Finding Gems

 

 Photo courtesy of Matt Seymour

 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. John 17:17

Have you ever been gem mining? My grandson always loved swishing a pan of sand in the water and finding little gems. The water helped the sand pass through the sieve, leaving the goodies in the pan. If the sieve had a hole in it or was coming loose from the side, the gemstones would slip through and be lost. That would never do. We needed a good sieve so he could come away with a nice pocket full of rocks.

Just like gem mining, we need a good sieve in life.  It's often hard to figure out the truth. We hear so many versions of "truth". Everyone has their own definition of truth. We are expected to affirm everyone's idea of truth. But do they know where their truth comes from? Do they know what purpose they serve in life? Pilot asked the question, "What is truth?" We need a good sieve to pass all this information through. One with no holes or loose edges that would allow an untruth to pass through into our hearts and minds. 

 Jesus said that God's word is truth. How do we filter everything through God's word? It's hard to understand. It's a big book. We don't have time. These are the typical excuses. My grandson didn't pour water over the pan of sand and just wait for the gems to appear. He had to swish it and dip it again and again. Each time he swished, he took out little treasures until he devoured the whole $15 bucket. So too, we must take little bits, letting the Water of Life swish over the words, revealing the gems a few at a time. Here are a few tips I use:

• Commit to reading one chapter each day, just one.
• Pray before reading to commit that chapter to God's revealing.
• Look for the gem, the one thing God is speaking to you about in the chapter.
• Journal your find.
• Write an application for yourself.
• Write a prayer about that application.
• Share your gem with someone else, a spouse, your family, a friend, etc. 

One find leads to another. As soon as my grandson finished one bucket of sand he always wanted more. When you begin to find the gems in God's word and apply them to your life and the things you hear and see and read, you too will be hungry for another chapter of truth. 

Heavenly Father, help us pass everything through the sieve of truth. Help us remember that Your word is true and that there is no other truth. Help us commit to allowing the Water of Life to reveal truth to us through Your word. In Jesus's name. Amen.

What is Truth?

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

When Jesus was brought before Pilate, Pilate asked if He were a king? Part of Jesus' answer was that He had come to bear witness to the truth. Pilate responded with the question "What is truth?" 

We all seem to hold to our own truth. We often base "truth" on 

• feelings - this just feels right, it's a good opportunity

I remember a song when I was growing up: "If loving you is wrong, I don't want to be right." Feelings get in the way of the truth.

• experiences - from life

Well, that's just the way I was raised. Culture gets in the way of truth.

• personal perceptions - our own reasoning

Well, I think... points 1., 2., 3. and we feel we've won the debate. Our perception of our own intelligence gets in the way of truth. 


In Jesus prayer for the disciples and us, He asked the Father to sanctify them through the truth, to make us holy. Then He says thy word is truth.

Satan uses several ploys to tempt us into believing a lie. 

• Lies
• Lusts
• Murders whether real or in thought or character assignation

Temptations lead us away from the truth and into sin that Satan will use to accuse us to the Father. (Rev. 12:10)

So how do we combat Satan's temptations? Ephesians 6:14 tells us to be gird about with the truth. When putting on armor, the girdle or belt holds all the rest of the armor together. Prov 3:5-6 tells us not to lean on our own understanding. 

As we see the new life of spring beginning, may we begin anew pledging our lives to the Truth. How?

• Hear it.
• Read it.
• Memorize it.

Finally humble ourselves beneath its authority. 

Can you think of ways our feelings or experiences, or our personal perceptions get in the way of our following the authority of the truth? What verses could we use to combat these lies from Satan?

Hey kids:

Where is your favorite quiet place? 

Yeah, that's a good one. 

Now, what's your favorite Bible verse? 

Do you have it memorized? 

Try this. 

• write the verse on a card
• take it to your favorite place
• take a stick and copy it in the dirt or sand or use chalk to write it on a rock
• make up a song using the verse

Can you read it with your eyes closed? 

Congratulations, you've memorized it!!

Blessings,

Gail

What Is Truth?

 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting;

and his truth endureth to all generations. Psalms 100:5

What is truth? Pilate asked Jesus this question. He didn't wait to here the answer. 

The picture on this blog of the apple blossom with the bee inside tells us a truth. An apple blossom opened and its sweet fragrance drew a bee. The bee is pollinating the apple blossom by dusting the pollen onto its body and dusting pollen from other apple trees onto the pistil of the apple blossom. From this pollination an apple will form which will be food for many creatures and people. It will also form seeds that will grow more apple trees. 

That's not the end of the picture. What about the bee? It will return to the hive with pollen to be made into honey to feed the hive and allow the queen to produce more bees to replenish the hive. The honey will also be food for other creatures and people. 

This is a very simple explanation of both processes, but it is plain that there must have been a plan for this to work so perfectly in tandem. Would we just pour liquids into a vial and wait until it exploded and expect to make something? We would never attempt even the most simple of tasks without first having a plan if we plan to succeed. 

Pilate asked the same question many people ask today. "What is truth?" Earlier Jesus, while praying to the Father declared "thy word is truth." (John 17:17).

So why is it we ask "What is truth?" when we have the truth probably in our own homes. But suppose we don't have a copy of God's word in our homes, Romans 1:20 says we are without excuse. That creation itself shows us the Godhead and His eternal power. You may say, but nature has evolved over millions of years. Why not consult the truth?

 Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created...

Hey Kids:

Our school session is winding down. We have learned so many things this year. Maybe you have learned about the rotation of the solar system. We daily observe that rotation by the rising and setting of the sun and the travel of the moon and stars across the night sky. But did you know the Bible says the earth is a circle? Isaiah 40:22

What truths can you discover by observing God's marvelous creation?

What things can you discover that are 3s like the Godhead? 

Hint: the sun

What things show love by sacrificing themselves?

Hint: animals with little ones.

What do the lives of animals like bees show us about God's truth? 

Hint: bee communication

Have fun this summer discovering truth

Gail