Together # 61
A Together of Perseverance
A Together of Perseverance
Hold On to Truth Together
copyright by Dick Wulf, 2018
Practice truth together. With your closest Christian friends, keep trying out truth, stepping farther out than ever before to discover applied and proven truth.
Ex 20:1-17; Gal 2:14; Phil 3:16; 2 Thess 2:15; 1 Tim 3:9; 1 Tim 4:16; 2 Peter 2:2
Christians are to battle doubts as they come so they can hold on to truth, going on to practice living it in ever more complicated situations to expand it.
Doubts continually arise in the active Christian mind. Those doubts raise numerous questions about truth. Christians are to assure that others overcome doubts and stay close to the truth. The best way to handle doubt is to help one another not settle for superficial understanding of what we learn in the Bible. We can keep asking deeper questions and find that the Holy Spirit will lead us into more about each truth of our faith. This must be done together with those in our Christian Inner Circle. Battling doubt alone is dangerous. Battling doubt with other Christians allows us to watch out for one another to see that we hold to the truth while we delve into more questions about the truth.
Doubts need not be dangerous if we help one another see them merely as invitations by the Holy Spirit to resolve them together with other Christians. But, we also need to accept that we will never be able to resolve all of our doubts because spiritual truth can be beyond our ability to understand.
God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding.
Job 37:5
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55: 9
he does great things beyond our understanding.
Job 37:5
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55: 9
So, we must help one another with the spiritual reality of doubt. We can never totally understand God, so doubts will arise naturally. We need to help one another realize that doubt about things we do not quite understand does not make them untrue.
There are things in life that we do not understand but still know they are true. We use electricity, but even scientists have doubts about all that it can be used for. We all have seen magnets work, but doubts about magnetism led to further exploration and trying it out for different applications. As a result, life-saving medical equipment was invented, among many other things.
It is the same with spiritual truth. Once we learn a specific truth from the Bible, we can look further into it. If we turn doubts into seeking more to understand that truth better, deeper truth will set us free from doubt. John 8:31-32 reads, “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”
Jesus said, “if you abide in my word”, and I take that to mean “if you live what I tell you”. Then He says, “and you will know the truth”. The Greek word used for the word “know” is one of a few words for “know”, but this “know” means to know by experience. In other words, truth that you know is valid because you have walked out in faith on that truth and found by experience that it is true.
If I go to the hardware store and buy a ladder that says it will hold my weight, I know by the manufacturer’s testing. But, when I actually climb up on that ladder to clean my house gutters, I then know the ladder will hold my weight because it has actually done that. This is what Jesus meant as recorded in John 8:32.
And, this kind of knowing that has already been tested is the kind that sets us free from doubt.
So, we Christians are to help one another hold on to the truth by being there with one another as we stretch our faith to live various truths of the Bible.
Life throws many difficulties our way, and those troubles often challenge the truth we easily say we believe. But, then we sometimes find it very challenging to believe, or “know” that truth when we really have to count on it. An example is when a Christian loses a beloved spouse through death. Biblical truth that all will be okay can easily be doubted, as can God’s goodness in taking away the one loved so much. When that happens, Christian friends and family must come in to help hold to the truth that God is present and will sustain the grieving widow or widower through the pain of loss. In time, the person will experience God’s love and support. Certainty that God will see her or him through life’s most difficult trials will then be known at a much deeper level.
Through stepping out in deeper trust of the truth we know in our head but not so much in our living, we grow deeper in the truth, make it far more difficult to doubt that truth, and continue to base our lives on that truth.
There are things in life that we do not understand but still know they are true. We use electricity, but even scientists have doubts about all that it can be used for. We all have seen magnets work, but doubts about magnetism led to further exploration and trying it out for different applications. As a result, life-saving medical equipment was invented, among many other things.
It is the same with spiritual truth. Once we learn a specific truth from the Bible, we can look further into it. If we turn doubts into seeking more to understand that truth better, deeper truth will set us free from doubt. John 8:31-32 reads, “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”
Jesus said, “if you abide in my word”, and I take that to mean “if you live what I tell you”. Then He says, “and you will know the truth”. The Greek word used for the word “know” is one of a few words for “know”, but this “know” means to know by experience. In other words, truth that you know is valid because you have walked out in faith on that truth and found by experience that it is true.
If I go to the hardware store and buy a ladder that says it will hold my weight, I know by the manufacturer’s testing. But, when I actually climb up on that ladder to clean my house gutters, I then know the ladder will hold my weight because it has actually done that. This is what Jesus meant as recorded in John 8:32.
And, this kind of knowing that has already been tested is the kind that sets us free from doubt.
So, we Christians are to help one another hold on to the truth by being there with one another as we stretch our faith to live various truths of the Bible.
Life throws many difficulties our way, and those troubles often challenge the truth we easily say we believe. But, then we sometimes find it very challenging to believe, or “know” that truth when we really have to count on it. An example is when a Christian loses a beloved spouse through death. Biblical truth that all will be okay can easily be doubted, as can God’s goodness in taking away the one loved so much. When that happens, Christian friends and family must come in to help hold to the truth that God is present and will sustain the grieving widow or widower through the pain of loss. In time, the person will experience God’s love and support. Certainty that God will see her or him through life’s most difficult trials will then be known at a much deeper level.
Through stepping out in deeper trust of the truth we know in our head but not so much in our living, we grow deeper in the truth, make it far more difficult to doubt that truth, and continue to base our lives on that truth.
The way that we deal with truth makes it difficult to hold on to it. Most truth we only grasp superficially. Through sermons and simple reading we only become familiar with truth. We “know about” truth and that is usually the end of our journey.
We would never treat the truth of mopping kitchen floors so lightly.
Usually we treat sermons with curiosity, not as seriously as we would a college lecture. We might be tested about the lecture, but we won’t be held accountable for retaining the content of sermons, even those that are refresher courses for us. Content of sermons is delivered with the false hope that listeners will go further with the knowledge than knowing about something.
Spiritual truth is to become a part of us. Faith from knowledge that is just facts and not put into practice is not deeply retained. As such, holding on to that truth is difficult. Not remembered, it becomes rather meaningless. Truth must become important enough to transform from just knowledge into righteous behavior. It is meaningless if it does not progress beyond being just a topic for conversation. Instead, it is to become who we are.
We need to help one another hold on to truth so that we do not stray from it. We do not want those in our Christian Inner Circles to forget that the only way to God is through Jesus Christ, His Son. We must help one another hold on to such basic truths of Christianity. We know this, and generally do it.
So then, brothers,
stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us,
either by our spoken word or by our letter.
2 Thess 2:15
stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us,
either by our spoken word or by our letter.
2 Thess 2:15
However, just knowing about truth is just scratching the surface of what it means to hold to truth together. Our faith is not something to know about, it is truth that we take into our lives and implement. We are to grow to understand truth deeply and live it to the glory of God.
The need to actively hold to truth together can be easily seen by the slipperiness of New Year’s resolutions. We hardly ever hold on to such important and deeply desired declarations. In the same way, we may try trusting God with something and even see Him answer our prayers, just as we might have a resolution to get down to a certain body weight and lose some significant pounds. But, then for whatever reason we stop trusting God with that thing and, in the other example, we gain back the weight we lost.
Many other Togethers have a part to play when we help one another push faith further into truth-based spiritual life. All along the journey of growth in our spirits, it is critical to use this Together of holding to truth together. We must stay firm to the new heights of truth actualized in our lives. Otherwise, like short-lived, exciting fads, they will disappear.
The best way to hold to the truth together is to keep on growing our faith with expanded truth. When we implement truth that started by just knowing about it, we make it harder to lose the knowledge of that truth. Making it a part of how we live, it becomes a part of us.
The truth we hold on to with one another’s help begins with the knowledge that we have eternal life through Jesus Christ and the gracious love of God. Yet, knowing that we are new spiritual creatures in Christ has no holding power without going beyond to make our spirits like Jesus’ spirit. And, so, we hold on to truth together by always acting like we are no longer corrupted spirits with damaged bodies. We are new spiritual creations in Jesus with damaged bodies that hold us in this world until our work for God is done and He decides to bring us to heaven.
For example, there is one body of truth about how God wants us to live that we need to hold on to together, and that is what is encompassed in the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:1-17). First, and more needed than we recognize, is to never let any of us think that such a holy life brings us to God, that we earn our personal relationship with God and gain access to heaven through keeping the Ten Commandments. We must keep one another believing and behaving that we are only saved from our sin by God’s loving grace through the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We hold on to the truth of God’s gift of the Ten Commandments only if we see them as a way of glorifying God by living His way.
We each might not need much help from one another to hold on to a few of the Ten Commandments like making and bowing down to a carved image or taking the name of the Lord in vain or honoring father and mother. A few of us might need help, but not most of us.
However, the other seven Commandments might very well need us to help one another hold on to the truth that these, while not the way to salvation, are very important to God and disobeying them runs counter to our redemption in Christ. For example, having no other Gods can mean not giving anything honor and power in our lives, including superstitions and bank accounts, neither of which are as effective as trusting God to take care of things.
Beyond the Ten Commandments, we can help one another stay true to all other aspects of our faith. We just need to be aware of one another’s progress in adopting truth to life and not stand by and let them slip from becoming stronger in profound faith.
The need to actively hold to truth together can be easily seen by the slipperiness of New Year’s resolutions. We hardly ever hold on to such important and deeply desired declarations. In the same way, we may try trusting God with something and even see Him answer our prayers, just as we might have a resolution to get down to a certain body weight and lose some significant pounds. But, then for whatever reason we stop trusting God with that thing and, in the other example, we gain back the weight we lost.
Many other Togethers have a part to play when we help one another push faith further into truth-based spiritual life. All along the journey of growth in our spirits, it is critical to use this Together of holding to truth together. We must stay firm to the new heights of truth actualized in our lives. Otherwise, like short-lived, exciting fads, they will disappear.
The best way to hold to the truth together is to keep on growing our faith with expanded truth. When we implement truth that started by just knowing about it, we make it harder to lose the knowledge of that truth. Making it a part of how we live, it becomes a part of us.
The truth we hold on to with one another’s help begins with the knowledge that we have eternal life through Jesus Christ and the gracious love of God. Yet, knowing that we are new spiritual creatures in Christ has no holding power without going beyond to make our spirits like Jesus’ spirit. And, so, we hold on to truth together by always acting like we are no longer corrupted spirits with damaged bodies. We are new spiritual creations in Jesus with damaged bodies that hold us in this world until our work for God is done and He decides to bring us to heaven.
For example, there is one body of truth about how God wants us to live that we need to hold on to together, and that is what is encompassed in the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:1-17). First, and more needed than we recognize, is to never let any of us think that such a holy life brings us to God, that we earn our personal relationship with God and gain access to heaven through keeping the Ten Commandments. We must keep one another believing and behaving that we are only saved from our sin by God’s loving grace through the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We hold on to the truth of God’s gift of the Ten Commandments only if we see them as a way of glorifying God by living His way.
We each might not need much help from one another to hold on to a few of the Ten Commandments like making and bowing down to a carved image or taking the name of the Lord in vain or honoring father and mother. A few of us might need help, but not most of us.
However, the other seven Commandments might very well need us to help one another hold on to the truth that these, while not the way to salvation, are very important to God and disobeying them runs counter to our redemption in Christ. For example, having no other Gods can mean not giving anything honor and power in our lives, including superstitions and bank accounts, neither of which are as effective as trusting God to take care of things.
Beyond the Ten Commandments, we can help one another stay true to all other aspects of our faith. We just need to be aware of one another’s progress in adopting truth to life and not stand by and let them slip from becoming stronger in profound faith.
But we should continue following the truth [or live up to the standard] we already have.
Phil 3:16 (Expanded Bible)
Phil 3:16 (Expanded Bible)
Only in the close, frequent and transparent personal relationships of Christian friendships, Christian families, and Christian marriages can we effectively hold to the truth together. The signs of truth slipping from our lives can be noticed by Christians with whom we are close. Then, in these trusting relationships effective action can be taken. By the time a Christian’s hold on truth has diminished enough to be noticed in large fellowships of believers, it is almost always either too late or much more difficult to reverse.
It certainly is easiest to consider another’s faith his or her own business as long as they believe the basic truths. But, the need is so much greater than that. Instead of assuming that we are all holding on tightly to truth, we need to realize that more than the basic truths of salvation are at stake. All truth is important. And advancing in truth is essential to holding on to any truth.
Opportunity to Become More and More Like Jesus Christ
It certainly is easiest to consider another’s faith his or her own business as long as they believe the basic truths. But, the need is so much greater than that. Instead of assuming that we are all holding on tightly to truth, we need to realize that more than the basic truths of salvation are at stake. All truth is important. And advancing in truth is essential to holding on to any truth.
Opportunity to Become More and More Like Jesus Christ
Kathy and Penny were having lunch on a day when their husbands could watch the kids. Sometime during their conversation Kathy brought up that she was praying and meditating on the spiritual fruit of patience. She had a lot to share, but after a very short time Penny changed the subject off of faith, effectively signaling her disinterest in growing in truth.
Kathy was disappointed but not surprised. For the duration of their friendship Penny was disinterested in becoming more like Jesus. Kathy was never able to hold to truth together with Penny even though she could with most of the women in her Christian Inner Circle. With those others these conversations went on until Kathy and her friends thought they had something new about truth to think about that might develop their spirits to transform a little more into Jesus’ nature. |
We can become more and more like Jesus if we hold one another to truth. Holding to truth together is so extremely important that Jesus gave His revelation to the Apostle John, special delivery by an angel, with warnings to seven churches, with emphasis on “keeping what is written in the prophecy”.
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.
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Rev 1:1-3
Keeping or holding on to truth comes up in some of the warnings Jesus gives to the churches. To the church in Pergamum Jesus affirms their holding to the truth of Who He is, what His “name” means.
“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum, . . ‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.’”
Rev 2:12-13
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In His warning to the church in Sardis, Jesus shines light on the fact that they were once alive in the truth but are unaware that they are now dead. Like fresh water that silently becomes stagnant because of no movement, together the church members had not held to the truth they once had. In fact, it is not only that they did not hold to the truth they had, but they stopped short of completion in applied truth resulting in “works”.
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis, . . ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.’”
Rev 3:1-2
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Then, in His words to the church in Philadelphia, Jesus promised to protect them from great pain coming to the world because they held steadfast to the truth about patience. He also warned them to “hold fast” to all the truth they had.
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, . . ‘Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.’”
Rev 3:7, 10-11
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Jesus warned churches to hold to the truth together, exposing that individual effort was not enough. Actually, He used both affirmation and warning. Likewise, we should use both in holding one another to truth, especially those in our Christian Inner Circles.
Affirming others we are close to with regard to their strength in living specific truths helps them want to continue to grow their spirits further into biblical truth. We tend to hold on to those things we feel more valuable. If someone mentions that something we own has value as an antique, we want to hold on to it. Similarly, if we point out to one another that some spiritual truth works well in our lives, we will value it more.
While our warnings cannot be like those of Jesus’ in the book of Revelation with eternal judgment in mind, warnings of negative consequences can be very helpful in holding to truth together. Backing off from truth will always have some loss and requires warning from those who love us. We just have to get over thinking that we do not want to tell those in our Christian Inner Circles anything that will make their lives uncomfortable. We have to realize that in the long run, we make them a little less happy so that in the future they don’t miss out on much never-ending happiness.
Suppose a dad teaches his teenage daughter about making sure there is sufficient tread on the tires of her car. While she lives at home, he makes sure she holds to the trutsh he has taught her about keeping her car safe. When she remembers on her own to get new tires when they are needed, her father compliments her. But, if she comes home for Christmas vacation on unsafe tires, the father warns that her car is unsafe. She does not welcome his warning because she is hoping to spend her money on something other than tires. But, the loving father still warns her to continue to pay attention to and live the truth about safe tires.
Like the father with his daughter, we want to be as concerned that our Christian friends and family members hold to biblical truth. When we notice that truth is slipping away, we remind them of truth. Even the Apostle Paul did this with the Apostle Peter.
Affirming others we are close to with regard to their strength in living specific truths helps them want to continue to grow their spirits further into biblical truth. We tend to hold on to those things we feel more valuable. If someone mentions that something we own has value as an antique, we want to hold on to it. Similarly, if we point out to one another that some spiritual truth works well in our lives, we will value it more.
While our warnings cannot be like those of Jesus’ in the book of Revelation with eternal judgment in mind, warnings of negative consequences can be very helpful in holding to truth together. Backing off from truth will always have some loss and requires warning from those who love us. We just have to get over thinking that we do not want to tell those in our Christian Inner Circles anything that will make their lives uncomfortable. We have to realize that in the long run, we make them a little less happy so that in the future they don’t miss out on much never-ending happiness.
Suppose a dad teaches his teenage daughter about making sure there is sufficient tread on the tires of her car. While she lives at home, he makes sure she holds to the trutsh he has taught her about keeping her car safe. When she remembers on her own to get new tires when they are needed, her father compliments her. But, if she comes home for Christmas vacation on unsafe tires, the father warns that her car is unsafe. She does not welcome his warning because she is hoping to spend her money on something other than tires. But, the loving father still warns her to continue to pay attention to and live the truth about safe tires.
Like the father with his daughter, we want to be as concerned that our Christian friends and family members hold to biblical truth. When we notice that truth is slipping away, we remind them of truth. Even the Apostle Paul did this with the Apostle Peter.
But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Gal 2:14
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Let’s be like Jesus in urging one another to hold on to the truth we have attained. Let’s be free with affirmations for strong faith and not avoid warnings about weak faith.
Opportunity to Worship God
Opportunity to Worship God
The people of Downtown Church hold to the truth together. They study the Bible in just about every church gathering. They remind one another of the truth whenever they have contact.
When 84-year-old Mr. Stephens was crying the other day in church, the pastor stopped the service and asked him what was the matter. (Everyone loves Mr. Stephens!) Through tears Mr. Stephens said that he was tired of living and wanted to go Home. Then Rev. Johnson asked people in the congregation, as they were led by the Holy Spirit, to share with Mr. Stephens verses of scripture that assured him that heaven would wait for him as well as verses that promised strength. Since he was so hard of hearing, individuals had to leave their pews and come stand right in front of him to speak loudly. That morning Downtown Church worshiped in action when they reminded Mr. Stephens of the faith he had held on to so long. It reflected God’s nature because God constantly reminds His people of truth. |
God continually does things to help us hold on to truth. After all, it is His truth and very important to Him.
God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
Exodus 3:15
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Wisdom is holding on to truth.
My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
Prov 2:1-5
and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
Prov 2:1-5
God has wonderfully given us Christian relationships to keep us from straying from the truth. When we help one another hold on to truth, we reflect back to God His own actions and that is worship. When we persevere in the truth, we worship God by reflecting back to Him that He is truth. When we hold to the truth together we reflect back to God his nature which never, not ever, strays from the truth.
In any Christian Inner Circle there should be at least one who holds to the truth sincerely and stubbornly. This is not the one who gets overly emotional, as such a believer might be trying to convince himself or herself by the force of expression. Peacefulness accompanies certainty. The person who can effectively help others hold to the truth is the believer who can calmly explain the truth and exhibit trust in that truth by quietly living it.
It is important that Christians in any friendship group or family understand that it is their responsibility to help others hold to the truth. They must not think that going to church will get the job done. Close, transparent relationships that are faithful to truth and obedient to the Scriptures of the Togethers are necessary for effective tenacity to truth.
This process where those solid in faith and truth step up to help others struggling with doubt becomes dynamic. Those helped to become more certain in the truth will then begin similarly helping others hold to truth. Soon, almost everybody in a Christian friendship group or family will be helping everyone else hold to and get an expanded grasp on truth. There will be fewer and fewer people struggling with truth and hindered in their faith. The process of helping others hold on to their faith is worship. Furthermore, those who emerge more solid in the faith will live in expanded ways that will glorify God even more.
But there are some ways to hold to the truth together that are not worship.
Judgmental and harsh interaction with those who doubt or have changed their position on truth is not worship, but just the opposite. When we judge, we usurp God’s privilege. Doing something God reserves for Himself is disrespectful and certainly not worship.
In any Christian Inner Circle there should be at least one who holds to the truth sincerely and stubbornly. This is not the one who gets overly emotional, as such a believer might be trying to convince himself or herself by the force of expression. Peacefulness accompanies certainty. The person who can effectively help others hold to the truth is the believer who can calmly explain the truth and exhibit trust in that truth by quietly living it.
It is important that Christians in any friendship group or family understand that it is their responsibility to help others hold to the truth. They must not think that going to church will get the job done. Close, transparent relationships that are faithful to truth and obedient to the Scriptures of the Togethers are necessary for effective tenacity to truth.
This process where those solid in faith and truth step up to help others struggling with doubt becomes dynamic. Those helped to become more certain in the truth will then begin similarly helping others hold to truth. Soon, almost everybody in a Christian friendship group or family will be helping everyone else hold to and get an expanded grasp on truth. There will be fewer and fewer people struggling with truth and hindered in their faith. The process of helping others hold on to their faith is worship. Furthermore, those who emerge more solid in the faith will live in expanded ways that will glorify God even more.
But there are some ways to hold to the truth together that are not worship.
Judgmental and harsh interaction with those who doubt or have changed their position on truth is not worship, but just the opposite. When we judge, we usurp God’s privilege. Doing something God reserves for Himself is disrespectful and certainly not worship.
For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”
and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”
Heb 10:30 (NIV)
and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”
Heb 10:30 (NIV)
Disagreeing forcefully and arguing is also not God’s way of helping us hold to the truth. Patiently hearing another out and then calmly presenting the truth as we know it is more like God and, thus, worship.
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth;
for the Lord has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.” “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” |
Isaiah 1:2, 18-20
Let’s hold to the truth together like God holds us to the truth. Let’s worship Him that way.
How Used in Battle to Defeat Evil and Satan
How Used in Battle to Defeat Evil and Satan
Patty and Jimmy had a terrible marriage. It was contentious and cold and both thought of divorce. However, they kept reminding each other that God makes it clear in the Bible that He wanted them to make their marriage work. And, so, they enlisted all of their close Christian friends and relatives to battle Satan’s attempt to tear them apart. They asked for prayer and encouragement around holding true to Scripture. They went to a few Christian counselors until they found one that helped them design a new marriage around the purpose of helping one another enjoy God and life and become all that God wanted them to be as individuals and as a marriage.
Once they established a loving and gentle marital relationship, Jimmy and Patty sought out other marriages in crisis and held them to the truth that God can help them stay together. |
From the very beginning of the human race the devil has sewn doubt into the minds of believers in order to bend them to his rebellious designs. He did not start out with Eve in the Garden of Eden offering tea and crumpets. Satan dove right in to distort the little truth God had shared with them.
God mentioned that there was a tree in the middle of the garden from which they were not to eat. Clearly spoken by their Creator, the tree would bring knowledge of good and evil. God did not want them to add evil to their knowledge base because it would be dangerous for their welfare, even as it is for us today.
Using deceptively attractive questions, the serpent Satan proposed another truth. And here is the evidence that this Together to hold to the truth together is so very important.
God mentioned that there was a tree in the middle of the garden from which they were not to eat. Clearly spoken by their Creator, the tree would bring knowledge of good and evil. God did not want them to add evil to their knowledge base because it would be dangerous for their welfare, even as it is for us today.
Using deceptively attractive questions, the serpent Satan proposed another truth. And here is the evidence that this Together to hold to the truth together is so very important.
EVERY EVIL, EVERY PAIN WE EXPERIENCE,
EVERYTHING WRONG WITH OUR WORLD CAME ABOUT
BECAUSE ADAM AND EVE DID NOT HOLD TO TRUTH TOGETHER.
EVERYTHING WRONG WITH OUR WORLD CAME ABOUT
BECAUSE ADAM AND EVE DID NOT HOLD TO TRUTH TOGETHER.
Since Adam and Eve’s first days, God has revealed truth upon truth to counteract the evil brought on us by that original sin that passes into each human from those first disobedient parents. And, the devil has not changed. He will try to distort the truth God shares with us in Scripture to fill us with doubts.
We must pay attention that Satan wants to take away whatever good God wants. The evil one’s design is to disgrace God by promoting disbelief, disregard, and disobedience. While we are most concerned about the devil not making our lives miserable, before that we should not want him to disgrace God through us. Holding to the truth together defeats the devil’s goals to have us not live for God’s glory and be miserable by steering us away from the truth that can set us free.
Believers in their Christian friendships, Christian families, and Christian marriages can present the truth in ways that resolve confusion. If these basic groups of the church can establish an atmosphere without judgment, then people will be able to freely express their doubts and receive patient responses and teaching.
The more we ponder Christian truth together, the more there is to find. Just when we think we have mastered the operation of a passage of Scripture we find the Holy Spirit teaching us another application which is harder to put into practice. With a biblical climate of acceptance without judgment, we can hold tighter to the truth while together we delve into it more thoroughly.
And as this happens, the devil will fight us. He will be prowling in the jungle of our desires to devour the truth we believe. He will tempt us to play down the truth to please those unbelievers important to us. He will tempt us to not take our faith so seriously for the comfort of other Christians who want to avoid truth so they can do whatever they want. Therefore, those of us who want to embrace the growth of our spirits toward God and heaven must help one another by holding to truth together.
It is the lasting relationships in our Christian Inner Circles that are necessary for the long term resolution of doubt which comes from our inability to know more fully the truth that is addressed in Scripture. It is these closer people who will stick by us throughout our doubts, realizing that we might not yet be able to understand the level of truth necessary. We might resist because the new biblical insight would make an unwanted claim on our lives. Or it might be that understanding the truth contradicts a strong personal philosophy, bias or prejudice. Or the truth might not be readily accepted because we cannot yet fit it into the larger understanding of theology. With time together, Christian friends, family members or spouse will eventually understand existing doubt and identify what blocks our understanding of the scriptural truth in question. Then friends, family members and spouse can effectively address the source of uncertainty.
It is in transparent Christian friendships, families and marriages that misunderstandings of Scripture come to light. During interactions, someone's misunderstanding of Scripture will peek through, exposing a lack of clear understanding. When a person has applied Scripture in an incorrect way, those who love that believer the most are the best to teach a more accurate application.
It is obeying truth that Satan does not want. He tempts us to know truth and feel fulfilled without implementing it in our lives. When we are satisfied with knowing truth, meaning “knowing about truth”, Satan wins. For example, if we know the fact that God is omnipresent, meaning everywhere, the devil will do all he can to create distractions so that we will not realize our Lord is by our side, whether we are accused unjustly or face-to-face with a bear. He does not mind that we know God is with us always, he just doesn’t want us “acting” on this truth.
The kind of “know” that truly defeats Satan is truth acted upon. The Greek word used in John 8:32 for “know” means practiced truth, truth known through experience.
We must pay attention that Satan wants to take away whatever good God wants. The evil one’s design is to disgrace God by promoting disbelief, disregard, and disobedience. While we are most concerned about the devil not making our lives miserable, before that we should not want him to disgrace God through us. Holding to the truth together defeats the devil’s goals to have us not live for God’s glory and be miserable by steering us away from the truth that can set us free.
Believers in their Christian friendships, Christian families, and Christian marriages can present the truth in ways that resolve confusion. If these basic groups of the church can establish an atmosphere without judgment, then people will be able to freely express their doubts and receive patient responses and teaching.
The more we ponder Christian truth together, the more there is to find. Just when we think we have mastered the operation of a passage of Scripture we find the Holy Spirit teaching us another application which is harder to put into practice. With a biblical climate of acceptance without judgment, we can hold tighter to the truth while together we delve into it more thoroughly.
And as this happens, the devil will fight us. He will be prowling in the jungle of our desires to devour the truth we believe. He will tempt us to play down the truth to please those unbelievers important to us. He will tempt us to not take our faith so seriously for the comfort of other Christians who want to avoid truth so they can do whatever they want. Therefore, those of us who want to embrace the growth of our spirits toward God and heaven must help one another by holding to truth together.
It is the lasting relationships in our Christian Inner Circles that are necessary for the long term resolution of doubt which comes from our inability to know more fully the truth that is addressed in Scripture. It is these closer people who will stick by us throughout our doubts, realizing that we might not yet be able to understand the level of truth necessary. We might resist because the new biblical insight would make an unwanted claim on our lives. Or it might be that understanding the truth contradicts a strong personal philosophy, bias or prejudice. Or the truth might not be readily accepted because we cannot yet fit it into the larger understanding of theology. With time together, Christian friends, family members or spouse will eventually understand existing doubt and identify what blocks our understanding of the scriptural truth in question. Then friends, family members and spouse can effectively address the source of uncertainty.
It is in transparent Christian friendships, families and marriages that misunderstandings of Scripture come to light. During interactions, someone's misunderstanding of Scripture will peek through, exposing a lack of clear understanding. When a person has applied Scripture in an incorrect way, those who love that believer the most are the best to teach a more accurate application.
It is obeying truth that Satan does not want. He tempts us to know truth and feel fulfilled without implementing it in our lives. When we are satisfied with knowing truth, meaning “knowing about truth”, Satan wins. For example, if we know the fact that God is omnipresent, meaning everywhere, the devil will do all he can to create distractions so that we will not realize our Lord is by our side, whether we are accused unjustly or face-to-face with a bear. He does not mind that we know God is with us always, he just doesn’t want us “acting” on this truth.
The kind of “know” that truly defeats Satan is truth acted upon. The Greek word used in John 8:32 for “know” means practiced truth, truth known through experience.
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him,
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32
“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31-32
To hold to the truth together and defeat Satan, we must not be satisfied that our friends, family members, and husband or wife can spit out correct doctrine or memorized verses. Certainly, it is reassuring to hear these statements of faith. However, the negative designs of Satan will be defeated only by faithful actions true to the truth of our faith. We must hold to the truth together by applied faith, not just verbalized faith. The risk to our welfare with a devil that seeks to devour is too great to settle for anything but faith lived.
When the devil notices that we take truth seriously to the point of living it, he will try his best to divert our attention from truth. He will try to get us to act on our materialistic and sensual desires. If he is successful because we have not held one another to the truth, truth will be disgraced.
When the devil notices that we take truth seriously to the point of living it, he will try his best to divert our attention from truth. He will try to get us to act on our materialistic and sensual desires. If he is successful because we have not held one another to the truth, truth will be disgraced.
And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them
the way of truth will be blasphemed.
2 Peter 2:2
the way of truth will be blasphemed.
2 Peter 2:2
Many other Togethers help us focus our lives on the right things instead of our sensual desire for things and experiences. We must defeat Satan’s attempts in our minds to deny or distort truth. We must defeat Satan’s attempts to have us stop short of living out the truth we say we believe. And, we must defeat Satan’s attempts to detour us from putting truth into action.
Let’s put the rout to Satan by holding to the faith together, starting with belief and not being satisfied until that turns into lifestyle.
How in the Sinful Environment this Together Prepares Us for Heaven
Let’s put the rout to Satan by holding to the faith together, starting with belief and not being satisfied until that turns into lifestyle.
How in the Sinful Environment this Together Prepares Us for Heaven
Rodney had been quite unhappy with his job for a long time. His Christian friends at work did not enjoy their tedious assembly-line jobs either, but they did not constantly complain as did Rodney.
One lunchtime when Rodney was sick with the flu and absent, these friends discussed Rodney’s misery. They knew that there were few jobs in their area and that they were all stuck where they were unless they wanted to uproot their families and move away from generations of relatives. So, they asked themselves why they, too, were not as unhappy as Rodney. They had never thought of it before, but it came to them that they must be living under some other truth that enabled them to enjoy life in spite of their jobs. When these friends concluded that they lived for relationships with people and opportunities to serve God, they realized that Rodney had lost his spiritual direction. They reviewed all of the truths from the Bible that led them to put their joy in things higher than job satisfaction. And, they decided to slowly but surely lead Rodney back to the truths in the Bible that helped them all cope with boring jobs. Without knowing it, these friends were holding one another to truth and preparing for heaven. |
In heaven we will not have to hold to truth together. Without sin, we will not forget the truth we already know. The devil will no longer be able to challenge truth, and differences in understanding of doctrine among the people of God will be cleared up.
But it is likely that we will still be useful to one another in helping others step out further in their unchallenged faith. Even now it is not sinful to not exercise faith we do not yet have. For example, a Christian praises God for providing adequate income. His or her family has enough money for their basic needs. But, then, a job is lost and future income becomes uncertain. The believer who could praise God when things were good cannot so easily trust in God when things are going bad. That Christian’s faith in God is as strong as it has ever been, just not as strong as it soon will be after others in his or her Christian Inner Circle hold to the truth together that God can be trusted.
Why wouldn’t that happen in heaven? Don’t we think that we will grow in our faith in heaven? Satan’s lie in the Garden of Eden was that we could become like God. Do we believe that same deception of the devil? Do we believe that just by entering heaven we will have the completeness of God? It is far more likely that we have in front of us a wonderful life of continual discovery in matters of faith.
Those of us who take seriously the need to hold to the truth together will enter heaven with the skills to work with others who match our level of spiritual truth. Together we will push that truth even further. We will also be more able to help those with less understanding so they advance and absorb truth further.
So, how can we prepare for heaven by holding to the truth together now? In contemporary Christian culture it is easy to be content to “know about” truth and practice only truth with little risk. Not so aware that truth from the Bible can be assertively stretched toward moving mountains, we are often content to use our faith to just cope with everyday life.
But God’s truth is power, much more than we tend to comprehend. Take for example the truth we all hold that Jesus rose from the dead. Although the Bible talks about resurrection power, we go no further with it than using that truth to feel saved. But, that is only the beginning of resurrection power.
But it is likely that we will still be useful to one another in helping others step out further in their unchallenged faith. Even now it is not sinful to not exercise faith we do not yet have. For example, a Christian praises God for providing adequate income. His or her family has enough money for their basic needs. But, then, a job is lost and future income becomes uncertain. The believer who could praise God when things were good cannot so easily trust in God when things are going bad. That Christian’s faith in God is as strong as it has ever been, just not as strong as it soon will be after others in his or her Christian Inner Circle hold to the truth together that God can be trusted.
Why wouldn’t that happen in heaven? Don’t we think that we will grow in our faith in heaven? Satan’s lie in the Garden of Eden was that we could become like God. Do we believe that same deception of the devil? Do we believe that just by entering heaven we will have the completeness of God? It is far more likely that we have in front of us a wonderful life of continual discovery in matters of faith.
Those of us who take seriously the need to hold to the truth together will enter heaven with the skills to work with others who match our level of spiritual truth. Together we will push that truth even further. We will also be more able to help those with less understanding so they advance and absorb truth further.
So, how can we prepare for heaven by holding to the truth together now? In contemporary Christian culture it is easy to be content to “know about” truth and practice only truth with little risk. Not so aware that truth from the Bible can be assertively stretched toward moving mountains, we are often content to use our faith to just cope with everyday life.
But God’s truth is power, much more than we tend to comprehend. Take for example the truth we all hold that Jesus rose from the dead. Although the Bible talks about resurrection power, we go no further with it than using that truth to feel saved. But, that is only the beginning of resurrection power.
. . . that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
Phil 3:10-12
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Resurrection power, Paul says here in Philippians, is something we should want to strive to make our own. It is the power of Jesus’ resurrection that enables us to live as though we are already raised from the dead. Imagine the risks we can take if we realize that our spirits will never be apart from God.
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Gal2:20
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Just holding together to the truth that we possess resurrected spirits in which Jesus Christ has come to live, spirits that will never taste death and separation from God, allows us to live recklessly righteous. Holding to this wonderful truth of our own resurrection with Jesus that has already happened and mysteriously is yet to happen again prepares us to be more assertive in living for God and obeying all those Scriptures that make up the Togethers.
This one truth, held tightly by those in our Christian Inner Circles can transform us from timid spirits fearful of shadows to supernatural spirits unafraid of obeying God in confrontations with evil. If this is the great result of holding to one truth, imagine the transformation of our spirits when we hold one another to so many other scriptural truths.
Holding to truth together in our Christian friendships, Christian families, and Christian marriages is, therefore, something to be actively pursued. We can each identify at least one scriptural truth or principle we want to know more thoroughly and put into practice with increasing risk. We can help one another stick with that truth until it becomes a part of our very being, our spirits, not just in our heads. In this way we can help one another grasp and hold on to truth and gain a little more of that life that is truly life.
This one truth, held tightly by those in our Christian Inner Circles can transform us from timid spirits fearful of shadows to supernatural spirits unafraid of obeying God in confrontations with evil. If this is the great result of holding to one truth, imagine the transformation of our spirits when we hold one another to so many other scriptural truths.
Holding to truth together in our Christian friendships, Christian families, and Christian marriages is, therefore, something to be actively pursued. We can each identify at least one scriptural truth or principle we want to know more thoroughly and put into practice with increasing risk. We can help one another stick with that truth until it becomes a part of our very being, our spirits, not just in our heads. In this way we can help one another grasp and hold on to truth and gain a little more of that life that is truly life.
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. . . . Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
1Tim 6:12, 17-19
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Holding to truth together is essential preparation for heaven. Let’s together keep grasping more and more truth and holding it tightly so that it does not get away. Let’s pursue our life that is eternal now and blossoms more fully in heaven.
How this Together Can Make It Really Good in Heaven
How this Together Can Make It Really Good in Heaven
I came to heaven with an insatiable desire to increasingly know truth at deeper levels and apply it to my life through faith. And now I find myself teaching the course on Applied Truth at New Jerusalem University. There are so many who did not hold to truth with strong desire before coming here. They need to be taught that truth is alive and expands to make life more and more wonderful.
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Holding on to truth together assures a higher understanding and commitment to the truths revealed in the Bible. When we get to heaven, it seems illogical to think that those who did not cherish truth and hold on to it before death would all of a sudden be just like those who incorporated truth into their daily lives. Wishful thinking does not change all of the Bible’s admonitions to grow in grace and truth.
Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
1 Tim 4:7-8
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We will most likely be learning more and more truth for all of eternity. Never will we be omniscient as God is, knowing everything. But, we will all begin at the growing edge where our knowledge of the truth was at death. Holding on to the truth together now will just get us ahead on our eternal journey into expanding truth.
Perhaps in college or high school we found ourselves sitting in a class teaching us what we already knew. How boring that was. Heaven will likely be different. How good it will be to start right off learning more truth with the next questions hovering in the back of our minds rather than rehashing truth already incorporated into our lives.
Let’s take hope as our example. Hope is one of three things singled out at the end of First Corinthians 13 that remain eternally (along with faith and love). If hope in the Lord was known about and not much practiced in our lives before death, we will not have truly known the deeper truth about hope. We will have to learn in heaven what it means to live hope rather than merely know that it exists. It will be thrilling to finally live with hope producing excitement and joy.
Then there will be those of us who before death had already found that vibrant excitement and joy stemming from hope that God had something special for us coming our way soon. Entering heaven with that increased understanding of hope will pave the way for us to jump right into hope for the larger and brighter and unimaginably more wonderful things waiting for us there. This is why it is better for us together to hold on to truth about hope now. We can work with one another to grasp more and more truth about hope before we transition beyond death to all of those great things await for us.
There may be another really good reason to hold to and advance in truth together now.
Now and most likely in heaven, people enjoy the same thing in different intensities. Take a flower as an example. Most people know that a flower is attractive. That is knowing about the flower. But, a few know how the various parts of the flower work to produce seeds as well as understand photosynthesis. These people have held on to their fascination with the flower and gone on to learn more truth about it. Seeing more of the details of the flower leads to greater joy and wonderment at God’s creative mastery.
When we go beyond just knowing that the Bible says God created our world to understanding more and more of its details, we find miracles everywhere. We appreciate the Creator with true awe and the world opens up to us in ways we could never imagine.
Let’s hit the streets of heaven running because we held to truth together. Let’s look forward to learning more and more truth because we loved to find it and apply it before we died. And, let’s go to heaven with an appetite to understand everything about truth because we found before death that truth goes deeper and reveals more and more wonderful things.
Opportunity for a Closer Relationship with God through Empathy
Perhaps in college or high school we found ourselves sitting in a class teaching us what we already knew. How boring that was. Heaven will likely be different. How good it will be to start right off learning more truth with the next questions hovering in the back of our minds rather than rehashing truth already incorporated into our lives.
Let’s take hope as our example. Hope is one of three things singled out at the end of First Corinthians 13 that remain eternally (along with faith and love). If hope in the Lord was known about and not much practiced in our lives before death, we will not have truly known the deeper truth about hope. We will have to learn in heaven what it means to live hope rather than merely know that it exists. It will be thrilling to finally live with hope producing excitement and joy.
Then there will be those of us who before death had already found that vibrant excitement and joy stemming from hope that God had something special for us coming our way soon. Entering heaven with that increased understanding of hope will pave the way for us to jump right into hope for the larger and brighter and unimaginably more wonderful things waiting for us there. This is why it is better for us together to hold on to truth about hope now. We can work with one another to grasp more and more truth about hope before we transition beyond death to all of those great things await for us.
There may be another really good reason to hold to and advance in truth together now.
Now and most likely in heaven, people enjoy the same thing in different intensities. Take a flower as an example. Most people know that a flower is attractive. That is knowing about the flower. But, a few know how the various parts of the flower work to produce seeds as well as understand photosynthesis. These people have held on to their fascination with the flower and gone on to learn more truth about it. Seeing more of the details of the flower leads to greater joy and wonderment at God’s creative mastery.
When we go beyond just knowing that the Bible says God created our world to understanding more and more of its details, we find miracles everywhere. We appreciate the Creator with true awe and the world opens up to us in ways we could never imagine.
Let’s hit the streets of heaven running because we held to truth together. Let’s look forward to learning more and more truth because we loved to find it and apply it before we died. And, let’s go to heaven with an appetite to understand everything about truth because we found before death that truth goes deeper and reveals more and more wonderful things.
Opportunity for a Closer Relationship with God through Empathy
Here in heaven we are constantly aware of God’s presence. It is marvelous to feel Him near and hear Him through everything we experience. But those times when He addresses me by name in a private conversation are what I enjoy the best. Those talks are something we all wait for and cherish. But, God’s conversations are longer with some people than others. I am satisfied because I understand that mine are shorter because I did not cherish His truth as much as others before dying. When I saw my friends straying from the truth, I did not say anything to hold them to the truth. But, it’s okay. Don’t feel sorry for me. I understand why my visits are not as long. But, as I now grow in living truth, the visits are getting longer because Jesus and I have more to talk about.
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When we get together with a friend, what we have to talk about determines how long our visit will be. We will probably seek out those friends with whom we have most in common with us and spend more quality time with them. If we are walking along the sidewalk and run into someone we casually knew, we will stop and talk for a short period and be on our way. When we run out of things to say, the conversation will end. But, if we run into a college roommate, we may schedule a lunch together because we have so much in common and need a lot more time to talk.
What if it is like that in heaven? What if we go there not having cherished and held on tightly to the truths of the Bible? Why would Jesus come and spend a lot of time with us when we did not prove our interest in Him before death? Of course, in heaven we will have uncontested interest in truth, but it is possible that others who were more interested in Jesus will have priority for a visit from Him as well as longer conversations.
Actually, it is the same thing with prayer today. There are so many things we can talk with God about. But do we? When we run out of things to discuss with God, we sign off with our “Amen”. If we sign off quickly in prayer, might not God do similarly in heaven, whether that visit is in person or only in our minds?
Even now God can only talk to us in our thoughts just a little further than the level of truth we have grown to understand. If we think that we know doctrine so well that we have no questions to talk over with God, our relationship with Him will become stale and less substantial. However, God is Someone we know all too little. We can constantly be asking Him to reveal more about Himself. Together we can hold on to God to the extent we have all come to know Him. We can learn of our Lord from one another. There are many advanced ways we each have developed our relationship with Jesus. Together we can seek to know Him even better by sharing the truth we have learned and applied. What a loss if a Christian Inner Circle knows God little more than they did a year ago.
Holding on to truth and expanding it by grasping for it together can lead to a much more satisfying relationship with God in heaven. Remember that everyone there will be content with their level of closeness with God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is not hard to understand. When one of us has spent more time doing things and talking about life with an aunt or uncle, we others are usually content with our not-as-close relationship. We still enjoy our visits with the aunt or uncle without remorse because we understand why that other cousin has the closer relationship.
In heaven when Jesus comes to talk with us in a group, He will start by talking to all of us. But then, when the topic has gone beyond the understanding of some, Jesus will see the blank looks on their faces. After that, He will continue the conversation only with those who seem to understand, whose knowledge of the truth is at the deeper level about which He is talking.
This is like a guest speaker talking to a classroom of fourth graders. At the start, everybody has a hand up to ask a question. Little by little there are less hands until there are just a couple of kids with questions. At the end of the presentation, the guest speaker is having a conversation only with those few.
Seeking truth and holding on to it together is what we want to do. The greatest joy in heaven is God Himself. We should want to know as much about Him as we can before we meet Him in His home. And, we want to be able to have lengthy conversations with Him because we have broadened our understanding of truth by living it in our lives because it is true.
Praise and Prayer Regarding this Together
All truth comes from You, O God, and I praise you for every kernel I know and practice. Your words are the treasure of life. Help me and those Christians I am close to know more and more truth and increasingly practice it. Empower us through the Holy Spirit to hold one another to the truth we have gained. Help us not to stray so we will lead lives of strong faith that glorifies You.
I and those in my Christian Inner Circle will need Your help so that our spirits will want to help one another hold to the truth and expand it when powered by doubts. Help us to look to the Holy Spirit to expand our faith beyond our doubts when they arise.
Please help us all to become more like Jesus by being concerned about holding to the truth together in our Christian friendships, Christian families and Christian marriages. He warned us to do so in His messages to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation, and we need Your help to heed His warning and be sure to urge one another on to hold on to the truth we have attained.
May our lives worship You more because we let Your wisdom guide our lives. We want to reflect that You never, ever stray from truth.
Make us strong in Your power to defeat the devil by holding to the truth together and not yielding to Satan’s standard practice of promoting disbelief, disregard, and disobedience. Aid us in keeping the evil one from disgracing You by success in detouring us from the truth.
Help us all to prepare for heaven by growing more completely to value and hold on to truth. Take us into more truth though our doubts. Let us enter heaven with spirits that seek more and more truth as it will be revealed to us in eternal life.
Ever increasing practice of the Togethers of Scripture will (1) create in you the loving essence of Jesus, (2) give Jesus the kind of love He requested, (3) provide you with the most significant spiritual lifestyle which is attainable only through Christian community, (4) offer significant worship to God by reflecting his own character back to him through your behavior, and (5) bring God’s kingdom to earth as asked for in the Lord’s Prayer. And for heaven, such growing obedience to Scripture now will later (6) qualify you for a more responsible place of service as reward in heaven, and, (7) most important of all, give you greater empathy with God for a closer relationship with Him for all of eternity.
What if it is like that in heaven? What if we go there not having cherished and held on tightly to the truths of the Bible? Why would Jesus come and spend a lot of time with us when we did not prove our interest in Him before death? Of course, in heaven we will have uncontested interest in truth, but it is possible that others who were more interested in Jesus will have priority for a visit from Him as well as longer conversations.
Actually, it is the same thing with prayer today. There are so many things we can talk with God about. But do we? When we run out of things to discuss with God, we sign off with our “Amen”. If we sign off quickly in prayer, might not God do similarly in heaven, whether that visit is in person or only in our minds?
Even now God can only talk to us in our thoughts just a little further than the level of truth we have grown to understand. If we think that we know doctrine so well that we have no questions to talk over with God, our relationship with Him will become stale and less substantial. However, God is Someone we know all too little. We can constantly be asking Him to reveal more about Himself. Together we can hold on to God to the extent we have all come to know Him. We can learn of our Lord from one another. There are many advanced ways we each have developed our relationship with Jesus. Together we can seek to know Him even better by sharing the truth we have learned and applied. What a loss if a Christian Inner Circle knows God little more than they did a year ago.
Holding on to truth and expanding it by grasping for it together can lead to a much more satisfying relationship with God in heaven. Remember that everyone there will be content with their level of closeness with God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is not hard to understand. When one of us has spent more time doing things and talking about life with an aunt or uncle, we others are usually content with our not-as-close relationship. We still enjoy our visits with the aunt or uncle without remorse because we understand why that other cousin has the closer relationship.
In heaven when Jesus comes to talk with us in a group, He will start by talking to all of us. But then, when the topic has gone beyond the understanding of some, Jesus will see the blank looks on their faces. After that, He will continue the conversation only with those who seem to understand, whose knowledge of the truth is at the deeper level about which He is talking.
This is like a guest speaker talking to a classroom of fourth graders. At the start, everybody has a hand up to ask a question. Little by little there are less hands until there are just a couple of kids with questions. At the end of the presentation, the guest speaker is having a conversation only with those few.
Seeking truth and holding on to it together is what we want to do. The greatest joy in heaven is God Himself. We should want to know as much about Him as we can before we meet Him in His home. And, we want to be able to have lengthy conversations with Him because we have broadened our understanding of truth by living it in our lives because it is true.
Praise and Prayer Regarding this Together
All truth comes from You, O God, and I praise you for every kernel I know and practice. Your words are the treasure of life. Help me and those Christians I am close to know more and more truth and increasingly practice it. Empower us through the Holy Spirit to hold one another to the truth we have gained. Help us not to stray so we will lead lives of strong faith that glorifies You.
I and those in my Christian Inner Circle will need Your help so that our spirits will want to help one another hold to the truth and expand it when powered by doubts. Help us to look to the Holy Spirit to expand our faith beyond our doubts when they arise.
Please help us all to become more like Jesus by being concerned about holding to the truth together in our Christian friendships, Christian families and Christian marriages. He warned us to do so in His messages to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation, and we need Your help to heed His warning and be sure to urge one another on to hold on to the truth we have attained.
May our lives worship You more because we let Your wisdom guide our lives. We want to reflect that You never, ever stray from truth.
Make us strong in Your power to defeat the devil by holding to the truth together and not yielding to Satan’s standard practice of promoting disbelief, disregard, and disobedience. Aid us in keeping the evil one from disgracing You by success in detouring us from the truth.
Help us all to prepare for heaven by growing more completely to value and hold on to truth. Take us into more truth though our doubts. Let us enter heaven with spirits that seek more and more truth as it will be revealed to us in eternal life.
Ever increasing practice of the Togethers of Scripture will (1) create in you the loving essence of Jesus, (2) give Jesus the kind of love He requested, (3) provide you with the most significant spiritual lifestyle which is attainable only through Christian community, (4) offer significant worship to God by reflecting his own character back to him through your behavior, and (5) bring God’s kingdom to earth as asked for in the Lord’s Prayer. And for heaven, such growing obedience to Scripture now will later (6) qualify you for a more responsible place of service as reward in heaven, and, (7) most important of all, give you greater empathy with God for a closer relationship with Him for all of eternity.