Truth or Tabloids - John 8:31-58

 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:31-32

I have a confession.

When I travel for work I buy the magazines in the little convenience stores at the airport which scream headlines like:

"TomKat separating because he has two heads! Details inside"

"Khloe & Lamar: Living Apart - Insider reveals all!"

"Jennifer Aniston to wed in a Scottish ceremony to a Buddist Monk! Secrets revealed on page 43."

Okay, so I admit those are a bit extreme, but there is something tantalizing about a headline that calls out a deep dark secret. I get sucked into the drama of other people's reality - - or often a reality built on a house of cards. We all want to know what is hidden deep within - to know the "real truth". 

But, what really is the truth?

We live in a country that plasters headlines designed to draw you in so you will buy the magazine, tabloid or newspaper, but all too often what you find inside is just more....well, junk. The headlines are padded with half-truths and the stories are often riddled with misinformation or blatant lies. So if the "media" is supposed to be our source of truth, how do we dicern what is really true?

We go to the source of all truth - God.

When Jesus was trying to reveal his true nature to the Jews of his day, he was facing an uphill battle. Many had heard of his fame associated with his miracles through the old-fashioned version of tabloids - - word of mouth gossip. They looked to Jesus to be a great profit or a mysterious healer - essentially a side-show. They did not see Jesus as the One sent from God. They could not see Jesus as the Messiah. 

They couldn't see the truth. 

They were okay with the flash and the half-truths. They were okay with the gossip and the innuendos. They were okay with being jailed by misleading information. They were okay with the tabloid truths.

But Jesus was offering them truth and the freedom that comes with that truth.

When we know truth - - absolute truth - - it is freedom because we don't have to guess or wonder. We don't have to dig a little deeper under the covers to find out what is "really" happening. We just know. 

And that is who Jesus is. He is truth. By knowing Jesus we know The Father. We know truth and through that knowledge we have the freedom to accept the grace that the Father offers us through Jesus. Through that acceptance - we are free indeed.

Way better that any glossy tabloid or gossip magazine...don't you think?

Scripture

 John 8:31-58

Quote of the Day

Gossip needn't be false to be evil - there's a lot of truth that shouldn't be passed around. 

Frank A. Clark 

 

Kicking the Summer Heat...

Did you ever avoid admitting you shattered a vase or busted a window?
Did you ever hide a messy room?
Did you ever lie to try and fix a broken situation?

As much as we want to hide our mistakes, the lies and the deception can eat at us like a disease, crippling us until we can no longer walk and to quote a co-worker "kill us with pin pricks".

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

Psalm 32: 3-4

The psalmist has the description of how a lie or a sin affects our whole person. "My strength was sapped as in the heat of summer." Although it is hard to imagine the middle of winter, the feeling of July heat with 100% humidity and not a cloud in the sky is quite distressing. Your body is weak and you do not have a desire to do anything, but lie around in an air conditioned room and pray for rain. When we live in a lie, when we allow its suffocating nature to consume our beings, we are drained of the life and the joy which typically fills our soul. The lie or the sin pushes out the joy and takes up residence in your house.

But just like rain on the parched gound in the summer breaks a devesating drought, confession of our sin to the Lord returns the joy to our souls and salvation to our spirits.

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.”
And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Psalm 32: 5

We cannot hide our sin from God. He knows everything. Hiding our sin, our lies, our deviousness, only hurts ourselves. Releasing our sin to God, seeking His forgiveness, gives us new life and a boldness which can only be found in a relationship with our Savior.

We all sin.

But we have choice to wallow in the heat and the muck, allowing that sin to drag us down or we can turn to God and seek His grace-filled rain on our parched souls. His renewing water will refresh our spirits and allow us to rejoice in the Lord and all of His goodness.

Even in the midst of winter, I still do not want the devestating heat of summer.

How about you?

Scripture

Psalm 32

Quote of the Day

“Sin is not hurtful because it is forbidden, but it is forbidden because it is hurtful”

Benjamin Franklin

Question of the Day

What have you tried to hide in your life?

GUMY is back - this SUNDAY, January 15th.

GUMY Prep - 5PM

Dinner - 5:45PM

GUMY JR - 6:15 PM

If you are an adult who reads this blog, please join us at 6:30 at the church to participate in a unique activity...

Questions? please drop me a line - courtneyhilbert@aol.com



Foundation of Relationships

Truth is an essential building block in any relationship. When we start with a foundation of truth, we build a solid house which can withstand any storm life might thrust upon our relationships. Through truth based relationships we have trust and honesty which are the pathways to deep and abiding love – the place where we all long to live.


However, if we begin our relationships with lies and deceit, we build a relationship that has a weak foundation filled with holes and unreliability. Houses are condemned when there foundation is determined to be unsafe. The same is true for relationships which start with lies and untruths. 

 We all want to enhance ourselves – show the best side of who we are – but lying to do so will only find you in a desperate race against discovery. With each lie and half-truth, you will be forced to develop a plausible story to support your shaky house. Even if you start being honest – sharing the whole truth at some point in your relationship – the foundation will always be unsure; it may be able to be shored up and renewed but it will take twice the effort to rebuild as it would have taken to simple build the foundation correctly on the initial try.

 And what happens when we try to lie to God about who we are? Or how about if we lie to ourselves?


God knows who we are – inside and out – the good, the bad, the ugly, the lies and the truth. God knows about everything and yet…He still loves each of us. He loves us so much that 2000 years ago He sent His Only Son to die on a cross so that He could be in a relationship with you…He loves you that much. He started the foundation of your relationship with Him in pure honest love and open armed truth; talk about a strong foundation.


Imagine if you went into every relationship in your life being open and honest about who you are…Because Whose you are is quite special and amazing. Before you try and make yourself sound better, remember that you are a child of God. What could possibly be a better endorsement?

 Scripture Reference (click below)

Matthew 7:24-28

Fun Fact of the Day…

The door at 10 Downing Street (where the British Prime Minister lives) can only be opened from the inside. 

Question of the day…


What is your favorite thing about yourself? (Brag Away!!!)



(Answer below in the COMMENTS section….)



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