Truth part 1
I accidentally went a little ways down this rabbit hole in the last Rant series, and I figure I should probably go ahead and take a few days to really dig into it. Like my pastor always says, "Preach it until your heart is empty on it." And you guys know that I think the ultimate truth of the universe is found in John 3:35, "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." In other words, "God is love and He loves you." To me, that's it. That's the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the ending. That's the bottom line, and the top line. Most important, and final Word. God is love... and He loves you. That's the ultimate truth of the universe. And when we know (and believe) that truth... it changes everything. Because when we know that God the Father has given all things into our hand... that's when we can stop running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get something. That's when we can stop looking for love in all the wrong places. We can stop trying to earn something that can't be earned. We can begin to receive and release what we've been given. We can, well, let me quote Ephesians 4:24-25 again: "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another." Did you catch that? When you know the truth it sets you free and makes you free. When you know the truth you can ignore the lie. And when you know the truth... you can speak the truth! You receive it and release it. You receive it BY releasing it. Let me say it another way: "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). We were (all) reconciled. When Jesus was lifted up on the cross He drew all men unto Himself... and now we can let everybody know that. We can share that wonderful truth that we know. Because the ministry of reconciliation is NOT us trying to reconcile people to God. We just read that HE already did that for us. HE reconciled us to HIMSELF. All we need to do is let people know what happened 2,000 years ago on an old rugged cross. This idea that we need to do something in order to be saved... guys! Jesus is our Savior. He did all of the heavy lifting. Its not by our works, but by our faith in HIS works. The finished work of the cross. That's the truth of the matter. God took care of everything that needed taking care of. He gave us the ability to "put on" the new man. And I love that phrase "that ye put on" in Ephesians because it is number 1746 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "in the sense of sinking into a garment." We have already been clothed with the righteous and holy garment. We simply need to sink into it. Get comfortable wearing it. BE who we are. BE transformed by the renewing of our minds. By letting the mind of Christ (that's already in us) BE in us. Because the truth of the matter is: God is love and He loves you. Always has and always will. And that truth, that love, has equipped and empowered us to be who we are. To tell the truth, and to BE the truth! We are loved... and we are love!