The Power of Truth

For the last several weeks here at Backyard Conversations, we have been talking about lies. And well we should, for as we have discovered, “We live in a world of lies” and that “These lies kill!” We learned that our adversary, the Evil One, is “the father of all lies” and that “There is no truth in Him,” and that “he is a liar from the beginning.” That is a lot to digest, of course.

Here you are, of course, at the blog environment of One Hundred-Fold Ministries. We like to have a conversation about things that matter. Not so much about sports, and politics or the latest movie like you might find in some backyard chatter. But about things that really matter. Like the Gospel of the Kingdom.

And all these very important conversations about lies the last few weeks is making me thirst for truth! Is this word familiar to you – Aletheia? It literally means the study of truth. Not surprisingly, it is not a common word in a world of lies. And if we are to confront lies, we need a very solid diet of truth. It just stands to reason. So, the Bible speaks truth to us in order to combat this world of lies that we live in. For instance:

    1 John 3:18
    Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

    3 John 4:1
    I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

    1 John 1:6
    If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.

    John 14:6
    Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

    Ephesians 4:15
    Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.

    Psalm 25:5
    Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long

    John 5:20
    We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
So, because it is important , we will spend the next couple of installments in Backyard Conversations chatting about truth. I hope that you don’t find this too simple an outline today. Probably things you already know very well. But I find that the basics in any field are easy to overlook. So, knowing the power of truth, let’s get back to basics:

  1. Truth has the power to set you free
  2. Truth has the power to set you straight
  3. Truth has the power to set your course
Power to:
Set you free

    John 8:31-32
    To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
On the surface it seems that this is Jesus getting all puffed up about His teachings (which of course He should!). But embedded in this statement is a testimony of Jesus by Jesus. He has also said “I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE.” He is love in the flesh, grace in the flesh, and He is truth in the flesh. And he has come to pay a ransom we are told. A death payment! A payment of eternal blood for the weight of billions of souls full of sin. This incarnate Truth has set us free! Paid in full! But this truth is not done. He also has the power to set you straight;

Set you straight

In a world of very expertly crafted lies, it is possible to get not only trapped, but also knotted up. Conflicted. Believing in your heart one set of truths, but living as though you believe a completely different set of truths and values. The Bible calls it double-minded (James 1:8). There is good news though! Not only is Jesus Living Truth, but God saw fit to write the Truth down for us!

    2 Timothy 3:16-17
    All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
The Power of true Truth is cosmic. It is freedom, it is correction, and it is a compass (the Way!) in a dark jungle of lies. Truth has the power to set your course.;

Set your course

    Hebrew 12:2
    Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
When I was in college, I got a job driving a small tractor in corn fields plowing irrigation piping paths. I was not good at it. I could not plow a straight line. I got fired. As I was leaving my employer mumbled something about stupid college kids. “All you have to do is line up the front of the tractor with something on the horizon. Then just keep your eye on that and drive towards it. The trick is to keep your eyes on the object on the horizon and your path will be true” (he actually said that!). I wish he would have told me before I destroyed a couple fields of corn and got fired. But he was right – I was kind of a stupid college kid.

See you back here in couple weeks to continue this conversation. Or we can connect next week on our podcast at Kingdom Offerings, also at 100foldministries.org. Till then, may Grace and Truth go with you!