The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth

What you heard me teach is an example of what you should teach. Follow that model of right teaching with the faith and love we have in Christ Jesus. This teaching is a treasure that you have been trusted with. Protect it with the help of the Holy Spirit, who lives inside us. (2 Timothy 1:13-14)

Teaching or instruction abounds, but knowing which one should be impacting your life is best left to the best tutor one could ever have - the Holy Spirit. When we ask the Holy Spirit to 'control' what comes into our minds, hearts, and emotions, we are trusting him to 'weed out' any instruction that isn't 'spot on' and 'zero in on' that which is truth. Any 'almost truth' isn't worth our time or effort!

What you hear me teach - God gives us so many positive examples, but is it wise to just 'accept without question' whatever it is they are teaching? No, absolutely not. We need to test every teaching against the Word of God and then rely upon the Holy Spirit to bring a confirmation of that truth deep within our spirit. If it doesn't ring true on ALL accounts, we aren't to buy into it. When I say, 'all accounts', I mean it lines up with the Word of God, is in keeping with the way God acts, and is born up by a confirmation from the Holy Spirit.

If we don't spend time getting to know the voice of God, we might just accept half-truths, or total untruths all together. One of the things we hear so much about these days is 'fact-checking' our political candidates. Maybe it is time we ask the Holy Spirit to 'fact-check' some of the things we have been believing as 'gospel' in our lives! Trust me on this one - the Holy Spirit is kind of like God's "Snopes" when it comes to 'sniffing out truth'!

God's teaching is something we are entrusted with - so we want to get it right. We don't want 'mixed messages' that are a bit 'muddied' by opinion, subtle untruth, or selfish ambition, do we? We want the truth, nothing but the truth, and the whole truth. To that end, we need the wisdom that comes from getting to know God's Word. We must protect the treasure of truth with the help of the Holy Spirit. Then we must share truth (and nothing but the truth), so others may know it, too. Just sayin!

Do we trust the engineer?

When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer. (Corrie Ten Boom)

Even if I walk through a valley as dark as the grave, I will not be afraid of any danger, because you are with me. (Psalm 23:4)

In the midst of some of your darkest moments, how hard is it to just sit still and trust? Do you find yourself trying to figure out a way to somehow change the circumstances, so you don't have to be in the darkness any longer? Do you chafe in the waiting? If you find yourself in a dark place right now, take heart because God is likely moving you from one place to another and you just don't know the destination yet!

The dark place may actually be a tunnel - the train needs the tunnel to go through 'immovable' objects in its path, doesn't it? There are lots of 'immovable' objects in our path that seem to only create challenges we don't know how to overcome. Did you stop to consider to 'overcome' you may have to 'go through'? The train cannot 'overcome' the mountain - it needs to go through it. God doesn't engineer some pathway up that 'steep grade' in our lives, but he prepares a tunnel.

What does the engineer in the train have that we don't have? A light! He sees clearly what is at the end of that tunnel and he knows the strength of his 'engine' to pull that train straight through that dark place. Why wouldn't we trust the 'engineer' of our lives - the one who possesses the greatest light - to guide us through that dark place? If we can trust the engineer to navigate the places where we can see clearly, why would we change our trust in his ability to get us through the darkest of circumstances? Just askin...

How do we do this, God?

If someone were to give you guidance on how you are to live this Christian lifestyle, what do you imagine it might be? Wouldn't it be nice to be completely sure that we were living as we should, making the right decisions, staying on track and not getting waylaid by Satan's schemes? Paul prayed for those who were believers in the region of Colosse that they'd have this ability, and this prayer applies to all believers worldwide today:

This is what we pray: that God will make you completely sure of what he wants by giving you all the wisdom and spiritual understanding you need; that this will help you live in a way that brings honor to the Lord and pleases him in every way; that your life will produce good works of every kind and that you will grow in your knowledge of God; that God will strengthen you with his own great power, so that you will be patient and not give up when troubles come. (Colossians 1:9-11)

Completely sure of what God wants for our lives. That is our goal, is it not? We don't want to just tinker with this or that knowledge, hoping we find the 'right combination' of knowledge and wisdom to make wise choices. We want assurance that we are within God's will - that we have his wisdom and deep spiritual understanding. We might not always hear God's voice, but there is something deep within our spirit that brings a confirmation that we are making the right choice, isn't there? It is this assurance that we can count on whenever we are about to 'flounder', not just when we are making right choices.

Living in a way that honors the Lord - bringing him pleasure with each step we take. That is my goal, but I don't always think some of my actions bring God glory. Why is that? I don't always press into the wisdom he gives, nor do I always listen to that 'inner voice' that is reminding me of his will. In other words, my 'will' overrides what I know to be his will. Ever happen to you? I bet it does. We all need to live in a way that pleases God, but we can lean toward pleasing others or even ourselves more than we'd like. We need his help to choose to live 'honorably' - with upright integrity.

Good works produced is more than us volunteering at the food bank, giving to the needy, or helping the widow mow her grass. All of these are indeed 'good works', but it is quite possible we do some of our 'works' out of obligation and not because God gets the honor from them. We aren't perfect people, so we do 'imperfect works' at times. Can these bring honor to God? Of course, but there is something much better in being led by his Spirit and engaging in the good works he leads us into. Just sayin!

What next?

We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives the right answer. We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. (Proverbs 16:1,9)

Do you ever struggle to find the right answer to give to someone? There are times when this is a little harder than others - such as when truth needs to be shared, but you are pretty sure it won't be appreciated. No matter what the circumstances are for us today, we probably have some 'plans' for our day. They may not be all that grand, as it could just be a day of leisure when we luxuriate in the warmth of our home, but those are plans. Determined individuals may have more plans than those who live their lives rather spontaneously. A determined individual may even have something referred to as a five-year plan. They 'plan' in big ways. The bad news is that even the best laid 'five-year plan' may amount to dust if God isn't guiding those plans.

The one whose heart is determined to consistenly follow Jesus might have different plans than someone who is trying to fulfill their on 'preconceived five-year plan'. I learned a logn time ago that God isn't impressed with our planning - especially when he is not in the lead! Some Christians will assure you that God is in their plans, but he may not be in the 'lead' within those plans. It is kind of like God has been relegated to a 'consulting role' within their lives. When they anticipate they will need him, they turn to him for guidance, but as things are going along as they 'planned', they just plunge in full-speed ahead with all their plans.

Each of us needs 'determined steps' if we are to really accomplish the things God has planned for our lives. If you haven't quite realized it yet, the 'steps' we take with God far outweigh all the planned steps we may have made on our own. When our steps are ordered by God, God does more than just nudge us along - he leads the way. There is a big difference between being led and being prodded along! One is voluntary, while the other suggests just a bit of resistance! Resisting is kind of futile. We may get our own way and go about our own plans, but eventually all things will come back to the place where we come face to face with God's plan. 

A friend recently said to me that he hadn't been through a particular challenge before and he didn't know what to expect as he faced this rather harrowing challenge. I didn't really know what to say, but I did know who to turn to in order to bring a little perspective into the 'next steps' he'd be facing. We prayed - asking God to give wisdom, help with the 'steps' that would be very challenging, and to keep him at peace through the journey. Sometimes that is all we can do. We just bring it to God and let him guide the steps. Just sayin!

Changing of the Guard

Conscience:  the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one's conduct or motives, impelling one toward right action.  Truthfully, the conscience is made up of morals and principles we amass while growing up which act to define the actions we will allow in our lives and those we will reject because they don't align with this set of morals and principles.  Whenever we are asked to violate our conscience, we might just feel a little anxious, fearful, or even guilty.  In the strictest sense, the conscience has a "prohibiting" effect - if the conscience becomes a little "dulled" with the wrong set of morals or principles being applied, it can serve to guide us into some pretty awkward circumstances.  This is why we don't trust our conscience alone - it is only ONE tool used in the myriad of tools God gives us for our spiritual, emotional, and physical safety.

Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked.  (I Timothy 1:19 NLT)

Look at Paul's advice to Timothy as he begins his ministry - keep your conscience clear - don't deliberately violate it.  At first, this may not seem like much, but the smallest compromises in either our morals or our principles can lead to the bigger ones.  Our inward motivations dictate our outward actions - think it long enough and you will act upon the thought!  The other guiding influences in life are the Word of God, his Holy Spirit residing in us, and the sound teaching of godly people.  Violate all of these and the road will be a really rocky one!

Conscience requires discipline - in order to form the right set of morals by which we make judgment calls.  If your morals haven't been the best as you were growing up, or because you made compromises later on in life, there is still hope.  Morals are just the "rules" of conduct by which we live - if you put Christ in charge of defining these, you can actually see them change!  For example, you may have been raised in a home where criticism and nit-picking were just the "norm".  In the community of believers where you now associate, this may not be considered very loving or kind.  When we submit these "learned traits" to God, he goes about helping us "unlearn" them.  Trust me, I know for a fact the things we have to "unlearn" are way harder than the ones we have to "learn"!

You begin to realize the "changing of the guard" in your conscience whenever you begin to see the wrong choice before you make it - you realize it as a wrong choice.  This is a good transition point - learning to heed it is another!  Conscience is "situational" at times - we go with it when it is the easiest choice, but we sometimes don't heed it when it is the toughest!  So, how is it we get our conscience to not sell us short?  I think it comes by keeping our eye on the three indicators of "right" or "wrong" in our lives - God's Word (what does it have to say about what it is we are about to do); God's Spirit (when is he giving us that internal "niggling" to respond or deny the response); and last, our conscience.  Notice, I put conscience last.  It is the least reliable source, so it doesn't deserve placement over God's Word or his Spirit!

Conscience can help us recognize sin in our lives - but not always.  We need the other sources of "recognition", as well.  Once we recognize sin, there is but one response which is correct - turn away from it.  This is what we call repentance.  The most important thing in seeing a change of conscience - the "changing of the guard" so to speak - is in determining who will be the center of our existence.  If it remains us, we will fail repeatedly.  If we instead choose to make Christ center of our world, the changing of the guard becomes reality!  What does this look like?  Perhaps it is learning to take a little time before we respond - just so we can be sure we are responding to the "right" voice.  Maybe it is taking time to think about what we have learned from scripture - the "what does God say" principle.  

No guard is worth their weight in gold unless that guard actually preserves, protects, and pursues what is right.  Just sayin!