WHAT IS TRUTH

  Many individual are so ill today because  they have made themselves ill. They refuse to be bearers of truth.They lie to themselves and others. Some of us prize ourselves as tellers of truth  . But what is truth?

 

Recently I was invited to lunch by an elderly friend. She also invited a young lady and her eight year old son. There were actually six of us sitting at the table. The little boy was trying to get out of eating his lunch by doing all sorts of pranks to the point that they became annoying.

You see the menu was strictly vegetarian with some sort of vegetarian burger for the chief protein. (Meat) There was rice and peas, scalloped sweet potato, friend plantain, boiled Renta yam, and boiled pumpkin accompanied by a tossed salad and coconut cookies as desert.

His mom dished out the rice and peas, the burger and the salad on his plate. He talked about his recent hospital visit for an asthma attack and started to complain about how his tummy was aching. He actually went to the bath room.  Next he pretended he was having an asthma attack. His mom kept telling him to stop that. But he pull or manner of tricks. His last was to pretend he was asleep at the table.

His mom told him to stop pretending and get on with eating his food. He straightened up and began laughing. In all this he did not taste a single morsel of the food. She then mentioned to his that the meat on his plate was the burger meat that they put into the burger king.   At this point he said “Oh Yeh”; dive into the food and in no time the plate was empty of every scrap of food.

With his antics gone everyone was more at ease at the table and finished their meal, then went into a light conversation about cornmeal pudding, and how to get it really yummy like grand ma’s old  time cornmeal pudding

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We all retired   to the living room and he went to play the piano. One of the individuals asked a question

Relating to truth, another asked what is truth? and that became the topic of the afternoon  conversation then.

One person said that truth is dependent on the person who is asking the question and what the person is willing to accept as truth, therefore truth is relative. Another said it is when there is

so-spacerun: yes;"> no other answer could be the right answer.

The person who started the conversation said what does the bible says truth is? The place to find the answer would be the Bible.

He said, what are the scripture passages that give a definition for truth? One person quoted one but could not tell where it was found. The person who started the conversion asked what tools could you use to help you. Another said the Bible concordance. Surely there were two instances in the concordance.

He said there were three. None of us could tell or find the third. So he patiently told us where it was found .We look it up and there is was.

Here are the Bible passages;

 ST. John 14:6 Jesus said unto them I am the way the truth the life no man cometh unto the father but by me (truth is Jesus Christ)

St John 17:17   Sanctify them through thy truth thy word is truth. (Truth is God’s word)

Psalm 119: 151   Thou art near oh God and all thy commandments are truth.  (Truth is God’s  Commandments)

1 John 4:6     It is the spirit that beareth  forth witness  because the spirit is truth

How can we justify truth along this Bible definition  after recognizing that truth should not be relative?

Let us look at the little boy’s attitude. He said he was not hungry was he being truthful If, If  truth is relative one could answer may be yes.  However  the conditions change and he heard that the meat was the same used  by Burger King  for making burgers he was suddenly hungry

However according Christ definition Truth is not relative. It does not change according to the

  Circumstances

1.       Truth as the commandment does not change it stand for ever

   2    Truth as .Jesus Christ, His principles and way of life does not change they are the same yesterday,

        today, and tomorrow.

             

3          Truth as the word of God: God speaks and what he speaks stands He does not lie neither change4.

   

4         Truth  as the spirit of God. God is a spirit and when we worship him we must do so in spirit and   the truth

These three instances of truth found in the Bible are not debatable or relative .There is no doubt in truth. The lad had left us to doubt because he kept  changing the reasons for him not wanting to eat.

Then when it suited him he was immediately hungry and all the illnesses mysteriously disappeared...

How do we as individuals align our lives with truth? How do people who associate with us see us as bearers of truth? We have no control by ourselves .They can only see us as bearers of truth as we align our lives with Jesus through daily communion , by studying His words  and by  allowing the dwelling of the  Holy Spirit.

Contributing Author

Juliet Christie Murray

Medical Missionary

What is the Prayer of Faith?

                                                       What is the Prayer of Faith?

  


Maranatha Gahana

Prayer is not an expiation for (to make amends for) sin .It has no virtue or merit of itself .All flowery words at our command are not equivalent to one Holy desire.

The most eloquent prayers are but idle words if they do not express the true sentiment of the heart. But the prayer that comes from an earnest heart when the simple want of the soul is expressed as we would ask our earthly friend for a favor, expecting it to be granted- this is the prayer of faith.

  

God does not desire our ceremonial complement, but the unspoken cry of the heart broken and subdued with a sense of its sin and utter weakness finds its way to the Father’s mercy  

Man is Satan’s captive he is weak to Satan’s influence. He has no resistance, the only weapon man has is the earnest prayer of faith.

When Satan realizes he is losing the battle of controlling an individual He will call His legion of Angels to help him fight the individual by “beefing up” the temptation from every quarter. But when man recognizes him and earnestly asks Jehovah God for help. God in turn send His legion of holy angels to help .then Satan and his host have to stand back When Satan see individual praying asking for Devine and protection. He trembles and He becomes baffled and weak.

The prayer of faith is the greatest strength of the Christian. It is never lost but to claim that it will be answered in the very way and for that particular thing we have expect is presumption.

 Christ is our only hope, come to God in the name of Jesus Christ who bought our pardon when he gave His life on the cross. Pray much for prayer is the life of the soul. Help will come, power will come to man from God in answer to the prayer of faith.

The Science of  Answered Prayer

Prayer and faith are closely related and need to be studied together. In the prayer of faith there is a divine science. It is a science that brings success. Jesus wanted His followers to know this and thought this science to his believers in this simple passage of scriptures.

Here it is.

Mark 11:24 whatever you pray for believe that you will get it.

It also rest on this unequivocal condition we must be willing to forgive others. 
Whatsoever you ask for must be according to God’s will.

Whatever we receive must be used in doing his will.

You are to abide in God and ask him to let The Holy Spirit abide with you

You must love your fellow men as Christ loves you

Your prayer must not be selfish you must pray for others also.

You must impart or share and communicate what you receive with others,

We must not only pray in God’s name but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,

Confess your sins and unworthiness to the father.

You must show that you love God by obeying for prayer cannot take the place of duty.

You are to keep God’s commandments.

Above all always be honest with God in giving him what belongs to him an example is His tithe and offering

.

These are some of the gifts we may ask for such as pardon of sins. For the Holy Spirit, for a Christ like temper, for knowledge, wisdom, understanding and strength to do His work, since any gift He has promised we may ask for. Then we are to believe that we receive and return thanks to God for that we have received.

 You do not have to look for any outward evidence of this blessing. The gift is in the promise and you may go about your work assured that what God has promise He is able to perform and the gift you already possess will be realized and materialized when you need it

.

To be able live this way by the word of God, means complete surrender to Him.  You will realize that there will be a daily need for His divine help. At times as the feeling of inadequacy presents itself you can access this added Divine help through daily prayer and supplication for God hear the prayers of the righteous.

Contributing Author: Juliet Christie Murray.

Source Credit: Christ Object Lessons, Power of Prayer Ellen G White