Spirit of Truth/The Bible on Trial

Psa 51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. Mat 24:48  But if that evil servant should say in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his coming,’ These are two examples of the use of the word HEART in Scripture. Yesterday Rick equated the word 'heart' with the concept of 'intellect', and intellect is substantially different from intelligence. If you substitute 'intellect' for the word 'heart' in the above verses you begin to get the idea about how important the intellect is to how we must view salvation. It takes little intellect to believe 'salvation by grace though faith', because this concept require little cognitive thought to process; all it requires is a strong sense of faith that allows you to believe a lie as if it is the truth.  The 'heart' of the matter is that if we are to become righteous as is Jesus ("Be ye perfect even as your Father in Heaven is perfect") then we must combine knowledge with understanding which creates wisdom. THIS is the intellect! ONLY the wise will understand! Many will purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked will do wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand; but those who are wise will understand. Dan. 12:10.

On Thrursday the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Chicago Cubs by a score of 11 to 1. This score included 3 home runs by Enrique Hernandez that netted 7 RBI's, and tied the NL record for the largest number of home runs in a single game of the NLCS. To say that the team was ecstatic would be an understatement. But how would the Dodgers have felt if the Commissioner of Baseball had come to them before the NLCS even began and told them that they had won the 7 game series without playing a single game due to an obscure rule that said that under certain conditions the Commissioner could 'declare' a winner by fiat, simply making a statement of faith that the Dodgers would (in his opinion) have won anyway, so why play the game. Do you think the Dodgers or the sponsors would have been 'ecstatic' if this happened? I personally think that the team would have filed a protest with the league to let them play and EARN the right to go to the World Series on their own. Most everyone that is involved in sports wants to win because they proved that they were better than the 'other guy'. Why then are people that declare themselves to be Christian happy to accept 'salvation by grace through faith' that essentially does the same thing; taking the joy of overcoming out of the act of winning! Yet this is EXACTLY what the Apostle Paul says happened when Jesus 'died on the cross to save us from and in our sins'. Jesus does not reward someone for overcoming simply because they think (have been told) that He has overcome for them, so they do not have to overcome for themselves. When you read the words of Jesus that He gave to His own eyewitness disciples you find that we must 'overcome as He overcame'. In order to 'be like Jesus' we must BE like Jesus, that is, righteous and holy because we overcame as did he.

Mat 16:26  "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? The tragedy of the fires on the West Coast are awful, but especially those in the Sonoma and Santa Rosa areas of Northern California. The New York Times today has an online head line that reads "In California, Fires So Fast Hesitation Proved Lethal". "One man delayed his escape from the towering flames in hopes of saving his new truck, but couldn't find the keys. An elderly couple slept as danger erupted, not waking until it was too late to flee down their one-lane road. Another couple, who barely missed their chance to drive away, huddled in a pool, surrounded by fire and choking smoke: he survived, but she did not". (Quoted from the story.) A truck, sleep, and a house, were so important to these people that they died because of these 'things'.  There is an example of 'leaving too late' in the parable/prophecy of Jesus in Matthew 25:1-13, where Jesus describes a group of people that did not bring extra oil with them so they could find the way to the marriage feast because it was pitch dark. They had to go to find some more oil because their lamps were going out, and thus were late to the feast and the door was shut. They were so encumbered with their 'property' (what they believed) that they did not learn the truth in time to "save their souls". They actually found the 'light', when they got to the door the KNEW why it was shut against them. Don't let the love of these 'things' keep you from the Kingdom of God.

"It's hard to imagine that things could get much worse!" This past week I have heard this expressed in one form or another by several people as I have worked at my fairly new part time job at the hardware store in town. The store has put up an end cap display of items that are typically used in emergency kits for both home and car; duct tape, first aid kit, water purifier, and another dozen or so items that could help get people through an earthquake or other disaster.  I am a big believer in keeping emergency supplies both at home and in our cars because you never know when you will need them. I even keep a fully prepared 'go bag' in my car, so that should the need arise I could climb on 'shanks mare' and 'hoof it' home should the need arise. So when I hear this expression about 'things getting worse', I want to say, "You ain't seen nothing yet!" And as much as I believe in this type of preparedness mind set I also know that we are coming to a time when this kind of preparation will not be enough to keep you safe and secure, because it is 'just' physical. There is a time coming to the world, and indeed is already here, when it will be essential for people to KNOW THE TRUTH in order to win through to eternal life. Note, I did not say LIVE through, because many people that know the truth, and teach this truth to others, will be required by God to give up their lives for the sake of others. Yet knowing this truth brings a peace that makes all of the terror to come worth the result; that is, the knowledge of the truth that brings eternal life. When we learn the truth from the words of Jesus, and understand prophecy and what is just on the horizon, we will be fully prepared to 'do the will of the Father', and we will remain steadfast in our understanding of truth that will seal us into the Kingdom of God.

This morning I was thinking about sourdough starter. Go figure! Don't ask me why, it just came into my head. Now this will not be a cooking class, but REAL sourdough started takes a LONG time to achieve, and reminded me that it is similar in texture and application to what it is like to combine knowledge with understanding to reach wisdom. The sourdough process consists of starting with whole wheat flour (or rye flour) and PURE water (water without chlorine or other impurities). And during the long feeding process (7-14 plus days) you pull off about half the starter and 'discard' it, and then add more flour (unbleached white) and water to feed the natural yeast that was in the original whole wheat. After a few days the loose dough with begin to bubble and expand; and then you feed it, discard, feed, discard until the dough has a beautiful sour smell. Then you pull off enough to use in bread (8 oz.), and save the rest in the fridge. Truth is like sourdough in that it takes time to bring it to a usable place, where it bubbles up out of your mind and heart, and becomes ready to use in the bread that brings everlasting life. The flour is the knowledge of the truth, and the water is understanding that comes from the Holy Spirit, the pure water of life. The feeding and discarding is adding new information that is true, and discarding that which is not truth. Just as it takes great care to make sourdough starter that will make wonderful sourdough bread, so it takes great care and determination to find and make usable the truth that comes from heaven through the words of Jesus that He gave to His own eyewitness disciples. But OH, is it worth the glorious result in flavor and nourishment when you taste this 'bread of heaven'. When this happens, nothing will ever taste the same.

The recent tragedy in Las Vegas has confirmed one point about 'news coverage', and that is this; "No one knows the truth, and no one cares what the truth really is". The emotional firestorm during the aftermath of this tragic shooting has demonstrated that what people believe about what they see and hear during news coverage of these kinds of events is based solely on what they have already decided that they WANT to believe, not what is actually true. No one in the media is asking 'hard' questions (defined as rock rolling-leaving no stone unturned) that if answered would give a totally different picture about what happened than what simply 'meets the eye'. The same is true for what is seen in the study of Truth that is found in the Bible. What people WANT to believe is what they see, which is often not what IS. God told Moses that Their name was "I AM". Jesus told His disciples the "I AM the Way, the Truth, the Life". I AM is the indicator that what God says through HIS words IS TRUTH. So why to most 'believers' in God believe lies AS IF they were truth? It's simple: they prefer lies to truth, darkness to light, death to life.  "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.  "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." John 3:19-21. "See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; So choose life. Deut.30:15,19.

If God was in need of a person to do a specific job for Them, how would Elohim go about hiring that person? What would be the incentive for a person to leave everything that they know and love to go to work for Elohim? Does God pay wages for work rendered and a job well done, or do They simply assume that the person they are going to hire will do it for free? In the parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard in Mathew 20 Jesus reminds us that a laborer is worth his/her hire price, and that those that work at the end will recieve the same pay as those that began the work at the beginning. God ALWAYS pays His debts, for good or ill, and we should do the same for those that work or serve us here on earth.  Rev 22:12  "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.

"Truth Will Out". William Shakespeare was the greatest writer in the English language that ever lived. I know this may seem a little sac-religious to some, but remember Jesus never wrote down a word of what He said to His disciples, they did. One of the most poigniant phrases the Bill said (he and I are on speaking terms) is from his play The Merchant of Venice, written in 1596, in which a character named Launcelot (correct spelling-not the knight) said it. Here is not the time to explain the plot twist that precipitated this phrase, but here is the sentence out of which comes our opening today - "I will tell you news of your son: give me your blessing; truth will come to light; murder cannot be hid long; a man's son may, but at the length TRUTH WILL OUT". Tonight from 6-9PM at the Bob's Big Boy restaurant in Calimesa California the TRUTH WILL OUT, because the truth cannot be hidden forever, much to the shagrin of the author of lies. We hope you will join us at this event, because what you are going to hear will change your life forever, one way or the other. Jesus told Pilate that "For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice." (John 18:37) Spirit of Truth Ministry is dedicated to the forwarding and bringing out the truth from the shadows in to the light. Because of this goal, we will be streaming this seminar live on our Face Book group page, and later on our You Tube channel, and right here on our Blog Talk Radio station. Come prepared to hear things that will astound you, and bring you to the realization that we are actually living in the Appointed Time of the End.

Spirit of Truth Ministry will be holding a Seminar/Study on September 29 through October 1, 2017, at the Bob's Big Boy Restaurant in Calimesa California (540 Sandalwood, 92320). This will be an eye opening presentation that will challenge the beliefs and faith of all that attend, so that minds and hearts can be opened to Truth. Join us for this wonderful event.  Today we will be introducing some of the topics that will be presented at this Seminar.

What do you do when a medicine that you are taking to correct a physical problem does not work? There are all kinds of responses to this situation; from getting mad at the company that manufactured the medicine, to blaming the doctor for prescribing the 'wrong' medicine, to blaming God for allowing you to get the problem in the first place. There are two things that most people do not do (at one time or another);  the first is to admit that it is their lifestyle choices that are causing the problem; to have the courage to admit culpability in causing the problem yourself, by your actions, or inaction; the second it to admit that it is the fault of 'no one', that it is just life, and sometimes bad things just happen. We try to assign responsibility for our deteriorating condition of someone or something, when in reality the ubiquitous 'no one' is the responsible party. This situation does not occur in our spiritual lives, and that is because the 'cure' already exists, is avaiable, although (for the most part) not recognized, and if used according to the directions on the lable guarantees a successful outcome. The cure is THE TRUTH. If we hold on to 'old time medicine', AKA 'that old time religion' of our parents and grand parents, our church, our pastor, or other authority figures, then we are not taking the medicine that Jesus brought to earth from His Father, which (in the words of my father) wlll "fix what ails you".  Unfortuately, eternal life is NOT a gift, as we have been taught. This concept is medicine that will ultimately cause death to those that believe in it. The medicine of Truth is the very Words of God, that the Father gave to His Son, Jesus, who gave it to His own eyewitness disciples, who by remembering them writing then down cause others to believe as did they did. Choose life, not death.