And That's the Truth!

"Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free'" (John 8:31-32)

An adorable t.v. character from several decades ago played wonderfully by actress Lily Tomlin was a little girl named "Edith Ann."  She was filled with all kinds of philosophical advice on everyday living, slanted from the point of view of a five year old, and always capped off with the exclamation: "And that's the truth!"

Today one of America's top radio hosts, arguably the one that liberals love most to hate, made a profound statement in the context of reporting upon a supposed "gaffe" by presidential candidate Mitt Romney while visiting recently in the United Kingdom.  His observation was that "the most politically incorrect thing you can speak today is the truth."

Have we fallen that far today as a people, beloved?  Is truth, whether political or cultural or social or moral or spiritual, so "for sale" that it can be bartered away for a few more votes or a higher rating?  If you have been following at all the chain of events being played out these past months on the world's stage, then you must conclude that we have indeed fallen that far!

Jesus not only stated that we need to "know the truth" but that it is only that truth that will set us free!  Now I know that someone could easily respond to that by saying, "Come on, Ron!  Jesus was talking about religious stuff and that has nothing to do with political events today."  Doesn't it?  How many different kinds of "truth" are there, beloved?  Does it not occur to you that truth is truth whether it falls into the realm of politics, culture, business, social relationships, or religious convictions?

I am convinced that this present generation is quickly becoming one that does not particularly like or want to deal with truth.  And it is that very attitude that leads to the deadliest of consequences for any person.  The "truth" about which Jesus spoke was certainly that every person is born into sin, confirms that condition by his actions, and cannot possibly redeem himself from that fallen situation wherein he stands condemned before God.  And Jesus' truth is also that because of God's love for mankind, because He is not willing that any should perish eternally, He came to us in the form of Jesus of Nazareth, sinless and pure, and sacrificed His life on the cross so that we might find forgiveness with God and the gift of eternal life.  That is the truth that can and does "set you free," beloved!  That is the truth, the only truth, without which we remain condemned and without hope.

But this "truth" not only sets us free eternally, beloved, it sets us free in our here and now.  To receive the truth of God by faith is to order your life in this present world according to that truth.  It is to see everything - politics, culture, social relationships, business, family - through God's eyes.  It is to have a biblical world view.  And only those who have such a world view really know what is going on in our world.  To cast aside this truth, then, is to have a skewered view of the world, a twisted understanding of what is going on.

Are you living by the "truth" today?  Has it set you free?  I encourage you to ask God to help you to see your world through His eyes.  It will be the most liberating move you've ever made.  And, as Edith Ann would surely say at this juncture: "And that's the truth!"

Ron 

A' demain to a Very Dear Friend

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself" (Philippians 3:20-21)

The French phrase a' demain is one that came tumbling out of my distant past recently, beloved, and for a very good reason.  I thought of it in response to the sad news that a very dear friend and sister in Christ went home to be with the Lord in the early hours of this morning.  This French expression, if my recollection from high school classes is reliable, can be simply translated "until tomorrow."  It is not the "goodbye" of those who seldom see each other or expect not to see each other again in this life, yet it is not the casual "see you later" of the good and close friend who will likely bump into you again tomorrow.

A' demain is a wonderful expression because it looks to a certain future, to a coming moment in time when you know beyond any shadow of a doubt that you are going to see your friend again.  Barbara has now joined in eternity her husband who preceded her by a number of years.  Now they are together enjoying the company of their blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  It was my distinct and great privilege to be both their pastor and their friend.  And that friendship has endured the separation of time and distance.

So why would I choose to simply say to Barbara and to Don a' demain?  Because I know, beloved, that "tomorrow" is coming!  Not man's uncertain tomorrow worked out on a human timetable and fraught with the frailty of human uncertainty, but rather in that certain "tomorrow" that is God's promise to each one who truly knows Him personally through faith in Jesus Christ.  Sadly I will not be able to make it to what will certainly be a glorious graveside celebration by family and friends of Barbara's home-going.  But this one thing I know - I will see her again as surely as I know that I will see my Savior face to face.

To her family, then, from someone whose life you blessed for many years in ways that I simply cannot measure, deepest condolences from both Bev and me as we are saddened by news of her passing.  And to Barbara, safe in the arms of Jesus, I say only a' demain.  God's "tomorrow" is on the way!

Ron 

Go and Tell Your Friends

"'Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.'  And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him" (Luke 8:39)

If you have ever visited a well-stocked Christian book store, beloved, then no doubt at some point you were impressed with the amazing selection of evangelistic tools available to churches and other outreach ministries.  I am not sure that I could personally list how many different programs I have taught to congregations over the years, all in their own right good and solid approaches to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with those who do not know Him.

What is so very amazing to me by contrast, however, is what Jesus told the former demoniac whom He had delivered from his spiritual, mental, and physical bondage.  When that young man wanted more than anything else to travel with Jesus, to sit at His feet in worship and adoration, the Master refused his request and rather sent him on a very special mission of his own.  Basically, He sent that new believer "home" to be a personal missionary in his own hometown.

There is so much for us to learn today about personal evangelism, beloved!  The first lesson which comes immediately to the eye here is that evangelism is not primarily a program or an outreach tool.  It is rather a way of life that is to be carried out throughout the normal day to day routine of living.  Very simply, we are to "tell" as we "go."  That young man set free by Jesus did not first go to seminary and earn his degree. He did not even sign up for an outreach training seminar.  He simply went home and began to tell everyone who would listen all about what Jesus of Nazareth had done for him.

Then we also learn that the most natural place for personal evangelism to begin is within one's own family.  "Return to your house" is what Jesus told the young man.  And though none of the synoptic gospels records that he went home and began with the members of his own family, it seems obvious that such is precisely what he did.  In fact, he told his whole family and then began telling his neighbors until he had covered the entire town.

Finally, we note here that the focus of his sharing was not the precise doctrines of grace but rather what Jesus had personally done for him.  You see, beloved, that was the one thing about which this young man was already an absolute authority.  He knew what Jesus of Nazareth had done for him!  And, if you think about it, that is precisely what a "witness" (Greek martus) is, one who speaks authoritatively of what he knows firsthand to be true.

What has Jesus Christ done for you, beloved?  If He has transformed your life by grace, then He has also given to you the instruction to "go and tell" those who are a part of your life, those within your personal arena of influence.  Go and tell - now that is a winning approach to evangelism!

Ron 

Power in the Blood

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16)

I know that there is power in the blood of Jesus Christ, beloved!  I just watched a video clip on Face Book of my 12 year old grandson taking a public stand for Jesus Christ and being obedient in believer's baptism today.  And that glorious scene was made even more precious because he was baptized by his dad, our son Jerry, who as an 8 year old himself took that same stand and allowed me to baptize him as his dad.  So you see, I know that there is power in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!

I know first of all that there is power in the blood of Christ to save us completely from our sins.  As the Apostle Peter wrote to believers of his day: 

"Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18-19)

But I also know that there is power in the blood of Christ to set us free from the power of sin and to enable us to live holy lives.

"What shall we say then?  Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?  May it never be!  How shall we who died to sin still live in it?" (Romans 6:1-2)

Lewis Edgar Jones while attending a camp meeting in 1899 wrote the words to that beloved hymn that we know today as Power in the Blood.

Would you be free from the burden of sin?

There's power in the blood, power in the blood!

Would you o'er evil a victory win?

There's wonderful power in the blood!

I have just told you about two young boys who have not only discovered that there is power in the blood of Jesus Christ, but who have taken an amazing stand to publicly identify themselves by faith with Him as Savior and Lord.  Have you personally made that same choice yourself?  If not, why not do that right now and discover for yourself that there is power over sin and death and hell in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Ron   

Through the Night with the Light from a Bulb

"The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men; from His dwelling place He looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, He who fashions the hearts of them all, He who understands all their works" (Psalm 33:13-15)

I cannot say with certainty, beloved, but I am pretty sure that it was my youngest sister who as a child once rewrote the words to "God Bless America," declaring that God guides this great nation "through the night with the light from a bulb."  Makes sense, doesn't it, at least to a child?

The unchangeable truth is, though, that God does indeed guide this land which is our home and for which we feel such gratitude and patriotic pride.  We do know, however, that He does not lead us with the light from a "bulb" but with a light from "above."  And that divine light of His sovereignty and His love has been guiding us throughout our history.  That single truth is what will see us through these difficult times in which we presently find ourselves as Americans.

What ever happened to the "pursuit of happiness"?  When did it become a line that you can stand in to receive what is owed to you by the right of citizenship?  What has happened to our entrepreneurial spirit and to the pride of personal accomplishment?  It seems to me that if the "pursuit" is removed, all that is left is the handout!  Is that really what the founding fathers intended for us as a people?

In the midst of all this chaos, we look about in search of one constant, just one, to which we may anchor our souls and the lives of our families.  We want one rock upon which we can plant our feet and stand for what is right and just and true.  And that one constant, beloved, is the fact that God is never-changing and that God is ever-ruling.  Come what may, God reigns over the affairs of men.  Whether we can see His hand at work or not it is at work nonetheless.  As the song says, when we cannot "trace His hand" we can "trust His heart"!

Let me encourage you, then, to set your feet solidly upon the Rock that is Jesus Christ and your faith in Him.  Let me urge you to stand with all your might for truth, God's truth, and nothing else.  Let me further encourage you to love what is still right about this country and to stand against what is wrong.  As the psalmist made so very clear, God "sees all the sons of men."  He sees and He knows and He ever moves to accomplish His purpose in our lives.

God bless America, land that I love!

Stand beside her and guide her

Through the night with a light from above;

From the mountains to the prairies to the oceans white with foam-

God bless America, my home sweet home!

Ron