Truth Talk With Jesus

Jesus had a lot to say about listening to His words and hearing truth. One thing we can always count on is to hear "truth" from the "words" of Jesus. After all, He IS "full of grace and truth," according to John 1:14. Truth is like a rudder on a ship or a compass to find direction for us in life. I don't know about you, but I love the truth and I hate lies. Let's take a look at some "words" Jesus said about it in the book of John.

John 8:31-32,37-47 (NKJV): Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." … 37 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.” 39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”

Jesus TALKS TRUTH with His disciples, and He tells them that if they "abide" in His "word," they really ARE His. Living in His word, they know the truth, and the "truth" sets them FREE! If you think about it, the converse of that is that lies enslave. In verse 40, He said that this "truth" is from God. Since God the Father is the SOURCE of "truth," if we want "truth" for our lives, we need to hear "God's words." He also said that they weren't understanding His SPEECH, because they were not "able to listen to" His "word" in verse 43. They had no ears for His "word."

Then He proceeded to tell us who is the SOURCE of all lies..."the devil" (vs. 44). Every lie comes from "the father of lies." I really like verse 47, when He explains that "He who is of God hears God's words..." The Father's Son told us in verse 38, that He speaks what He has SEEN with His Father. We know from this that lies keep people in the darkness, but if they have the truth, they are "free" and they can SEE, just like Jesus said what He has SEEN with the Father. We are "of God" and Jesus' disciples, if we "abide" in His word–"God's words," and we can SEE where we are going in this world. His Word is our compass and rudder.

The reason I wrote a book about creation, and I am continuing with this blog, is because the Holy Spirit taught me to listen again to His specific "words" in the entire Bible ABOUT His creation. He taught me to believe them over any other SOURCE of information about my world, especially when it was in CONTRADICTION to what He says in the Word. I had to decide if God said something in quotations about a given topic, then it was "truth," and if what others said was the OPPOSITE of that "truth," it had to be thrown out. There was a decision that if I believed what God said about salvation and everything else in my "faith" about Him, then I also must listen to His "words" about His "works," or I’d have to throw ALL of it out. I couldn't do that because I believe I am saved through faith in His Son for eternity, and so now I am also "saved" from lies about His "world."

This journey of seeing creation through the "words" in the Bible, has been so transforming and life-changing. I have seen that most of my "education" about the world that I live in as far as its structure and physical characteristics was rooted and grounded in the lies of the evil one. This only came through "unplugging" from media, and daily spending time in the Word. "Truth" from His Word became a repetitive cleansing of my mind, and I was able to SEE His creation by the "words" that I heard, while I was living "free" from the spirit of this world in how I SPENT MY TIME.

I would like to encourage you, if you haven't already done so yourself, to ask the Lord to help you spend your time with Him on a daily basis. As Jesus told His disciples to "abide" in His "word," if we follow Him, we do the same. It will change your life, and you will be "free" in ways you weren't even expecting. My prayer for us is to remember Jesus' "speech" and understand that He is always TALKING "truth" to us. As you read His Word every day, may His Spirit highlight the "words" about His wonderful creation! Until next time, God bless and keep you...