Truth is...

Have you ever been dumbfounded? Perhaps speechless? How about taciturn, tight-lipped, or tongue-tied?

I admit there have been many times when I've looked at the chaos surrounding me and have been utterly gobsmacked. It's hard to know how to even begin praying in the face of a world gone crazy.

But the Apostle Paul brings us good news, friends. Our prayers do not need to be peppered with perfect prose. The Holy Spirit, being God, knows exactly how we feel and is able to bring our burdens to Yahweh in a way that is beyond words.

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Truth is...sometimes the most effective prayer is a sigh ... or a sob.

      

For several years, the Truth Is... Facebook page (click here) has featured a March tradition called #MarchingThroughScripture. Each day of the month, a Bible verse is posted that corresponds to that day's date. 

For instance...

On March 3, 2016, I would have posted John 3:16 (or 1 Timothy 3:16, or Insert a book of the Bible here, chapter 3, verse 16. (You understand, right?)

Well, to commemorate the recent publication of The Best of Truth Is... (click here), and the imminent beginning of this blog's 15th year, I'm taking the #MarchingThroughScripture concept and will be...um...2026ing through Scripture on each Thursday of the year, right here in this space.

But of course, it will be more than just posting a Bible verse a week. Our hope is that the Holy Spirit will lead us to a nugget of Truth worth considering 53 times before we're through. (Interesting note: 2026 has 53 Thursdays, starting January 1 and ending December 31!)

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From the very beginning, humankind has not been just another animal that, through the laws of happenstance, finds itself alive and kicking on Planet Earth. We are not a tailless monkey or a hairless ape.*

We were created on purpose with an intentional internal likeness to our creator that renders us incapable of finding lasting contentment outside of Yahweh's design for us to be creative, authoritative, and loving...because God is not only The Creator and The Authority, but he is, to the very core, Love. (1 John 4:8)

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Truth is...This verse may very well be the greatest mystery of all. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were completely self-sufficient. They had no lack or weakness. So why create humans?

I can almost hear him say, "I've got so much love, I just can't contain myself!"

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*Sly allusion to the Rich Mullins song, "Higher Education and the Book of Love."

      

Here it is, Christmas Day. Chances are high you're not getting around to reading this until later on in the day...or maybe even a few days later.

If you're blessed enough to have had family gathered around a tree and presents under that tree, the gifts have been unwrapped and appropriately oohed and ahhed over.

We celebrate God taking on flesh by receiving wonderful gifts from each other, and yet, in order to be born, Jesus gave up so much:

Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.

Jesus gifted himself to us, and we give gifts to each other in celebration of that.

There's nothing inherently wrong with that, as long as we know the difference in value between our gifts and God's.

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Truth is...I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.  -  Philippians 3:7-9 (NLT)

      

Charles Wesley wrote the lyric, and more than one person has put it to more than one tune, but today ... the prosification of "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus."

Come on, Jesus! We've been waiting a long time for you. The reason you were born was to set your people free, so release us from our fears and sins and let us, at last, find a restful peace by being in relationship with you.

You are the strength and comfort of Israel, but not only Israel. The whole earth places its hope in you. Every nation under the sun wants you. Every longing heart finds its joy in you.

You were born to deliver your people; just a human child, but in reality, a heavenly king. Your purpose is to reign in us forever, so bring your kingdom of grace even now!

Be the only ruler of our hearts, by the power of your holy, eternal spirit. Raise us up to be seated in the presence of your glorious throne ... not by our merit, but by your perfect, all-sufficient, love-filled sacrifice!

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Truth is...even though this hymn can be found in the Christmas section of most hymnals, it really is declaring our longing for Jesus to return to earth and bring his kingdom into full fruition. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!

      

With thanks to Bill Waterson, we, once again, turn to Calvin & Hobbes for confirmation of a deep truth.

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Truth is...You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. (James 4:2-3 CSB)

P.S. While we're on the subject...