Tag: Truth

Woman holding a glowing sphere labeled TRUTH amid digital networks and words including Integrity, Logic, Fact, and Falsehood

Truth and Deception

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“People, I call out to you; my cry is to the children of Adam. Learn to be shrewd, you who are inexperienced; develop common sense, you who are foolish. Listen, for I speak of noble things, and what my lips say is right. For my mouth tells the truth, and wickedness is detestable to my lips. All the words from my mouth are righteous; none of them are deceptive or perverse. All of them are clear to the perceptive, and right to those who discover knowledge. Accept my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold. For wisdom is better than jewels, and nothing desirable can equal it.” (Proverbs‬ ‭8‬:‭4‬-‭11‬ ‭CSB – Read the chapter) ‬‬

We live today in a world in which truth—real truth—is becoming ever more important. Because of the rise of AI and the creation of phantom facts and increasingly sophisticated fake photos videos it is difficult to know if what we are seeing with our eyes on a screen is real. This unmooring of our lives and our culture from truth leads to a degradation of trust which in turn makes everything we do more difficult. We need the foundation of truth more than ever before so that our entire culture doesn’t give way to cynicism, doubt, and a host of other civilization-destroying traits. In this kind of a world, godly wisdom is vital. Let’s talk about wisdom’s self-description and why we can trust it even when we can’t trust anything else.

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Silhouette of a man kneeling in prayer on a hilltop during a vibrant sunset.

Morning Musing: Philippians 3:18-19

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“For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame; and they are focused on earthly things.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Paul was really passionate about leading people to Jesus. He was convinced beyond measure of the truthfulness of the Gospel, of the reasonableness of the Christian worldview. He vividly remembered the other side, and intimately understood the contrast between the two. He didn’t want anyone to be stuck living forever like he once was and was willing to go through just about anything to keep them from that so far as it depended on him. But he was also honest about the fact that not everyone was going to come around. The us-and-them divide was real. In the next few verses he contrasts one with the other. Let’s take a look starting with the latter.

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Digging in Deeper: Mark 16:5-8

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“When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side; they were alarmed. ‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he told them. ‘You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they put him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, “He is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there just as he told you.”’ They went out and ran from the tomb,  because trembling and astonishment overwhelmed them. And they said nothing to anyone, since they were afraid.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Most streaming services aim to have at least one series that defines them. Hopefully they manage to land more than one, but they want—they need—to have something that proves to be enough of a cultural phenomenon that subscribers will sign up for the service just to be able to watch that. For Netflix, that series is indisputably Stranger Things. After much hype and anticipation, the final season is out in total, I’ve finished watching it, and we’re going to talk about it.

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Advent Reflections: John 1:14

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“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

The theological word for Jesus’ coming to earth is incarnation. That’s from the Latin word for flesh which is the direct source of our word carnal. The idea is that God didn’t just put on a costume in Jesus. He became fully human and lived right here on earth as one of us. While Luke and Matthew tell the story of His arrival, John tells us the truth of who He actually was and what His coming meant. Let’s talk about this glorious truth today with John’s help.

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Morning Musing: John 8:31-32

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“Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (CSB – Read the chapter)

There is a pulse of freedom that beats in every human heart. We weren’t made for slavery. And yet so many find themselves there. And I don’t just mean physical slavery. People are trapped by all sorts of different things…often in ways they don’t even realize or understand. And yet we know inside that something is keeping us from being able to do what we want. Then Jesus comes along promising freedom. Freedom comes with truth, but that idea comes with context. Let’s talk about it.

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