GOD’S WORD DEFINES TRUTH

This post is written by my precious friend, Janan.

Those of you who know me well, often hear me speak of her as my spiritual Momma.

After you read this, you'll likely get an idea of why I love her so.

She sharpens me. She's that person who can speak truth into my life...even when it's hard to hear. She can give me a much needed swift kick in the rear, and then hold out a hand to lift me and love on me again.

She loves me like I'm her own, and in a word, I love her and her family with all of my heart.

May you be deeply encouraged by her post.

Thank you, Nanners. I love you to God's Mighty Right Hand!

Okay. So Jesica has given us the opportunity to talk about what studying and teaching God’s Word has meant to us. I have thought about this for several days knowing I wanted to write, but not sure exactly how to formulate my thoughts.

For sure, I knew the word truth kept coming to mind. In fact, that was the only word I could think of.

I remembered 11 years ago, as a new Christian, when I asked a wise young friend how I should address my family who would be visiting for Christmas. “How can I explain to them what has happened to me?” I asked him. I’ll never forget his response. “Speak truth over them.”

Here’s how that works. Let’s say a sibling is telling you about someone in her life she will never be able to forgive. Before Christ, I would have listened and maybe (probably) would have agreed. But now, after Christ, I can speak truth over her by saying, “Jesus can help you love your enemies” (Luke 6:27).

Or perhaps God has opened a door for me to tell my father about my new life in Christ. When he reminds me of the religion in which I was raised and asks me how I can talk about something contrary to this, I can speak truth over him by saying, “Dad, I believe; therefore I speak” (2 Corinthians 4:13)!

You see, those aren’t my words, those are God’s words! He gave them to me through His Word! My responsibility is to learn what He has said in the context He has said it. Then when I speak His words to others, I can know that I have told the truth.

Everything else is up to God.

Here’s how God explained it through his prophet Isaiah: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:8-11)

I also remembered another time I was riding in my car and heard a quote that stuck in my head. I immediately pulled over and wrote on a sticky pad, “It is not true because it is in the Bible; it is in the Bible because it is truth.”

Say that again?

You see, truth was not just out there being gathered up in bits and pieces by those who wrote the Bible. Instead, truth originated from God and was divinely given to us by His Holy Spirit through the writers of the Bible.

2 Timothy 3:16 says this: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

So how does a person like me put all of this together to explain how the Word of God helps me in my everyday life – how it guides me and helps me to discern what is good, what is right, what is true? And how does it help me to lead others – my adult sons, my wonderful daughter-in-law, my beautiful grandchildren?

Simple. I asked my engineer-husband tonight on the way home from dinner this one simple question. “Honey, how would you describe what studying the Word of God has meant to you in your life?”

What took me three days to think on, he answered with three simple words,

“It defines truth.”