THE WHOLE TRUTH

MEMORY VERSE: All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. Psalm 25 : 10

READ : PSALM 85 : 10 – 11.

10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

11 Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: REVELATION 7 – 9.

“And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”

Jude 23

In the scripture above, we are commanded to use every possible avenue to win souls to Christ yet to be careful enough not to compromise with sin. Love the sinner but hate their sins. Why? It is because God is a holy God. He hates sin with a passion. In Zechariah 3 : 1 – 7, the high priest was wearing a filthy garment. This is contradictory to his calling. According to God’s standards, the high priest should be a firebrand. Fire is an agent of purification. In medieval times, when they want to perform a surgery, the knives to be used are put through fire. If you are doing some cleansing where water and soap are not appropriate or adequate, heat from the fire or the fire itself is directly applied. Even Psalm 12 : 6 confirms that the furnace purifies. God expects his ministers to be as pure as light.

If the priest is the light of the world, how come a high priest ended up in rags? Jesus says you are the salt of the earth. The purpose of salt is to fight corruption. In the olden days, when there was no refrigerator, salt was used to preserve meat or fish. In the same vein, God wants us to be absolutely pure so that He can use us to fight against corruption.

Today, many of us are harbouring things that belong to others and we are hardly scolded by the Holy Spirit. Many tell lies, including senior pastors and their wives and this make us wonder if the real heat is still there. When was the last time you said something that was not 100% true and the Holy Spirit rebuked you for half truth? Sometime ago, we attended an interview conducted by CNN. Later, while watching it, it occurred to me that I did not answer a particular question the way I should. Towards the end of the programme, they asked what I do when I am less busy, and I told them I fish for the fun of it. Then the Holy Spirit said I did not tell the whole truth. He said when I catch the fish I eat it. The Holy Spirit expects you not only to tell the truth but the whole truth. Yet many of us tell half truths, thinking it is wisdom. No! It is not! 

KEY POINT:

To be acceptable to God, you must meet His standard through and through.