ARE YOU ON THE SIDE OF TRUTH? Part 5, No. 523
ARE YOU ON THE SIDE OF TRUTH?
Part 5
“O that there were such an heart in them,
that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always,
that it might be well with them, and with their children forever”
(Deuteronomy 5:29).
TRUTH KEEPERS
We read so many Scriptures about keeping the truth. The Hebrew word is shamar and means “to guard, protect, watch over, take heed to, observe.” To guard that we don’t forget God’s truth, we must attend to it daily and never let it go.
Deuteronomy 5:29 reminds us to keep God’s truth “always,” not only when it suits us.
Deuteronomy 6:17; 11:22; and Psalm 119:4 remind us to keep God’s truth “diligently.”
Deuteronomy 7:9 reminds us to keep God’s truth “to a thousand generations.” We must be faithful to pass it on from one generation to the next.
Psalm 119:33 reminds us to keep God’s truth “unto the end.”
Deuteronomy 26:6; Psalm 119:34; and 69 remind us to keep God’s truth with “all thine heart, and with all thy soul.”
Psalm 119:44 reminds us to keep God’s truth “continually, forever and ever.”
Psalm 119:63 and 115 remind us to be “a companion” of truth keepers. Find friends who are truth keepers. Encourage your children to look for a spouse who is a truth keeper.
I love Isaiah 26:2 “Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.” It is the nation the keeps truth that receives God’s blessings. And that consists of families that keep His truths. Oh how we need to be praying for our nation today.
- TRUTH KNOWERS
Many Christians love to quote the familiar Scripture in John 8:32: “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” However, we don’t experience real freedom until we know the truth. It’s not enough to hear it at church. We must get to know it personally and then we walk in the freedom God intends for us
Proverbs 22:20, 21: “Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightiest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?” Read also Psalm 119:79; Isaiah 38: 19; John 8:32; 1 Timothy 2:3, 4; and 1 John 5:20.
- TRUTH LEARNERS
Deuteronomy 5:1: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.”
Psalm 119:7: “I will praise thee with uprightness of heart when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.”
Psalm 119:71: “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.”
Psalm 119:73: “Thy hands have made me and fashioned me: give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.”
- TRUTH LOVERS
Psalm 119:127: “I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.”
Ten times the psalmist expresses His love for God’s truth: Psalm 119:47, 48, 97, 113, 119, 127, 140, 159, 163, and 167. Do we really love them as much as gold and riches? Do we spend as much time searching God’s Word as acquiring possessions?
What is the sign of being in love? To spend every moment with the one we love. Therefore, if we truly love the truth, we will constantly and diligently search for God’s truth in His Word.
Psalm 119:167 is the psalmist’s testimony: “My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly.” Is this your testimony too?
Zechariah 8:19: “Love the truth and peace.”
- TRUTH MEDITATORS
Eight times the psalmist talks about meditating in God’s word in Psalm 119:15, 23, 27, 48, 78, 97, 99, and 148. The word is siyach and means “to ponder, meditate, commune, and muse, but it also means to declare, speak, and to talk.” Bible meditation is not silent. Speak out and tell people about the truths on which you are meditating.
Psalm 77:12: “I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.”
- TRUTH OBEYERS
Truth is ineffective unless we obey it: Psalm 119:166; Galatians 3:1; 5:7; James 1:22-25; and 1 Peter 1:22.
- TRUTH PENETRATORS
Deuteronomy 6:6, 7 (AMPC) tells us specifically how to teach God’s truth to our children: “And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be (first) in your (own) minds and hearts; (then) you shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the (minds and ) hearts of your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.” Are you penetrating God’s Word into your children’s minds and hearts?
- TRUTH PERSUADERS
Paul not only shared the truth but persuaded (with convincing arguments) his hearers. To make the truth known, we must first know it. We must be ready to combat the arguments that are thrown at us. Make Apologetics an important subject in your children’s homeschool curriculum.
Acts 19:8: Paul “went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.” Read also Acts 13:43; 18:4; 28:23; and 2 Corinthians 5:11.
PRAYER:
“Oh God of Truth, I want truth to be part of my life too. Help me to be a learner and meditator of Your truth so that I am ready to teach my children Your truth. I want to penetrate it into their very beings so they will never be pulled away by the deceptions of this world. Help be to be a faithful penetrator of Your truth. Amen.”
AFFIRMATION:
I love God’s Word exceedingly. It is my daily delight.
FURTHER STUDY:
No. 23. TRUTH KEEPERS
2 Timothy 1;14 (NLT): “Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.”
You will notice how many Scriptures there are about keeping God’s truth. As you read these Scriptures, look out for ALL the blessings God gives when we observe and keep His truths and statutes. Write down the blessings and share them to your children. I want to leave some study for you too. I was amazed as I noted them, and you will be too:
Genesis 18:19; Exodus 20:5, 6; Leviticus 18:26-30; 19:37; 20:8,22; 22:31; 25:18; 26:3-13; 1 Kings 2:3; 3:14; 6:12; 8:61; 9:4-7; 11:38; 2 Kings 17:37; and 21:8.
Deuteronomy 4:2, 6, 40; 5;1, 10, 8:1; 29; 6:2, 17; 7:9, 11, 12; 8:2, 6, 11; 10:12, 13; 11:1, 8, 22; 13:4, 17, 18; 26:16-19; 27:1; 28:9, 45; 29:9; 30:10, 16; Joshua 22:5, 6; and Nehemiah 1:9.
Psalm 19:7-11; 79:6, 7; 105:43-45; 119:2, 4, 5, 8, 17, 22, 33, 34, 44, 55, 56, 57, 60, 63, 67, 69, 88, 100, 101, 106, 115, 129, 134, 136, 145, 146, 167, and 168.
Proverbs 3:1; 4:13, 20-23; 6:20-23 ; 7:1-3; 8:32, 33; 10:17; 19;16; 28:7; 29:18; Ecclesiastes 8:5; 12;13; Ezekiel 11:20; 20;19; 36:27; and 44:24.
Luke 11:28; John 8:51; 14:15, 21, 23, 24; 15:10; 1 Timothy 6:14; 1 John 2:3-5;3:24; 5:2, 3; and Revelation 22:7.
Did you know, I am now doing a podcast for you each week called FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS w/ Nancy Campbell? I know you will be blessed and encouraged. Go to www.aboverubies.org and you’ll see the icon. Or go to http://ARPoddy.buzzsprout.com