Real Truth

“The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions.

(Deuteronomy 29: 29 NLT)

In God’s infinite wisdom he has information known only to him. The Lord loves for us to use our intellect to seek out wisdom from him, but if the pursuit becomes to obtain knowledge just for the sake of knowing, it becomes meaningless.

Yes, God does delight in us seeking out hidden things (Proverbs 25:2 NLT).  In our quest for truth, there is a point where we can cross that line between what we can know and what is unknowable.  God does have secret counsels and trying to explain them is an exercise in futility.  About God’s foreknowledge and man’s freedom, it appears that the Bible does not entirely clarify their relationship. About what God has not completely explained, maybe we should not expect to understand totally.  Being overly inquisitive about such issues can be just an intellectual rather than a spiritual pursuit. 

What demonstrates we have found real truth?  Our scriptural reference may provide the answer to this question? A greater accountability to the Lord should emanate from all revelation.  Also, we should be able to demonstrate godly knowledge through obedience.  As the commentator, Matthew Henry, once said, “All our knowledge must be put into practice because this is the purpose of all divine revelation.”  It is not given to us just to think about and discuss.  It should change our actions and daily lives.  If what we perceive to be knowledge from God does not have behavioral outcomes, is it really truth at all?

Images used with permission  by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

            http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

Podcasts: http://kensblogpodcast.blogspot.com

                http://gleaningspodcast.blogspot.com

Loving Much

 ^“For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” (Luke 7: 47 NASB)

An immoral women can teach us a lot about the Kingdom of God.  The recognition of our need is the first step toward our entrance into Heaven.  If we are forgiven much we will love much.

Jesus was invited to dinner at a Pharisee’s house.  A woman of ill repute started to weep and wipe his feet with her tears.  She anointed him with expensive perfume.  The Pharisee was taken back that Jesus would let such a sinful woman touch him.  In response to this Pharisee, Jesus told him this story.

A man lent money to two men, five hundred pieces of silver to one and fifty to another.  When they both were not able to repay him, the man kindly forgave them both.  Then Jesus asked the Pharisee, “So which of the them will love him more?”  The Pharisee answered, “I suppose the one who he forgave more.”  Jesus replied, “You have judged correctly.”  The woman saw her need and was broken by her sin.  The Pharisee only saw the woman’s sin and not his own.  If we never grasp the depth of our own sinful nature, we will never understand the enormity of God’s grace in forgiving us.  Whoever sees no need for the cross of Christ, will never embrace it.

The woman in our story was closer to the Kingdom of Heaven than the Pharisee in all his religious regalia.  Recognition of our need for forgiveness is the evidence of a repentant heart.  The woman fulfilled the law of love through faith by which she was saved.  Whoever has been forgiven much, loves much. 

Image used with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

            http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

Podcasts: http://kensblogpodcast.blogspot.com

                http://gleaningspodcast.blogspot.com

A Divided Heart

But stay here one more night, and I will see if the Lord has anything else to say to me.” (Numbers 22:19 NASB)

There are times when the Lord allows us to walk in the error of our ways.  There is a battle between conviction and corruption that rages in a divided heart.

Balak, the King of Moab, had asked the prophet Balaam to go with him and curse Israel.  The Lord explicitly told Balaam that he was to not go with him (v. 12).  Balaam asks again for permission to go.  If the Lord says no, and we continue to ask Him, we are apparently trying to get the Him to change His mind. There was a battle going on between God’s will and Balaam’s.  Balaam was not willing to directly disobey God, but also did not want to obey Him completely.  Here we have a divided heart where conviction and corruption were engaging each other.  When we are Hell bent on doing it our way, sometimes, God lets us do it.  This is never good for us.  If you know Balaam’s story, God used a donkey to bring pain into his life.  At times the only way that God can get through to us is by teaching us in the school of hard knocks.  In Balaam’s case, it was all self-inflicted.

My dear brothers and sisters, I have to admit that when God has had to send a donkey into my life to bring a measure of discomfort, I tend to respond a bit like Balaam did.  I blame the donkey and not myself.  Corruption is raising its ugly head and winning over conviction, blurring my perception of the dilemma.   What is the solution?  Chose conviction over corruption, which usually requires some humility.

Image used with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

            http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

Podcasts: http://kensblogpodcast.blogspot.com

                http://gleaningspodcast.blogspot.com