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Are You True?

Episode #82 – When we seek to live by being true or aligned with His ways, we thrive.

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Kingdom Winds
Kingdom Winds
Are You True?
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The Jesus Habit: Daily Devotional

Hosted by David Lindner

AUDIO PODCAST

The theme for this week’s devotionals is absolute truth. In my sermon this week, I made some remarks about the challenges with the topic of absolute truth in our modern society, as well as some illustrations to help bring understanding. But, in the devotionals over the course of this week, we will simply be looking at the idea of absolute truth within the confines of scripture. So, we will be operating under the assumption that a.) there is absolute truth, b.) God’s word is the central repository of God’s truth, c.) God’s truth was perfectly revealed in the person of Jesus and d.) the truth of the Christ-like life is the call for all believers.

But for today, let’s simply begin with the fact that God is truth, or as Proverbs 30:5-6 says, God is true. Proverbs 30:5-6 “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.”

What does it mean when something is true? It means that something is in alignment with the actual state of things. For example, when you’re building something, a wall is true when it is in alignment with multiple factors. If you can look down the wall of a house and it’s in a straight line, it is true. It means that all the boards of that wall accurately line up with one another to form a straight line. If something is true it is in alignment with the actual state of things.

If “every word of God proves true”, what does that mean? Well, it means that every word of God is in alignment with the actual reality of things. His words are in alignment with Himself and His character. His words are in alignment with the world and the system of the world that He created. His word is in alignment with all of his plans – past, present, and future. There is nothing about God that is out of alignment with any other aspect of God. God has always acted in alignment with his character (Yes in both the Old and New Testaments) and God will never act outside of alignment with His character or His plans.

This statement, however, is not true for us. We are not true. We are not true with ourselves over the span of the past couple of weeks, let alone over the story arc of our lives. We are not who we used to be and we are not who we will be in the future. Especially for the believer, this is the continual process called sanctification where the bits and pieces of our life that are out of alignment with God’s reality are being adjusted until, someday we will be like Christ.

Have you ever been inconsistent with yourself? Have you ever told one friend that you liked McDonald’s because they were the kind of person that is okay with people liking McDonald’s, but then told another friend that you don’t like McDonald’s because they have adopted a moralistic approach to fast-food? Maybe you’ve never done that or felt the pressure to do that, but I live in the Northwest and McDonald’s is definitely the anti-christ of health and nutrition here. I’m sorry, judge me if you must, but there is still something delicious about McDonald’s french fries.

God never does that. God is always consistent with himself. He doesn’t pretend to be something that he’s not to impress anyone.

And there’s more to it than that. Psalm 104:5 says “He set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be moved.” And Job 38:4-6 – 4 says “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone,”

Have you ever read that passage in Job and thought about it? Especially that line, “On what were its bases sunk?” I don’t know if you’ve ever built any kind of building, even a shed. When you build a structure, you have to build a foundation. That foundation is sunk into the earth to create a stable footing for the rest of the shed. That’s how it works for us anyway because we are confined by the laws of physics that God has created like gravity. If we build anything, it has to cooperate with those laws.

But God made the laws to begin with. So when God made the earth is wasn’t laid on foundations like a building, it’s suspended in space, orbiting around the sun. Because God created the whole system of life and knows such much more beyond our limited understanding of the rule of order.

This is why the statement in proverbs is so profound in the context of a discussion on truth. Proverbs 30:5-6 “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” Refuge is found in the shelter of God who is perfectly true in every single capacity.

But the proverb continues: “Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” Truth is not something that can be altered or changed by human beings. Why? Because we are dependents. Sure, every human being has free will, but no human being is sovereign. We can decide if we believe God’s truth, but that doesn’t change its veracity. Every human being is living within the framework of God’s design. Those who abide by God’s rules, believers and non-believers alike find more human thriving than those who choose to reject and act in friction with God’s rules. The more aligned you are with the framework God established the earth on in the first place, the truer your life will be.

Proverbs 3 says, “Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding.” What is wisdom and understanding? It is knowing God’s truth and living by it. To be a wise person is to know how to act and react in all situations in a way that lines up with God’s design. This is the greatest pursuit of life, the author says, for wisdom “Is more profitable than silver…more precious than rubies and yields better returns than gold…nothing you desire can compare…Long life is in [wisdom], [wisdom]’s ways are pleasant and peaceful. Wisdom is a tree of life for those who take hold of it, those who hold fast will be blessed.” That word “hold fast” is the same idea as “hold true”. It’s the idea of remaining in alignment with wisdom.

The author continues: “By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the watery depths were divided, and the clouds  let drop the dew.”

The entire operating system of the world, of humanity, of the universe and everything in all of creation was created by God. When we seek to live by being true or aligned with His ways, we thrive. When we seek the desires of our own stomach and rebel against God’s foundational wisdom, we struggle.

So, the question is, are you true? Are you in alignment with God’s ways? Are you experience the life-giving properties that come to the life that is holding true to God’s wisdom and understanding?

The views and opinions expressed by Kingdom Winds Collective Members, authors, and contributors are their own and do not represent the views of Kingdom Winds LLC.

About the Author

David Lindner is a husband to (the amazing) Bekki (Chasingsupermom.com), Father to four, Pastor at SixEight Church in Vancouver, WA (68church.com) as well as an author/blogger/podcaster (davidlindner.net)