Sometimes I wonder where people get their ideas. What do they build upon to understand their own world?

I would like to start this dialogue with a plea to the people out there. Please, do not take other people’s reasoning verbatim! How do you know they are right about which they speak? You must learn to think for yourself or you will continually find yourself on the yellow brick road ending up at someone else’s version of the truth.

I can remember when I was quite young, maybe 6th grade or so, paging through our family bible and I came upon 1 Tim. 2:5 which says, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, …” Wow I thought! I don’t have to go to the priest and tell him my private and personal sins! I was so happy; I had always felt dislike for such a rule. I asked my mother about it and she didn’t have an answer for me. Wow, my mother didn’t know?! I grew up Catholic and I had naturally assumed my mother would know the answer. And at other times when we would discuss religious topics, she would usually say something close to “this is what the Catholic Church believes about that…” I wondered did other Catholics believe the Catholic Church was gospel on what it told too? And did God say those things in his word?

What is our measuring stick for real truth?

Fast forward a few years to a young adult in her mid-twenties. I had become a born again Christian. I had an insatiable appetite for God’s word. It told me who God was and who I was. It showed me that unless my foundation is built upon God, my foundation was like shifting sand, moving to and fro, always changing, never steady, and could send me toppling to the ground. Sand is unpredictable, hard to plan around, unmanageable,  and difficult to deal with. How can you build a marriage, a family, or have any decent relationships like that? Who needs that if you’re trying to get somewhere?

For instance our thoughts and emotions can be unstable vessels unless anchored in God’s word. As I have learned they are not to be trusted sometimes! They can be wild, unpredictable, untrustworthy waves at times. I now try to only depend on Christ and measure my thoughts and emotions against his word and what it says. Then I know if I should think, feel, speak or act on something or not.

And the older I get, the more sereneness I like in my life. I like steady, true blue, reliable, and unchanging rules that help guide me. Christ is my center and I depend on him, not myself, for I have learned to trust God more than I trust myself. I usually (ok always) need someone with more wisdom and understanding than I to guide me in to port!

That is why God’s Word is so good. It sets my feet on solid ground, it teaches me, it gives me peace in the storm, and peace for my life. God’s word is life to us. In John 6:68 Peter says to the Lord, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” It guides and can show you the way no matter the situation. Hebrews 4:12-13 states, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.”

The Bible was given to us, first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, to use and to cherish, to be a light unto our feet. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Isn’t that a lovely thought? God being there for us, holding a light out there for you to be able to find your way in the dark. What love! And what caring! The closer you stay to him, the closer he’ll stay to you too. And he’ll help if you ask.

What will be your measuring stick for real truth? How about one that is filled with truth and love, unchanging, trustworthy, and will never pass away? Matthew 24:35 says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” How about from one who even knows the number of hairs on your head? Luke 12:7 states, “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.”

Whether you are a Jew or a Gentile, Jesus is coming back one day!