Recently I heard a person condemned for citing incorrect statistics. Was it a mistake or a lie? Did the person believe the statistics were correct, or was there intent to deceive? There is an important difference, both for the one making a mistake/telling a lie and for the one being told.

Mistakes are part of being human.

Lies stem from the father of lies, that is, Satan.

What’s the difference?

Mistakes

We, human beings, do not know everything about anything! We can study endlessly and still get something wrong. We can assess and plan and still get it wrong. We can accurately relate a result only to find out the instrument was faulty. We can trust the judgment of someone else, only to find error.

When we make a mistake, our motive is to have gotten it right.

And, even if our motive was honorable, all actions have results, some negative.

Lies

Lies, on the other hand, involve deliberate deception. The motive is to deceive, aiming for a specific impression or result.

Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices.(Colossians 3:9)

Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.(1 John 2:22)

A truthful witness saves lives, but he who utters lies is treacherous.(Proverbs 14:25)

Our Response

Mistakes:

Iif a person consistently makes mistakes, especially of the same type, it is an opportunity for a loved one, or a friend or employer, to speak the truth in love. Perhaps the person needs to be better informed. Perhaps the person needs coaching on how to better act in the situation.

If we are the one making repeated mistakes, we need to seek more information, and/or education in how to assess a particular issue and respond appropriately.

Lies:

We are to hate lies.

A righteous man hates falsehood.(Proverbs 13:5)

If we find ourselves lying, we need to recognize we have sinned, confess, and repent.

We need to be watchful of others, assessing accuracy, and distinguishing truth, mistakes, and lies.

If we see others lying, we need to be aware and wise.

Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.(Matthew 10:16)

Prayer

Father, please help us speak the truth in love as we seek to walk in Your way, and glorify You in our lives. Please help us be wise in this troubled and evil world, discerning truth from lie.

We are Witnesses

You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord.(Isaiah 43:10)

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.(Acts 1:8)

Me, too?

Yes, I am to tell people about Christ.

I am qualified and equipped: I believe in Christ, trust Him as my Savior, and have declared He is my Lord. The Holy Spirit dwells in me.

My failure to witness is sin.

It’s Personal

We are called to testify to what we’ve heard, seen, and felt.

Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen …(John 3:11)

Many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.(John 4:39)

So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him.(John 12:17)

Focus on Christ

I’ve heard and read testimonies that focused on the person and not on Jesus Christ. At least three-quarters of one book focused on the person’s sin-filled past and didn’t talk about the Lord until the end.

Contrast that with Paul In Jerusalem when the Jews sought to kill Paul and the Roman commander gave Paul permission to speak to the crowd. In three verses, Paul covered his life prior to Christ’s revealing Himself to Paul on the road to Damascus. Three verses! (Acts 22:3-5)

A lame man was healed, and when the crowd was filled with wonder and amazement, Peter redirected their attention to Christ.

Peter: “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?” (Acts 3:12)

Be Ready

When an opportunity arises to talk about Jesus, are you ready?

We are to “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” (1 Peter 3:15)

Are you ready to testify about what you have heard, seen, and felt? Can you provide a clear answer in a short period (an elevator ride)? Do you know what you’d say when someone asks you why you believe?

Go Therefore

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.(Matthew 28:19–20)

Prayer

Father, I want to faithfully obey Your commands. I want to be ready to give an account for my belief, to honor my Lord Jesus Christ. Help me be alert to when You would have me speak.

See Who’s the Star?

And Show and Tell.

God, our perfect Father, perfectly disciplines His children.

Christ took our deserved punishment so we, His followers, are not punished, but are disciplined in order to make us into the image of Christ.

Thus you are to know in your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son.(Deuteronomy 8:5)

My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lordor loathe His reproof, for whom theLord loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.(Proverbs 3:11–12)

Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.(Revelation 3:19)

His Discipline

He disciplines us to correct our sinful ways, to prevent us from going astray, to educate us about His ways.

God knows everything, so He is never wrong.

Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart. (Psalm 44:21)

Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all. (Psalm 139:4)

God loves us with an everlasting love, and He always disciplines from love.

God perfectly knows everything from eternity to eternity, and has plans for us, so He disciplines us for our good.

He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. (Hebrews 12:10)

Afterwards [discipline] yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. (Hebrews 12:11)

Our responsibility

We are not to despise His discipline.

We are to repent when His discipline shows us our errors.

We are to determine to follow Him more closely.

We are to listen to what He is saying to us.

Blessings Ahead

His discipline leads to righteousness, to sharing His holiness.

Rejoice that God loves us so much He disciplines us.

Father, thank You that You love me so much You don’t leave me in the muck, but discipline me to avoid sinful paths, to determine to walk in Your righteous way. Help me listen to You, and repent as You show me. Thank You that You are leading me in the everlasting way.

Our hummingbird feeder was well used and needed refilling every 24 hours. It was fun to watch.

But then…

A hummingbird bully* appeared, chasing any hummingbird that tried to feed. After a day or two of raucous activity, the feeder now rarely has a hummingbird visitor. And those, not for long.

One web site counseled to enjoy the fight rather than the feeding.

Several other web sites said to have multiple feeders, some out of sight of the others.

I miss our hummingbirds.

This has also made me think about the dark side of humans. How often does someone destroy something, not wanting it for himself or herself, insuring no one can use it. Pride? Control? Envy? Greed? It definitely is easier to destroy than build.

Alas.

If anyone has a solution for hummingbird bullies, please let me know!

*A nicer web site called them “hummingbird-feeder-guardians.”

Flying

Once when we were on an instrument flight plan (a flight with a defined course and altitude, monitored by Air Traffic Control), I bumped the navigation device, changing the setting. And, instantly, we were on a flight path other than our assigned one. WHOOPS!

Air traffic control contacted us, we identified our (my) error, corrected it, and we were back on course.

If we hadn’t corrected our course, we would have ended up somewhere out in the Atlantic rather than where we wanted to go.

Our Christian Walk

And that is true in the Christian walk as well.

We can make a slight deviation from closely following the Lord, and end up in a wilderness.

Course Correction

The steps to correcting our Christian walk are similar to correcting our flight path.

One. We have a defined path, set out for us in the Word of God. (The instrument flight plan.)

Two. We fail to follow that path because we don’t know the word of God, from habit, from sin. (In our case, because I accidently changed the navigation instrument.)

Three. The Holy Spirit tells us we are off track. (Air Traffic Control told us.)

Four. We then have to agree we are off track, repent, and correct our course. (We corrected the navigation setting and rejoined our correct flight path.)

Our Responsibilities

We must determine to learn the Word of God and apply it to our lives.

We must pay attention.

We need a sensitive heart to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to us about our lives.

When we learn we are off course, we need to

Stop!

Confess!

Repent!

Change course.

Prayer

Lord, please help us listen to You and follow closely. Please show us when we are off track, give us the determination to correct our course, confessing our sins, and changing our thoughts, words, and deeds.

Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. (John 17:17)

Nine little words; three critical concepts.

Sanctify

We, Christians, have been saved from the power of sin. We are now being saved from sin’s power as we learn to walk according to the Spirit. Sanctification isn’t always comfortable because suffering is often the tool God uses to purify His children.

Truth, though, is a key to sanctification that requires some discipline, but not pain, unless it is hard for us to give up lies we believed.

Truth

Truth is a tool of sanctification. As our minds, hearts, hands, lives are characterized by truth, our minds are renewed.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.(Romans 12:2) (See also  Ephesians 4:23.)

God’s Word

The Bible is Gods’ word, the truth.

All truth is God’s truth (the Bible doesn’t tell us everything about everything), but anything that conflicts with what God has to say is false.

Our Discipline

All truth is God’s truth (the Bible doesn’t tell us everything about everything), but anything that conflicts with what God has to say is false.

Here are things we can do (should do) that contribute to our sanctification:

• Study God’s word, daily, deeply, prayfully.
• Throughout the day, think about what God is saying to you through His Word.
• Identify your own thoughts and beliefs that are contrary to God’s Word, reject them, and substitute the truth.
• Use your knowledge of the word of God in discerning people’s words and deeds, and in evaluating current events.
• Walk in truth. Obey. Your obedience increases your growth.

Pray!

Lord, help us build up ourselves (Jude 20), faithfully learning and applying Your word. Help us see Your truth, distinguishing Your truth — true truth — from what we might think on our own apart from You, or from what others may assert that isn’t from You.

The US civic scene is chaotic! Democrats versus Republicans. Strife within each party. Protests of all sorts, some violent. Demonstrations by different advocacy groups. Name calling. Insults. Aspersions on motives and character.

Inability (and/or unwillingness) to agree on facts. Different conceptions of where we should head. Diverse opinions on next steps.

Alas.

Whose side are you on?

Joshua wanted to know that too.

Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” The captain of the Lord’shost said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.(Joshua 5:13–15)

The challenge for us, Christians, is to follow Christ. We need to determine what it means to love the Lord our God and love our neighbors as ourselves during this turbulent time.

Participation in politics or current issues may be the Lord’s path for you. Or not. If you participate, how you participate is critical. The essential is that our lives must reflect our standing in Christ.

If you look back over the last few weeks, where were your energies? Your thoughts? Are you okay with how much time you spent on current issues?  How did your words and actions line up with your beliefs? Did your beliefs influence your reactions? Are you okay with how much time and energy you devoted to the Lord?

Did you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Did you love your neighbor as yourself?

What has my lord to say to his servant? (Joshua 5:14)

What does your Lord have to say to you?

Jesus Christ is the cornerstone, the perfect stone that controls the accuracy of a building’s angles and lines.

Behold, I [the LORD God] am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed.(Isaiah 28:16)

Jesus was rejected and crucified

Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead … is the stone which wasrejectedby you, the builders.Acts 4:10-11

The resurrected Jesus Christ became the Chief Corner Stone

The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone. This is the Lord’sdoing; It is marvelous in our eyes.(Psalm 118:22–23)

Christians are living stones, being fit in the building with Christ as the Cornerstone

You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house [with Jesus Himself being the corner stone—Ephesians 2:19-22] for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.(1 Peter 2:5)

Cornerstone or Stumbling block: People have a choice

Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, aprecious cornerstone, And he who believes inHim will not bedisappointed. This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the buildersrejected,This became the very cornerstone,” and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.” (1 Peter 2:6–8)

Praise the Corner Stone

Lord Jesus Christ, we praise You, the perfect Cornerstone, who sets the growing building of believers into a dwelling that glorifies God. And we praise You for being the cornerstone in each of our lives so that we may be set in proper alignment with You. Thank You that You never disappoint. Thank You for Your perfection. Thank You for the privilege of being a living stone in Your building.

A New Name

You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas (which is translated Peter).(John 1:42)

The gospels and Acts show Simon’s development into his new name, including times of failure when the Lord again called him “Simon.” (See John 21:15-17)

Our New Name

We also are growing into a new name that will be given to us in heaven.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.(Revelation 2:17)

Our Growth

Our growth into a new name started when we came to saving faith in Christ.

1. New Creatures

We, Christians, are new creatures

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.(2 Corinthians 5:17)

2. Being Transformed

We are being transformed

Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.(1 Corinthians 6:11)

3. Learning to Walk

We are learning to walk after Christ

and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.(Ephesians 4:24)

and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—(Colossians 3:10)

4. God is Working on Us

God will keep working on us until the day of Christ

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 1:6)

Be Encouraged

What encouragement! We are not like we were before coming to faith in Jesus Christ. God is working in us, making us ready for our new names.

Hallelujah!