The Truth Nothing But The Truth!
Reflection: “Tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth”, we offer hear in the courtroom as someone comes to testify. Yet often outside the court room truth telling can become elusive in our society today. Many manipulate the truth and subtly twist it to their own ends. The age we live in is characterized by a worldview of “relativism” where absolute truth is only a legend. Truth today is often based on one’s sincerity of what they believe to be true.
Today’s theme in our scripture is truth. The psalmist says, “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” Isaiah the prophet only spoke the truth to King Hezekiah, even when today it meant telling him he would not recover from his illness, though God would allow him to recover after his heartfelt prayer. And, in Acts, we see Stephen standing up before those who were supposed to be guarding the truth, and yet they brought false witnesses to try and discredit Stephen’s testimony. Why? Because he was speaking the truth and it was convicting them. They could not counter-argue against Stephen, because he spoke with God’s wisdom, which was based on the Truth.
The bible tells us the truth sets us free. It sets us free to live a life above reproach and allows us to have relationships based on the truth which leads to true intimacy, not false intimacy based on lies. We often hold back the truth to avoid conflict, but in the end it leads to a bigger conflict when we don’t come clean, as the truth always has a way of coming back out. It is like God’s “unfailing boomerang”.
Who do you need to speak the truth to today? A friend, a spouse, and how about God? This is what we call confession, when we pour our hearts to God admitting to Him first the things we have done wrong, and the good things we have failed to do. The bible tells us that confession heals our soul, which also leads to emotional and physical healing!
As you confess your sin today remember that Jesus, God’s Son went to the cross, so that as we confess our sins and believe in Jesus we are forgiven in His name. Then, we are given the great promise of truth, “As far as the east is from the west so your sins are forgiven.”
Thank you Jesus for forgiving as we confess the truth about who we are and who you are! Amen.
Psalm 145:17-21
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
2 Kings 19:29-20:21
Hezekiah’s Illness
20 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” 2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’” 7 Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered. 8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?” 9 Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?” 10 “It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.” 11 Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.
Envoys From Babylon
12 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah’s illness. 13 Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine olive oil—his armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them. 14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?” “From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came from Babylon.” 15 The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?” “They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.” 16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. 18 And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. 19 “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?” 20 As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 21 Hezekiah rested with his ancestors. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.
Acts 6:8-7:3
Stephen Seized
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. 11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” 12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” 15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin
7 Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?” 2 To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. 3 ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’
Do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth. Psalm 119:43
Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries. 1 Corinthians 4:1
O Master God, we are your servants. As Christ served this world, we strive to do the same. Lord, be patient as we try to honor you and speak your truth to all you call us to discover. Amen.
Today’s theme in our scripture is truth. The psalmist says, “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” Isaiah the prophet only spoke the truth to King Hezekiah, even when today it meant telling him he would not recover from his illness, though God would allow him to recover after his heartfelt prayer. And, in Acts, we see Stephen standing up before those who were supposed to be guarding the truth, and yet they brought false witnesses to try and discredit Stephen’s testimony. Why? Because he was speaking the truth and it was convicting them. They could not counter-argue against Stephen, because he spoke with God’s wisdom, which was based on the Truth.
The bible tells us the truth sets us free. It sets us free to live a life above reproach and allows us to have relationships based on the truth which leads to true intimacy, not false intimacy based on lies. We often hold back the truth to avoid conflict, but in the end it leads to a bigger conflict when we don’t come clean, as the truth always has a way of coming back out. It is like God’s “unfailing boomerang”.
Who do you need to speak the truth to today? A friend, a spouse, and how about God? This is what we call confession, when we pour our hearts to God admitting to Him first the things we have done wrong, and the good things we have failed to do. The bible tells us that confession heals our soul, which also leads to emotional and physical healing!
As you confess your sin today remember that Jesus, God’s Son went to the cross, so that as we confess our sins and believe in Jesus we are forgiven in His name. Then, we are given the great promise of truth, “As far as the east is from the west so your sins are forgiven.”
Thank you Jesus for forgiving as we confess the truth about who we are and who you are! Amen.
Psalm 145:17-21
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
2 Kings 19:29-20:21
Hezekiah’s Illness
20 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” 2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’” 7 Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered. 8 Hezekiah had asked Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me and that I will go up to the temple of the Lord on the third day from now?” 9 Isaiah answered, “This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?” 10 “It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.” 11 Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.
Envoys From Babylon
12 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah’s illness. 13 Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine olive oil—his armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them. 14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?” “From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came from Babylon.” 15 The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?” “They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.” 16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. 18 And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. 19 “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?” 20 As for the other events of Hezekiah’s reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 21 Hezekiah rested with his ancestors. And Manasseh his son succeeded him as king.
Acts 6:8-7:3
Stephen Seized
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. 11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” 12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” 15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin
7 Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?” 2 To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran. 3 ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’
Do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth. Psalm 119:43
Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries. 1 Corinthians 4:1
O Master God, we are your servants. As Christ served this world, we strive to do the same. Lord, be patient as we try to honor you and speak your truth to all you call us to discover. Amen.
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