the Bible’s story is consistent and cohesive, unfolding like a master plot of a novel, and centered around one person, the Lord Jesus Christ.

            When we come to the final paragraph of Revelation, we have the closing credits of Scripture:  the Last Blessing (v. 14), the Last Invitation (v.17), the last Warning (vv. 18-19), the Last Promise (V. 20), the last Prayer (v. 20), and the last Benediction: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints. Amen.”

            The word saints encompasses everyone washed in the blood of Christ, the word ALL affirms its all-inclusiveness, and the final Amen punctuates it with a divine exclamation point. There is no better ending for a book, so ….

              The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you! Amen.  

Merlin now: Closely associated, for me at least, with the Revelation’s ending stated above, are the words of benediction from Jude 24-25 that many of us heard each Sunday concluding worship service prompting introspection, which too often for me, concluded in guilt, rather than joy. Strange, I do not recall Jesus being in that mix, just God. Please understand though, I’m not here assigning blame anywhere, for as a young lad I knew full well my future assignment, much as did Robert Boyle in Monday’s post, but I compromised and refused surrender, squandering personal time and resources.

I’ve also realized many of you gifted 4-part Mennos resonated more meaningfully with hymnal #606 in similar fashion, rather than with the Jude benediction. But, I being the more verbally inclined, gravitated to the benediction, “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”

But here we are on this New Year Eve Day, and I just can’t close up shop here without making sure you’re not without hope, whoever you are, wherever you’ve been, are about to go, or don’t want to go. For me, the past year has been quite what I deserved, and that dear reader, was the exact impetus for my surrender to seek the restoration needed so I now can approach New Year’s Eve in better stead than ever prior. Now, don’t ever expect me to write about this year’s events in a blog post, but seriously, since I’m somewhat acquainted with 95% of you all, for if you’re seriously discouraged with no relief in sight, and you are totally without an ear, text me (I do not answer unidentified calls) your name and a sentence or two, and I’ll call you back so you can talk; I’ll listen.

Now, may I give you some wise words I’ve gained from David Jeremiah because what He is saying below has basically taken me all my life to learn, and how my bummer year was transformed into the best yet, and it is my sincere hope that the process replicates for you, if such is indicated. So here goes.

Just Perhaps that Missing Piece in Your Life’s Puzzle is Christ?

“In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; for you are complete in Him.”

Colossians 2:9-10

Insight into who you are and why you are here is available only from the Creator, because you were both created “by and for Him.” In fact, He wrote your Owner’s Manual. The missing piece in your life is not merely more education, or better therapy, for if you do not yet intimately know Jesus Christ, it is imperative you consider right now placing Him dead center where He belongs, in the middle of all those endlessly frustrating vocational details, cultural expectations, self-imposed criticisms, addictive behaviors, soured relationships, broken promises, etc.

Understand dear reader, God created you uniquely for Himself. He created a vacuum within each of us; whether in our spirit, soul, & body, or heart, mind, & will, that simply cannot be filled or satisfied by or with anything or anyone else, EXCEPT HIM! While you stuff in all that pleasure and all the madness of this age trying to fill the vacuum or bring meaning in to continually sucking-air-life, I’m just telling you, you’ll never quite grasp that deeply satisfying AHA moment. But you may well remember the song, or its bottom line, “Is That All There Is? Trusting Jesus Christ to be your missing centerpiece sets something very unique in motion in your spirit when you say a simple prayer receiving Him into your life.

That simple surrender allows Jesus to come and live within you. God loves you more than any other person can or will, on this planet; He knows you intimately. He has a plan for your life. He wants you to know who you are and why you are here at this very moment in history to fulfill your destiny. And when you will put your trust fully in Him, He will give the needed perspective in your life. You were created in God’s image, so you are really only yourself while you are in relationship with God. When you let God take control of your life through His Son, your life begins to experience a new dimension of deeply satisfying meaning.

Again, if you need to talk, text me @ 330 465-2565, What’s App, Signal.

Happy New Year’s to each of you in all of His life’s dimensions expressly designed just for you!