I often wonder what it would have been like to live in the days when Jesus walked this earth. Would I have been the one to eagerly climb up in a tree and listen to His teachings, lean in to touch His cloak, or strive to be one of His followers? Or, on the flip side, would I have been full of skepticism, wondering if He really was the Son of God?
In those days, it was often difficult to tell the truth from all the lies. The people were divided, civil unrest among the people caused great tension, and many were searching for hope. False prophets and mysterious healers proclaimed to heal the hurt and the sick. In other words, confusion was running rampant.
It actually looked eerily similar to today’s culture. We live in unsettling times with war looming and everyone grasping for a ray of hope. Many have already come in Jesus’ name or claimed to know He will return. False preachers fill many churches, and lies are everywhere. Confusion has become normality, and unfortunately, the truth has become harder to find as it is often distorted, twisted, or filled with partial facts.
As faithful believers, we must be able to distinguish the truth from the lies. It’s essential to the growth of our faith. However, maybe you are inquiring about how we do that.
Well, dear friend, it starts by guarding our hearts and minds, shielding them from the ways of this world that so desperately longs to cause inner turmoil and conflict. The world is loud! Which is why we need to retreat and get quiet (Psalm 46:10). We must immerse ourselves in the Word to deepen our understanding and connect deeply with our God.
So, in order to tell what is indeed true, let’s seek to fully understand the truthful words of Jesus. There are many phrases or statements that so easily flail about and are often used, yet they are not fully based on truth and can, unfortunately, mislead us.
Living in a broken world that is searching desperately for hope and healing, we must choose to be mindful of our words so that they are wrapped in love but also express truth. Below are statements that Christians easily share as a means to offer sage advice or to give a coaxing word. Admittingly, I have said each one of these statements myself, but as we move forward, will you join me in striving to be more intentional and choosing our words wisely? If so, then read on!
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The heart. It’s rather complex, really. The heart is mentioned 762 times throughout the Bible, so obviously, God has a purpose and plan for this tender organ that supplies us with vital life while also being filled with raw emotion. After all, the heart holds our deepest desires and is believed to be the compass that directs our path, right?
Well, actually, no. The heart is pretty deceptive. If you were to listen or follow your heart right now, what would it be telling you to do? Mine is currently telling me to go eat a third cookie that I really don’t need. Argh! Sugar cookies are my weakness!
Here is what we need to know. The Bible is clear that our heart is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9). Our hearts naturally seek after evil thoughts and chase after selfish gain. It is the gateway to where we bend to lying, half-truths, or entertain sinful behaviors (Matthew 15:19).
This is why David cries out to God multiple times for a pure heart and to cleanse Him of all unrighteousness (Psalms 51:10, 73:26, 119:11). Basically, when we follow our heart, we can get into trouble.
However, when we place our trust in God and give Him the desires of our hearts, something truly beautiful emerges. Peace. The peace that can only come for our God!
God wants our hearts. That is because He knows it supplies us with life, a life filled with hope, peace, joy, and contentment when we place our hearts in His loving hands!
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Recently, my husband and I have walked through two heartbreaking stories witnessing couples we dearly love come to a brutal end of their marriage. While meeting with them over the past years, we noticed a change in their demeanor. And sadly, these words often come up in conversation, “We just aren’t happy.”
Friend, here is the brutal truth about this life that we must come to grips with…we aren’t here living on this side of heaven yearning to be happy. If that is what we are seeking, then we will all be sadly disappointed, mistaken, and truly miserable. That is because happiness is circumstantial and fleeting.
While there is nothing wrong with being happy or experiencing that emotion, we must recognize that it is not what we should be living for. That is because happiness is an external emotion that revolves around “us” and our situation. Honestly, none of us deserve happiness. None of us deserve anything good, for that matter, due to our sinful nature (Romans 3:10). But that is exactly where God’s grace and the sense of joy come in!
Grace covers our sins when we seek forgiveness and fess up to our own contributions to a situation. Whereas joy stems from an inward reflection (James 1:2-4), allowing us to place our trust in God no matter what the situation is, allowing us to find strength in Him alone (Nehemiah 8:10).
While we don’t deserve to be happy, nor do we deserve God’s mercy or grace, we can seek joy, which gives us permission to feel the hurt and the pain, prompting us to seek God’s grace, therefore allowing Him to refine us, creating within us something new.
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I can remember standing in my kitchen and hearing the diagnosis that my dad had cancer. I had a tiny tot on my hip, another one playing loudly in the living room, and our baby niece crawling up my leg. We had just brought her home to foster via a kinship. Life was crazy hard. My marriage was strained. We were barely making ends meet. We were dealing with custody battles and court cases, and now this!
I was tired and overwhelmed, and this news just about broke me. After my dad left, I put all the children to bed, then fell into a heap on the floor and sobbed uncontrollably, with very bitter tears.
My dear friends meant well when proclaiming that God doesn’t give us more than we can handle, but those words still pierced my wounded heart. I grew angry and resentful.
Well, let me clear something up, especially if you are facing a time in your life that seems unsurmountable and makes you question if God is after you!
Often, we need clarification on the message found in 1 Corinthians 10:13, where Paul discusses temptation and suffering. While God will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear, meaning He will always provide a way out, when it comes to suffering and anguish, sometimes there is nothing we can do to wade through it. That’s because we live in a world marked by sin and death, loss and strife. So, suffering is something that we can pretty much count on, and we can bet it will be more than we can handle at times.
But, do take heart, because while this life can seem downright difficult at times and too much to bear, we must remember that God is always with us (Isaiah 41:10). So, He also isn’t expecting us to handle it all and put on a brave face, He is commanding us to cast our burden onto Him, that way He can provide us rest (Matthew 11:28). A rest for our weary soul.
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This half-truth and “feel-good” cliché has been brought into the light quite a bit as of late. Everyone seems to be searching for love and acceptance. But are we missing something here? Does God love and accept us just the way we are?
Well, if God accepted us just the way we are, why would there be a need for a Savior? It would essentially make Jesus’ life and death mute and pointless.
Yes, it is true that God meets us exactly where we are and loves us because He is the God of love (1 John 4:7), but the relationship we encounter with Him offers us an invitation to become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). This love God freely gives and offers us should prompt us to want to die to our old self and yearn to become more and more like Christ and live according to His will.
So, because of Jesus, God loves and accepts us, inviting us into His family, but that does not mean He accepts us just the way we are. God doesn’t accept our old identity; rather, He wants us to embrace our new identity in Him. When we do, He will continually be in the business of changing and morphing us to be and more like Christ until we join Him in eternity.
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Oh, the contradictions can be endless, can’t they? Judge. Don’t judge. A common misconception and a popular phrase that gets thrown around in Christian circles. So, what did Jesus really say, and what did He mean?
Well, Jesus actually did say in Matthew 7:1-2, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” Sounds pretty clear. Yet, the intention behind this verse is also pretty straightforward when we put it into context and see who Jesus was teaching. Matthew 7 encompasses the teachings of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and the topics related to spiritual life and growth.
Jesus is sharing with His followers that they will be judged according to the way they judge others. So, He is not saying to never judge, but rather judge with a discerning spirit. Basically, Jesus is particularly noting the act of hypocritical judgment. In other words, we mustn’t judge unless we first evaluate our own behaviors and sins (Matthew 7:3-5).
Other Scriptures also reflect this by stating we are to use righteous judgment and not judge according to our own flesh, but by the spirit (John 8:15). The Law of Moses says we are to judge our neighbor in righteous judgment (Leviticus 19:16). And we are to also use judgment when it comes to distinguishing false prophets (Matthew 7:15-15), as well as “dogs” and “swine” which are those who would reject ridicule, and mock Jesus (Matthew 7:6).
In other words, we must use discernment and righteous judgment at times to be able to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).
Well, there you have it, words Jesus would never say. As we encourage our fellow brothers and sisters, we should be mindful and choose our words wisely. Always seek discernment and ask for God’s wisdom to be revealed to you through His Word so you can share a heart with genuine love.
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