this blog is based off of a session that a South African man named Deon who works at Adventures in Missions (WorldRace) taught on.
he started it off with asking questions and having us answer them, without help of internet, just our perceptions.
•what is truth? -i said it’s something that is absolute, never changing; i.e. : the Lord’s words.
•is there something like ultimate truth? -i believe so. say, i think “this” one thing is true, but to my neighbor, “this” is far from the truth. so, i have my “truth” and my neighbors “truth” and now we’re divided due to our contradicting opine. take both of these “truths” and present them to God and the Truth that He gives trumps both of the “truths” we have. so because God has perspective on both sides and indefinitely understands, i then believe His Truth as the ultimate Truth between the argument. -but i do not get to know this ultimate truth until i present the situation to God.
•what is the difference between something true & something that is the truth? -i said something “true” is a fact, it can be proven. and something that is the “truth” is based on faith, you know it in your knower-in your spirit. so, one you can see, and one is by faith/belief.
•why am i afraid of the truth? -i’m afraid of the truth because it disagrees with my flesh and comforts. it doesn’t usually sit easy with me. it’s hard to digest and goes against the grain of my desire.
so, he (Deon) presented these questions and we discussed our reasonings and what not and then he started teaching.
he started with, “truth is actually not a belief, it’s a Person.” “because beliefs are changeable but this Person im referring to does not change.”
every bit of opinion is eradicated when compared to this person (the Truth). because the Truth doesn’t change, opine do.
if you haven’t gotten the hint yet, that Person he is referring to is Jesus.
then Deon went on to say, “scriptures don’t leave much room for interpretation of what truth is, it’s clear. Jesus is Truth.”
(John 14:6-He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life ; Hebrews 13:8-He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.)
so if we believe the Bible to be true in its entirety, why do we still have so many questions and confusions?
if Jesus is the Truth and the Way, but we are doing what we’re doing, which does not reflect Christ, it is because we have sided with our own perception of truth and what we deem the correct way; we haven’t actually presented it to Jesus and allowed Him to freely speak the ultimate Truth over it.
we’ve given zero wiggle room because we don’t want to be uncomfortable or wrong.
then Deon stated, “interpretation of truth cannot actually change the Truth.” -it is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
so, “our problem is not God. it is our perception of God.”
it is laid out really black and white, not until our flesh disagrees do we start to make it grey. our opinionated interpretation is what blinds us, not the Truth itself. it’s us. He simplified it, we complicate it.
it’s our minds that are hardest to submit to Christ. it’s our minds that don’t want to align with the Truth. heart and soul desire to align, they were made to be tied to God. it’s our minds that fall heavy under the freewill category.
we go so long living “this” way that we convince our minds that “this” is okay. that “this” might actually be true. and the funny thing is, is that it is true. but that does not make it the Truth.
i’m afraid of the Truth because it contradicts the way my mind perceives what is true.
but “experience and denomination have nothing to do with the Truth. because Truth is a person.” so our arguments actually cannot even come from a position of “this feels right” or “my friends and family have validated it” or “my traditions say “this” is okay” or even “everyone else is doing it.”
until we’ve consulted Jesus, the Truth, on the matter, i’d actually claim that we are living lies.
so then what is the point in arguing if it’s not from the source of Truth? or the point in talking or thinking or living?? what is the point of exclaiming anything if it’s out of our changing opinions and feelings? if it’s a direct route to living a lie, then just what is the point??! if the Truth isn’t consulted beforehand, why even open our mouths??
all of our arguments fall straight through the cracks because they’re based on things that are subject to change; experience, denomination, tradition, friends, family, what the world deems as acceptable. all are fleeting and unreliable. none are the same yesterday, today, and forever.
so what’s the point of following these things?
including our feelings. especially including our feelings.
if our argument in anything is based off of feeling, it’s doomed from the start.
i wake up with a different feeling every day. i don’t want to base the essence of my life on something that changes.
the biggest defining moments in my life have all felt far from good. but these are the moments that i am actually soo grateful for, because they are moments that align me and my mind to Jesus. to the Truth.
the word repent in Greek is : metanoia. meta meaning “alongside” and noia meaning “mind.”
in this, Jesus is saying, “put your mind alongside Mine.” that is what repentance is, aligning what is true to the Truth.
Deon went on to advise us to “speak the Truth over what is true.”
then, the word confess in Greek is homologeo. homo meaning “same” and logeo meaning “word.”
so it is saying, “say same words.” so saying the same words as Jesus is true confession.
that comes after speaking the Truth over what is true. then this confession sets you free, because you’re saying what the Truth says. and the Truth sets us free.
it’s very easy to get into the mindset of defending ourselves with the argument of “they don’t get it.” and most of the time, this can be true, they probably do not get it.
but this argument is also trumped due to the fact that Jesus was tempted and endured suffering. at the same time. and still never sinned. He took it all, every situation, every circumstance and submitted it to God for Him to speak Truth over it.
He didn’t base His actions on feeling because He knew He had a feeble human mind.
Jesus didn’t want to do what He knew He had to do. it went against every fleshly desire and comfort He had. He was human. but He did it anyway because He had consulted the Truth on the matter and found that His feelings actually didn’t line up, so He took action to align Himself back with God.
He couldn’t see the bigger picture through the lens of His humanness so He consulted the Lord and received the Heavenly perspective. He got new eyes. and then His argument fell apart. because He allowed God to speak into His situation.
and it didn’t feel good, still.
but Jesus isn’t based off of feelings, He is based off of Truth. no matter the cost.
Jesus came to bridge the gap. we couldn’t figure out how to steward our lives in a way that actually brought life, so God came down in human form, made Himself lower than the angels simply to show us how to do this thing.
He took on a feeble mind and exemplified what to do when that feeble mind got in the way.
Praise God.
sometimes i’m like really God?? why did You have to even show us any of this?? the more i submit my feeble mind to Him, the more He eradicates every excuse i have to not follow His ways.
i catch myself amazed so often because His ways just aren’t like ours. He reveals something and i just get caught up on it because there is no way my human mind could have figured that out.
God i pray for a clear conscience toward You. remind me to align every part of me with You. i submit my mind to You. i submit my tongue to You. God, speak Your Truth over me. change what You need to change. i lay down my feelings right here at Your feet, God. forgive me for functioning out of a feeble mind. teach me Your ways, Lord. thank You for being You. i love You Mighty King. amen
