February 2009
This month’s view
is for all those who see themselves in the
Valley of Decision during these trying times.
You may be looking for answers, similar
to the main character in the classic novel
Pilgrim’s Progress. He found
something either missing or present in his
life while searching for the truth on his
way to the Celestial City. He eventually
finds absolute truth, love and forgiveness
in God’s Word – the Bible. His
progress through life is being portrayed
in a new movie by the same title.
Absolute Truth
I hope it doesn’t
take terribly destructive circumstances
for you, as it did for me, to realize that
God’s Word is truth. There was a way
that seemed right to me, but the end was
death.1 I searched
for answers in anything and from anyone
who crossed my path. While running from
God, I tried to convince myself with various
philosophies and false doctrines that I
was okay, but found out that only the Bible
holds the answers to a righteous relationship
with God.
I came to see that “All
Scripture is inspired by God and is useful
to teach us what is true and to make us
realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens
us out and teaches us to do what is right.
It is God’s way of preparing us in
every way, fully equipped for every good
thing God wants us to do.”2
We need to be absolutely sure that we have
the facts in focus.
You may be struggling with
trusting that God’s Word is true.
There are opposing voices in this world,
contending for your trust. The Apostle John
recorded Jesus’ words in His Gospel
when He prayed for all believers, “Sanctify
them through Your truth, Your Word is truth.”3
This is a common theme in Scripture: “The
entirety of Your Word is true, and every
one of Your righteous judgments endures
forever.”4
Absolute Love
The Bible is God’s
love story to all of us. How our first parents,
Adam and Eve, turned their backs on God’s
love in the Garden, yielding to sin’s
temptation, only to be rescued by God’s
loving kindness time after time. The LORD
said to Israel: “I have loved you,
my people, with an everlasting love. With
unfailing love, I have drawn you to myself,”5
though they had rebelled against Him in
unbelief.6
The Word did them no good
because they didn’t believe what God
told them.7 They did
not believe that He loved them, therefore,
they were overcome by fear, doubt and unbelief.
Finally, “God showed His great love
for us by sending Christ to die for us while
we were still sinners. And since we have
been made right in God’s sight by
the blood of Christ, He will certainly save
us from His judgment.”8
I didn’t believe
in God’s love, but one day the Lord
gave me the gift of saving faith. On that
day, I heard a woman in the visiting room,
who was not even visiting me, say, “…God
so loved the world that He gave His only
Son, so that everyone who believes in Him
will not perish but have eternal life.”9
That word sparked faith and opened my heart.
Six months later, I surrendered my heart
entirely to Jesus. Finally, I experienced
the love I had been looking for all my life.
Absolute Forgiveness
The Word of God tells us
that “…our own conscience either
accuses us or tells us we are doing what
is right.”10
“For all have sinned, all fall short
of God’s glorious standard.”11
You may deny wrong, because you deny God’s
Word. In the past few years, we’ve
been bombarded with the book and movie The
DaVinci Code. The basis of this book
was taken from the Gnostic gospels, which
are not inspired Scripture. Gnosticism claims
“spiritual” knowledge that supersedes
the written Word of God. It teaches that
sin committed in the physical body does
not matter; absolute indulgence in immorality
was permissible; one could deny sin even
existed and disregard God’s law.
The Apostle John addressed
the Gnostic heresy, saying: “If you
say we have no sin, we are only fooling
ourselves and refusing to accept the truth.
But if we confess our sins to him, He is
faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse
us from every wrong. If we claim we have
not sinned, we are calling God a liar and
showing that His Word has no place in our
hearts.”12
The choice is yours whether
to receive God’s absolute truth, love,
and forgiveness. The Apostle John went on
to say, “He [Jesus] is the sacrifice
for our sins. He takes away not only our
sins, but the sins of all the world.”13
Your sins have been forgiven, but it is
your choice whether to receive it. The Lord
says: “Today I have given you the
choice between life and death, between blessings
and curses. I call on heaven and earth to
witness the choice that you make. Oh, that
you would choose life, that you and your
descendants might live!”14
A Prayer For You ...
Our Father, our King of
all Heaven, we pray boldly in the knowledge
that Your Word is truth. It can, like You,
be relied upon to bring righteousness to
those who trust in it. We believe in the
sacrifice of Jesus because You have told
us we can trust in Him. You have given us
Jesus, the living Word of God, who sanctifies
us. We pray Father that as we seek the truth
of Your Word in our study of Scripture that
we are cleansed from our worldly ways of
thinking and obtain the mind of Christ.
Then we will choose blessings, not curses;
life, and not death, and will be used by
You to bring life and blessings to others.
We thank You for Your Word, in Jesus name,
Amen.
Scripture References (New Living
Translation):
Acknowledgement: A special thanks
to Sherry for transcribing this months view!
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