Truth

                  Another beautiful Pismo picture          Amanda DuPar

Perhaps you’ve heard it said, “All truth is God’s truth.”  Well, there’s a lot more “truth” to this statement than many people realize.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” in John 14:6.  God is Truth.  Truth has no existence or meaning apart from Him. 

Practically speaking, as Christians we evaluate the truthfulness of every statement or claim against the light of God’s Word.  Scripture represents absolute truth.  It is our standard of right and wrong.

This having been said, no human being (leaders included) deserves blind allegiance, loyalty or support apart from this scrutiny.  As a pastor, I quote a lot of different people in my sermons and posts.  And, quoting people or referencing things that others have said should never be misinterpreted as a wholesale endorsement of an individual (and everything they’ve ever said or done), but rather only of the specific truth or point being referenced.

From time to time, some outside of my ministry have scrutinized my words and actions in an effort to discredit them.  But, ultimately I pray that people heed my words, not because I said them, but insofar as they are consistent with Scripture.

Reflected Beauty

 Today my daughters, Amanda and Aubrey, went up to Pismo to explore and take pictures of the wildflowers.  I was impressed both with the beauty of God's creation and Amanda's photography skills which far exceed mine.  Amanda definitely has the "photographic eye."  She sees life in things that I would consider dead or plain.  And, she has an amazing ability to spotlight this beauty, juxtaposing it against all the other mundane objects that consume my vision.  

I have no idea what this flower or weed is called, but it struck a chord with me, and stood out from the other pictures. Yesterday I started this blog titled, "With Unveiled Face."  Today, it was like God said to me, "Here's your visual of 2 Corinthians 3:18.  You're like that flower, that weed - ordinary and plain, until the light of My glory shines upon you! Until you radiate the warmth and majesty of your Creator."

Thank you God for speaking through Your Creation.  Thank you for three beautiful daughters and a gorgeous wife who daily remind me of Your goodness and lavish love.  Thank you that these wonderful women are humble and not consumed with their own beauty.  And, thank you that they make everything around them radiant - including me!

Forgiveness

This last week we talked about Forgiveness, and I found some great insights in Marty Sholars' book, The Greater Healing.

                                                                                                             

 “Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die!” 

“Forgiveness is about freeing yourself from the power of the lies that another’s sinful behavior has led you to accept as truth.  We need to realize that we become what we do not forgive.  But, forgiveness breaks the bondage of our spirit to the other person’s spirit.  We may never forget what we have forgiven, but the memory no longer has power to hurt us.”

            

The Greater Healing: The Journey From Brokenness To Joy Through God’s Love, by Marty Sholars with Kay Walter.

In terms of "forgiving & forgetting," one of my favorite professors at Fuller Seminary, Lewis Smedes preached the following in a sermon entitled, "The Forgiveness Factor," 

“Forgiveness is hard; forgetting is easy.  You need no miracle of grace in order to forget.  All you need is a bad memory or enough fear to drive the memory into the dark recesses of your unconsciousness.”

Sholar adds,

“Forgiveness does not mean forgetting.  Physical scars certainly remind us of the events that caused them.   Although a scar from a physical wound may be unattractive, it’s proof of the wound’s healing.  In the same way, scars from spiritual and emotional wounds give proof of God’s healing – the fact that we are not still “bleeding” from these wounds.  God transforms them by His grace into experiences we can use to help others find healing from their hurts.”

May God grant us the grace and strength to forgive others, and release them from being in our debt!