Fasten Your Truth Belts

Every year, the Oxford English Dictionary announces its Word of the Year. Winners are words that come into prominence during the year. In 2005, it was podcast. In 2007, it was locavore, a person who prefers to eat food grown locally. For 2009, they chose unfriend, the action of deleting someone from your network of friends on social media. In 2013, selfie. And in 2016, the word was post-truth. Why Armor

As we begin our time, let’s take a moment to ask ourselves- why armor? Why was that the image that Paul used to describe the things we needed to place upon ourselves? Well some of it might have been related to Paul’s setting and view at the moment- Look at V20, Paul is in chains and is likely chained to a Roman Solider in this moment. So armor is something he had been starring at.

Why Truth?

Truth is a precious commodity. Even if we deny it, all people look for it, and some never truly find truth.

“Truth”, said a traveller

Stephen Crane

“Truth," said a traveller,

“Is a rock, a mighty fortress;

“Often have I been to it,

“Even to its highest tower,

“From whence the world looks black.”

“Truth," said a traveller,

“Is a breath, a wind,

“A shadow, a phantom;

“Long have I pursued it,

“But never have I touched

“The hem of its garment.”

And I believed the second traveller;

For truth was to me

A breath, a wind,

A shadow, a phantom,

And never had I touched

The hem of its garment.

Without truth life does seem as a meaningless vapor, because truth brings us certainty and brings us life. We live in a world that attempts to fabricate truth. How many arguments are based on scientific studies that are not actually fact, but opinions and theory? Millions of dollars of revenue filter through news stations that feature talking heads giving us there opinions and labeling them as truth.

Friends, we are told plainly in the Scriptures that there is only one source of truth- Jesus Christ. In John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Catch that for a moment, Jesus not just someone who teaches the truth- he IS truth. All truth finds its beginning- its genesis in Jesus. So, if it is truth you seek, you must be seeking Jesus.

There is no such thing as half-truth

Perhaps you have heard the phrase “that’s a half-truth” maybe you have even used it before.

Its this phrase we use when something is partially true, but not all the way- when we kind of blurry the lines of truth and lie- really it is selective morality.

According to the Bible there is no such thing as half-truth; either something is true or it is not- there is no inbetween..

We must be rescued from lies

As residents of a world broken by sin, all of us are in need of rescue every day. Our spiritual predicament resembles that of the soccer team trapped in a cave in Thailand in 2018. While exploring a cave, the twelve boys and their coach were caught off guard by a flash flood. To escape the rush of water, they had to go deeper into the cave. They remained trapped in the cave without food for more than two weeks, utterly helpless. They could not save themselves. The rescue became an international event. Two divers finally located the missing boys and coach. Bringing them safely out of the cave—nearly four miles round trip—would require seemingly impossible logistics. Some of the boys couldn’t swim, and all were severely weakened. The rescue team decided they needed to strap something onto the stranded people to rescue them. Rescue workers designed a rope-and-pulley system. The rope ran from the location where the team was trapped to the opening of the cave. Each boy would be strapped onto a stretcher. Workers spaced throughout the cave operated the pulley system to gradually bring the boys and their coach from the depths of the cave to the light of day.

In the same way God says that we should fasten this belt of truth around us. I think of it like the anchor that pulled those young boys out of the darkness.

In and Out

If you have your Bibles please flip back to Eph 4:25 “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” If your a note taker or a high liter you might want to note this one. And note that is presented is a 2 part process for combating lies in Our livess.

First, but away falsehood. All of us have lies that are spoken over us every single day. Your not good enough, you not strong enough, you are going to fail, etc. These lies fuel the voice of sin and brokenness in our lives. What’s the first thing we can do? Stop listening to them! Put them off. Just because a lie is spoken does not mean that a lie has to be adopted or believed.

Sometimes the most powerful word we can speak is NO! No that is not true, no I will not believe that; Not today Satan!

But there is more to this journey that just putting away falsehood. Look at the second part- We are then to speak the truth with our neighbor. I like to think of this as truth replacement therapy.

We must replace the lies with something- and that something is truth! But here’s the issue, our hearts have been compromised by sin, and they do not produce truth on their own. Don’t believe me?

I have an issue in my endocrine system that prevents my body from producing certain kinds of hormones.My body does not proDuce enough of them for me to be fully healthy. Therefore, 1-2 times a week I have to give myself a shot to add the things I need. Once I add the shot my body levels out and i feel much better.

This is like the truth of the Bible. My heart does not produce truth on its own. So I turn to the Bible and allow it to penetrate my heart and bring my spirit and soul back to health.