What Is The Meaning Of The Word 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).  The word truth and true are the Greek words “aletheia” and “alethes.”  The word “alethinos,” is used twenty two times in John’s writings and only five times in the rest of the New Testament and means, “that which has not only the name and semblance, but the real nature corresponding to the name.”  The noun “aletheia” is, “verity, truth, what is true in any matter under consideration.”  In the words of the Nicene creed, “the Lord Jesus is the very God of very God.”  The challenge of our world is holding onto the real meaning and practice of the word truth.  When we turn on the television, read a paper, hear a speech, read a book, place trust in another person, the word truth is often broken.   Christ is the very opposite of all that is fictitious, counterfeit, imaginary, simulated, and pretended.  How often each of us have experienced first hand changing the truth.  We may arrange the facts in a different order or tell the story or events in a way that alters it’s original meaning.  What is it that you see has changed the truth ?  In what area of life has the truth been changed the most?    It is vital that we have our trust in the truth of Christ.

Comfort Each Other

 

“Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”  I Thessalonians 5:11  There are four Greek words translated by the one word “comfort.”  The word “paregoria” used only one time in Col. 4:11, “paramutheomai” used in at least six places in the Bible, and “tharseo” which means “be of good cheer.”  The fourth word is “parakaleo” made up of the verb “kaleo”, which means “to call,” and the preposition “para” which means beside.  The majority of time in the New Testament it means “’please, I exhort, I urge.”  As Christians we are called upon to exhort, comfort, and encourage each other.  Everyone has the ability to comfort another.  This is probably one of the areas we  neglect the most.  We cannot encourage, strengthen, or comfort others if we are not at least talking with them.  Life keeps us from each other and often we are just busy with our everyday routines and neglect to comfort others.  I am confident all of us need help in this important area of our life.

Faith

 

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  Hebrews 11:1  The word “Faith” is at the very foundation of our trust in Christ.  The Greek verb is “pisteuo”, noun “pistis”, and adjective “pistos.”   In the passive voice it means “I am entrusted with a thing which has been committed to me.”  “Pistos” meant “faithful, trusty, true” and is used of persons one believes or trust.   At the very foundation of all we hope or desire in Christ is the understanding of this word.  Faith is when we take the keeping of our souls out of our own hands and place them in the hands of the Lord Jesus.  Institutions, people, nature, or any other imagined items cannot take the place of our faith in Christ.  The practice of faith in Christ as our personal savior is an individual act that each of us must complete.   God promises to reward everyone that comes to him by faith and if we fail to do so it will not please God.  “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).  The natural by product of true faith is good works.  “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17).  Consider the following questions as you examine faith in your life.  Did you practice faith when you made that personal decision to ask Christ into your heart as Lord and savior?  Are you applying faith in each decision you make?  Will the practice of true faith bring results and produce works for the glory of God?

Forgiveness

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15). Forgiveness is a difficult thing for most of us to practice. These verses follow the instruction of God on how to pray. How often I have found myself in a spirit of non-forgiveness and this has stood in the way of my praying. How difficult it is to forgive. Forgiveness does not indicate we forget yet we are instructed to forgive. We are created with a memory and from this we draw information concerning those life actions that have taught us lessons. Forgiveness is at the very foundation of our spiritual growth. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to clense us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). We are to practice forgiveness towards others in obedience to the commands of Christ for our life. “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us” (I John 4:24). Have you had issues with forgiveness? Why is it so hard to forgive? Did someone do something that hurt you? Has someone not measured up to your expectations and you cannot forgive them? I have experienced all these feelings. Have you?

Worry Hurts

 

“Be careful in nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God.” Phillipians 4:6   What is the meaning of “Be careful”?  Today this word means to exercise caution.  When translated from the Greek it is “to be full of anxious care.”   It is a synonym for the word “worry”.  The Greek word means the forbidding of the continuance of an action already going on.  Translated correctly it would say, “Stop perpetually worrying about even one thing.”  The same Greek word is found in Matthew 6:25 and translated, “Take no thought.”  The key for our understanding is found in the words, “perpetually worrying.”  What is the reason for why we are not to worry ?  I Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you.”  Everyone has been down the road of “perpetual worry” and many are still walking it.  The word “cast” in I Peter 5:7 teaches us we will let Christ assume the responsibility for our welfare.  Questions you may ask yourself when faced with any issue in this life should include the following.  First have I completely given the situation I am experiencing over to the Lord?  Second if I have given it over to him then why is it that I must pick it back up each day and seek answers for myself?  Third who is in control of this issue me or the Lord?  Waiting is the greatest challenge for all of us.  “Wait on the Lord:be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait I say, on the Lord” (Psalms 27:14).

 

Death and the Christian

Death and the Christian

Death is a word that sounds so final!  Yet a close examination of death reveals it is a reality of life.  “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).  At this crucial time in your life the reality of death has occurred and your heart is troubled at the loss of a loved one or friend.

Psalms 23:4 says, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”  Great comfort is revealed in this verse to help us experience the reality of death.   Yea, though I walk, as death approached we will not run or be in fear, but still calmly walk with God. To walk indicates the steady advance of a person that has made that personal commitment of their soul in faith to Christ.  They are aware of what life will bring, and have resolved to follow the path God has given them, they feel quite safe, and are perfectly calm and composed. The dying saint is not in a flurry, he does not run as though he were alarmed, nor stand still as though he would go no further.  Observe that it is not walking in the valley, but through the valley. We go through the dark tunnel of death and emerge into the light of immortality. We are not dead just gone to sleep and will immediately wake in glory. Death is not the house but the porch, not the goal but the passage to it. The storm breaks on the mountain, but the valley is the place of quietude, and thus often the last days of the Christian are the most peaceful of his whole career.  The mountain is bleak and bare, but the valley is rich with golden sheaves, and many a saint has reaped more joy and knowledge when he came to die than he ever knew while he lived. And, then, it is not “the valley of death,” but the valley of the shadow of death, for death in its substance has been removed, and only the shadow of it remains. Some one has said that when there is a shadow there must be light somewhere, and so there is. Death stands by the side of the highway in which we have to travel, and the light of heaven shining upon him throws a shadow across our path; let us then rejoice that there is a light beyond. Nobody is afraid of a shadow, for a shadow cannot stop a man’s pathway even for a moment. The shadow of a dog cannot bite; the shadow of a sword cannot kill; the shadow of death cannot destroy us. Let us not, therefore, be afraid.  “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (I Cor. 15:55).

Death is an enemy of God and everyone understands that eventually they must die.  The question is not if we will die but when?  Death is the last enemy that will be placed under the feet of Christ.  “For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (I Cor. 15:25, 26).  For all that have placed trust in Christ, as personal savior, death is the final pain and the last enemy.  Death with all of its sorrows and pain helps draw our attention to what really matters, the state of our souls, and the God who will out last this physical life.  Death is the sound of God’s alarm clock and our wake-up call that our time on this earth is fleeting and soon we will walk through the door of death.  “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.  For what is your life?  It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14).

The Bible tells us about the death of a friend of Jesus named Lazarus in John 11:1-45.   In verse 5 we read, “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.”  “Then when Jesus came, he found that he (Lazarus) had lain in the grave four days already” (Jn. 11:17).  In verse 35 it says, “Jesus wept” showing us Christ understands the pain that we feel within our heart at this time of loss.  Christ desires to comfort all our anxious thoughts and feelings.  “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (I Peter 5:7).  The departure of your loved one from this life is a precious thing in the eyes of the Lord.  “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints” (Psalms 116:15.  I have walked the very path that you are walking and find the only comfort that can sustain me is within the Bible as Christ speaks to my heart concerning those who have fallen asleep in the Lord.

When a person that is a Christian dies they face the judgement of faith.  This judgement and the outcome is all found in what Christ has done for us on Calvary. This initial judgement depends not on our works but on our faith.  It is not about what we have done during our lives but about what Christ has done for us.  If we have accepted Christ’s atoning death for us, then when God judges us after we die, he sees his Son’s sacrifice for us, not our sin.  Salvation is a free gift, to which we can contribute absolutely nothing (Ephesians 2:8-9).  This is an excellent time to make sure you and all those in your family have accepted this wonderful gift of God found in Jesus Christ.

God is keeping each of us on this earth as long as He desires.  In that time frame many of us will live seeing our loved one’s go on before us.  Rest assured that God is preparing all that are his for the time that we will depart this earth in death and be with Him.  He knows precisely the time of our departure and has a wonderful plan in what he’s doing in your life.  It has been said that our life on earth is a training camp to ready us for Heaven.  Through your suffering, difficulty, loss of loved ones, and depression, he’s expanding your capacity for eternal joy.

It is my prayer that this brief study of what the Bible has to say about death will help strengthen you during this difficult time.

Portions of this document are copied from other sources found on the internet.

Joe Banghart

Jlb62@att.net