truth – Page 7 – Cross Culture Church

Meditation: January 22

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9

True love is balanced with an attraction towards purity and truth and a distain and hatred towards evil. It is not the imbalance that embraces any behavior as being acceptable for sake of peace. True love often disturbs the peace of the wicked, in order to confront his wickedness. There are matters of the heart in need of deep change. It is mere pretense to ignore the initial promptings that occur within one’s own conscience, until it is silenced for the sake of expediency. The more those warning signs are ignored, the stronger and bolder steps are taken in the direction of hypocrisy. People are not born hypocrites. They become hypocrites by much practice. Once the plight is to move in that direction, true love is never known because the person that is not real himself cannot accept realness from others. Their own hypocrisy raises suspicion regarding all who would be honest with them. We must hate evil in order to embrace what is good. It is never both ways. It is either good or evil that we must choose.

15 Jan 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: January 15

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“And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” Hebrews 6:15

The rush towards the promise, without patience to endure the interval trials, is giving expression to doubt and unbelief. Those careless movements are usually met with disappointments with self as well as with God. Misunderstandings arise concerning God’s character of love and concern when one caves in while engaged in the battle. This happens when Christ is not being seen and known throughout all of the circumstances of life. Faith requires one to believe in God and what He has promised even before the evidence is present. His desire is to reveal Himself through His Word that is able to withstand every crisis met along the way. His Word is truth and can outlive the lies of Satan. The bump in the road was not a roadblock but a stepping –stone leading towards the life that lies ahead. There are times when there is nothing left but His promises and pressures. The pressures may try to shroud the promise but the promises are true regardless of the amount of pressure. Perhaps this could be the path of authentic faith being developed within one’s life. Many need to be weaned from the ineffective pop religious messages that create a state of euphoria, directing their confidence towards themselves, rather than towards knowing God. It is not what we escape always, but what we go through that marks the measure of true faith. The promise is on the other side of the challenge. He teaches us to endure whatever may come our way. When we are yet standing firm after the battle is over, we stand in victory before Almighty God.

12 Jan 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: January 12

Posted by Categories: Meditations

“I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways.” Psalm 119:15

To give deep thought of what God requires is necessary if we are to align ourselves with His will. It is not a casual or passing thought that captures the truths contained in His Word, but rather to savor those morsels of insight until they become a part of our nature. God allows us to meditate on His precepts for our good. They will not become grievous requirements when His ways are better understood. He does not require more of us than He Himself is willing or has already done for us. When we are able to compare His requirements to His ways, we will rejoice because of the opportunity He has afforded us to more fully participate with Him in His work. His precepts prepare us for further participation in what He is doing. How glorious it is when we fit perfectly in His divine plans. That is why His Word must be hidden in our hearts that we would not sin against Him by omission or commission. We “will” where He stands, and receive the power to stand with Him for righteousness and against all things that oppose Him.

03 Jan 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: January 3

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“I say to God, “Be my Lord!” Without you, nothing makes sense.” Psalm. 16:2(MSG)

To reason is a virtue. Through reasoning we embrace the truths applied to our hearts with a renewed mind and emblazoned hope. Those who have meditated upon the Word have arrived at conclusions that are vastly different from those who merely compare the spiritual to the natural. It is the reasoning that is limited to what is known, or merely natural that will lead to a great impasse. Our minds alone cannot grasp the origin of the creation of all things. Neither can we figure out their proper use and truest meaning. Only God is able to guide us into the deep mysteries that would raise even deeper questions than otherwise would be asked. However, the journey on which we are led will reveal to us His Majesty and Glory. We cannot help but worship the One who knows and reveals secret things to His children that the wise and prudent are not privy to. None of His wisdom is sensible void of knowing Him. As we pursue Him, the knowledge of His will for all things becomes sensible. Without Him, nothing makes sense.

23 Dec 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: December 23

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“For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” John 18:37

Jesus gave us a clear picture of the Nativity. There is a purpose for every birth. But His birth was not like any other. He knew why He was born and why and when He was to die. Many live and die never knowing why they were permitted to occupy a particular space in a particular period of time. The Nativity has to do with the place, conditions, and the circumstances of the birth of Jesus. “For this cause…” A cause that would affect the whole of humanity would come to light as the result of a child that was born. He was the gift given to us by God to save the world from the consequences of sin which was resident within all. His life was the resounding amen to the Truth of God. Christmas is about mankind coming into agreement with God. As Jesus bore witness to the truth, we are to be made witnesses of Jesus Christ. The world will know the reality of Christ through those us who hear and believe on the One who was born to live for us and to die for us.

03 Nov 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: November 3

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“He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered.” Proverbs 28:26

It is too easy to feel that a particular thing is right and rely totally upon one’s feelings. Many place their confidence in the inclinations of the heart rather than the established truth of God’s word. Our hearts may guide us in the direction away from the things we despise, but will eventually crash against the jagged rocks of reality. The good is often despised if the heart remains unchanged. Nothing is within us to embrace the truth if all we have is an empty heart in search of significance. Nothing within fallen man is able to deliver him from perishing along with the weight of passions sinking him deeper into the quagmire of sin and rebellion. His feet are not established upon any solid substance enabling him to be upheld on shaky ground. He trusts in what is within him and around him. He foolishly stumbles along in life until he utterly falls. But the wise will walk wisely because he is steadied by the power that comes from on high. God is able to lift him above the traps set before him. He is raised up while others are falling down. God sustains him through all that he may face because his heart is fixed on Jesus.

31 Oct 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: October 31

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“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:13

Careful preparation is required if one is to continue standing under the pressures of the world, the flesh, and the devil. The armed attack of the enemy which may work through all three, are aimed at the weakest part of our character. It is impossible for any to fully know all of his weaknesses. Surely in the areas of perceived strength temptations will come to test the strength of our commitment to God and the truths that we profess to uphold. This is why an accurate and spirit-guided articulation of the message from God is so important. Equally so, this is why the enemy of our souls would much rather see us doing any other thing that taking heed to the words that are given for the salvation of our souls. The whole armor of God, not just those portions that are comfortable and in fashion must be continually worn. The attacks do not come at a scheduled time, but when we least expect them to come. They may come successively if there is any sign of fatigue taking place. We must allow God to strengthen those parts that are weakened. But above all, take a stand for what God has ordained. If there is not solid position taken against wrong and for what is right, the best artillery and armor is of no use. It would merely service as the dressing of a fully decorated corpse.

29 Oct 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: October 29

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“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6

There is a place where our heart and truth connects. The heart beforehand had grown accustomed to wandering in search of whatever would bring any semblance of satisfaction. The pursuit alone would appease it for a little while but only to eventually resort to the same empty space to which it had grown accustomed. Where faith in God is lacking, a void exists of which nothing else can fill. A godless life is an empty life. Our displeasure is a reflection of His longing for us and His displeasure when live not taken advantage of the privileges made possible through the sacrifice of the life of His Son. God is pleased when the Holy Spirit is revealing Jesus Christ to us. The truth of God concerning His Son liberates the soul from the bondage of self-seeking. By faith we believe that God is who He says He is in His Word. This is both the truth and the reward of the saint, to know Him and to be known by Him. When we know what is to be known, our major quest will be to apprehend that for which we were apprehended. Our faith has made known to us that there is much more yet to know of Him, therefore our diligence is never to settle at any level.

26 Oct 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: October 26

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“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. (23)They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness”. Lamentations 3:22-23

God gives us a new day after having learned from the experiences of yesterday, but not carrying the baggage of the many mistakes we had made. The freshness of today is as if we were starting all over again. We awaken to springtime after merely one day of the winter’s cold. His mercies are extended to us at the beginning of each new day, not holding any repented failures to our charge. His grace is before us enabling us to walk down a different path. We learn that Jesus is committed in showing us the way to the Father. Therefore if we are to learn any truth, it must come through fully following Him. We grow in our appreciation and gratitude for all has done for us. We could have died confused not knowing what to do or where to go. We were pulled out of the quicksand of yesterday and placed on solid ground of today. We are on an even footing and enabled to see where we may have made a wrong turn. Now that we know better our response to all that has been done for us is to be faithful to Him and not to place our trust in any other.

18 Oct 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: October 18

Posted by Categories: Meditations

“Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding.” Proverbs 23:23

The price paid for the truth may be the loss of friends and love ones. It may be the loss of the potential of profit requiring the compromise of our integrity. Our integrity is worth more than the things acquired through dishonest gain. Even though they may bring immediate success, but the high cost paid in the end far out measures its temporal benefits. We must be willing to pay the price for the truth. The price of self-denial and sacrifice for the sake of having the character to stand for what is right. This is accompanied with wisdom which comes from above. God can speak His truth to our hearts and there is nothing within us rejecting it. The lust for things not sanctioned by God choke the Word and it becomes unfruitful. It is the fool that despises instructions. The ownership of truth will deliver us from the bondage of greed and self-centeredness. We can then understand what the will of the Lord is and comply with joy because we are enabled to see the benefits of our faithfulness to Him.