Knowing and Speaking Only the Truth Will Keep Us Free!

I woke up last Friday morning praying about what I should write in this week’s blog. I kept hearing the Lord say, “Write about truth!” I’ve written profusely on this topic in previous blogs. So, Lord, why more about truth now?

The Lord quickly answered my question when everything I read in my devotional time that morning focused on “truth.” I couldn’t ignore His not-so-subtle nudge. Apparently, truth is a topic I can never write about too much. Satan will never stop trying to counter God’s truth with lies, which more and more people, including Christians, believe instead of God’s Truth. So, here I go again!

Dave and I are taking a Patriot Academy Biblical Citizenship course through My Faith Votes via zoom on Thursday nights. I highly recommend this course to learn the truth about our country’s foundation and living out biblical principles in today’s culture. A large part of the previous night’s discussion was you guessed it, about truth. Maybe that’s why I woke up the next morning with truth on my mind. Here are some alarming facts.

• Three out of five Americans believe there is no moral absolute truth!
• One out of two millennials believe there is no absolute moral truth!
• Only 6% of Americans have a biblical worldview!

To have a functioning society, you need at least half the population to agree, and we don’t have that today in America, even in our churches.

Personal opinion has replaced absolute truth. “Your truth” can be anything you want it to be, even when it contradicts biology, science, rationale thinking, and the only true standard of truth, the Holy Bible.

So even though man’s scientific biology and God’s Word clearly says there can ever only be two genders, male and female, culture’s fantasy “truth” says there can be hundreds of genders. Not only do many believe this lie, you’re considered intolerant and bigoted if you don’t drink the Kool-aide and agree.

Even Christians and pastors have fallen under the trance of acquiescing to a lie. Do you think calling this deception a lie is too harsh? Here’s the definition of a lie from the dictionary and it applies here. “A false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth. Something intended or serving to convey a false impression; imposture.”

The Bible predicts satanic deception. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, ¹⁰ and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹ For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie ¹² and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. 2 Thess. 2:9-12

Back to Friday morning’s truth revelations. When I opened My Faith Votes email, “Friday Five Actions for the Faithful,” which is a recap of the week’s news and actions to take, Laurel Brooks wrote: “To protect this nation and the freedom for which it stands, we can no longer afford for Christians to self-silence. Let us speak the truth, even when it’s falling on what seem to be deaf ears. Remember – His Word will not return void. Let us be bold and courageous. Blessings follow our obedience. May we all be obedient to whatever He is asking of us today.”

I had just heard during our Patriot Academy Biblical Citizenship class the night before that 77% of Americans self-censor. In other words, we know the truth, but we don’t speak it because we’re afraid the truth will be offensive or result in conflict. So, we self-silence just as Laurel wrote above. Just go along to get along.

The Friday Five Action Partner of the week, Deborah, whose family has had a farm on the Texas /Mexico border for over 100 years, wrote in her testimony: I saw it first-hand right here in my community – the reluctance of Christians to speak truth and back up their vote using biblical values . . . If we truly want to see change then Christians need to run for office, lead in their communities, and ultimately be that voice of truth in the public square. 

Amen!

God was definitely impressing on me the importance of knowing, speaking, and loving the truth. As if it all wasn’t enough to get my attention, and I hope yours, I opened up my Turning Points devotional for the day by Dr. David Jeremiah and the heading jumped off the page, “God’s Truth”! The verse was from the armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18), Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth. Eph. 6:14

Dr. Jeremiah reiterated what I had just heard the previous night in Patriot Academy. He said, “In recent years, a new phrase has entered the cultural conversation “my truth” or “your truth” have, for many people, replaced “the truth.” Social media has made it possible for every person to speak his or her truth to the world. This trend is fallout from the rise of the postmodern worldview that says there is no truth. Instead, truth is in the eye of the beholder; truth is whatever you say it is.”

Christians should never be confused about truth vs lies because we hold in our hand and in our hearts the source of all truth, God’s Word, the Holy Bible. Jesus prayed to God His Father for every believer in John 17:17, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” “My truth” “your truth” “culture’s truth” “woke truth” are all lies from Satan. Myths. There’s only One Truth, God’s truth revealed in His Word.

“God’s Word is eternal, no matter how culture may change, it never changes. The Bible is God’s Word from cover to cover.” Franklin Graham

“The Word of God is perfect; it is precious and pure; it is truth itself.” Martin Luther

That’s why I hope you’re reading your Bibles every day. The Bible is the only source of truth that will truly keep you free. Satan knows that so he’ll try to keep your Bible closed. You might identify with the 8 Sneaky Ways Satan Stops You From Reading Your Bible that I wrote about in this article.

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. ³² And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 NLT

When You Know the Truth, It Takes Courage to Speak It!

You will probably find yourself in the minority, maybe even in your church, when you boldly stand up for the truth rather than sitting silently when you should be defending the truth instead of self-censoring. You may even be attacked by friends, family, fellow parishioners, neighbors . . . for not going along to get along. Denying the truth to keep the peace. Stifle conflict or debate.

Silence infers agreement.

You aren’t rude, harsh, angry, loud, or antagonistic. You speak with integrity, wisdom, love, compassion, and conviction. But you always speak truth! As Christians, we never back down from the truth just to appease.

Defending biblical truth requires courage. The Bible has harsh warning words when we don’t. Notice the first description of those who are lumped in with all the other evil doers.

“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Rev. 21:8

We must speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15), but we must speak! Not “our truth” or the “culture’s truth,” but God’s truth clearly spoken from the Bible. When we let what we know are lies influence the minds and hearts of our family, friends, churches, communities, and culture, it’s detrimental to them and to us. The Lord will guide our words. “This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 NLT

Dr. Jeremiah advises, “While personal counselors and mentors can be valuable in our life, the Bible does all those things—for free! Is there anyone who doesn’t need to be told the truth, have his rebellion exposed, his mistakes corrected, and discover Gods way to live? No—which is what makes the Bible so practically relevant. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” 2 Tim. 3:16 NLT

Now, I want to address those who think that Christians shouldn’t be involved in government. That’s a lie straight from the enemy and every lie that we believe and defend has serious consequences for not just us, but generations to come.

I was reading an interesting discussion about Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A. Bible” which he published in 2021 that includes the texts of the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Pledge of Allegiance. Greenwood is the composer and performer of the song, God Bless the USA, and it’s in his Bible. When I read some of the theologians’ criticisms about Greenwood’s Bible, they need to take the Patriot Academy Biblical Citizenship class! They seem ignorant of where the Founding Fathers got their ideas.

The author of the article wrote, “The inclusion of secular documents in the “God Bless the USA” bibles was a controversial choice. While texts such as the Declaration of Independence and Pledge of Allegiance make passing reference to a “Creator” and “God,” they are not necessarily religiously centered documents. The U.S. Constitution is also included within the bibles’ covers, which at no point acknowledges God at all.” The author never capitalized Bible, and he clearly doesn’t understand the source of these documents, so he too needs to take the Patriot Academy Biblical Citizenship class.

I appreciated at the end of the article, the inclusion of comments by Dr. Peter Kerr, dean and professor at Colorado Christian University’s School of Business and Leadership. Dr. Kerr said critics are being obtuse, and he sees nothing wrong with the inclusion of texts important to U.S. history. “Inserting America’s founding documents into a Bible is not wrong. The men who wrote them were followers of God, and even said in the Declaration of Independence that God endowed us with certain rights the government cannot take away,” said Kerr. “As long as people can differentiate God’s words from human words, it doesn’t matter if they were published inside the same cover.”

Here’s truth from Dr. David Jeremiah’s research about the men who formed the foundation of our government: “More than fifteen thousand documents written by America’s Founding Fathers—newspaper articles, pamphlets, books, monographs—found that the Bible was the most-quoted source in all their writings. Those men found the Bible to be the most relevant source they could use for building the foundation of a new nation.”  

Our Founding Fathers knew and understood what we often forget today . . .

The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul.
The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
⁸ The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.
⁹ Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever.
The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair.
¹⁰ They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.
¹¹ They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them. Ps. 19:7-11

Library Update

GOOD NEWS! If you’ve followed in past blogs the efforts of some of us to remove obscene pornographic and grooming books from our local library, praise God, the Idaho legislatures passed the third attempt at a bill. The new Bill 710 “The Children’s School & Library Protection Act” is now setting on Governor Little’s desk awaiting his signature. He vetoed a similar bill last year, so will you pray with us that he signs this bill. We’ll then be able to require our local library to abide by it.

Join me and other believers around the nation on Monday mornings to pray together via zoom. A powerful way to start the week praying with like-minded believers! My Faith Votes keeps action partners informed on what’s happening in the nation that effects religious freedom, sanctity of life, strengthening and protection of the family, and care for the needy. Go to MyFaithVotes to sign up.

Many states like Idaho have our own MyFaithVotes weekly morning prayer time via zoom. To check if your state has one, go to the MyFaithVotes website. If you’re in Idaho, contact me  and I’ll get you to our prayer coordinator to join us on Tuesday mornings.

If you haven’t seen the movie Letter to the American Church, you can watch it free on Friday, April 12^th. For details and to register go to www.myfaithvotes.org/LTAC. To bring the movie to your church go to www.Lettertotheamericanchurch.com.

To learn more about Patriot Academy click here.

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here. I reply to every comment.