Jesus told the woman at the well that “true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth” John 4:23. Can there be more than one truth? Can there be different forms or versions of truth? Sometimes I consider God and I consider the truth He has revealed. Since God cannot be directly experienced through our usual means, our five senses, the primary way we experience God is by learning, knowing, and focusing on His truth.
I would like to emphasize again the importance of focusing on God’s truth. The Scriptures emphasize this again and again. “Fix your eyes on Jesus” Heb 12:2, “Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is…Set your minds on things above” Col 3:1-2, “be transformed by the renewing of your mind” Rom 12:2, “Love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” Mark 12:30, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32. All of these verses point believers to focus on the reality of God and his love and salvation through Jesus.
Attempting to be a good person is impossible, trying to do the right thing is also impossible; humans have flashes, have moments, have periods of success, but then fail again and again.
Fortunately, God doesn’t want our work for him, he just wants us. I believe that and I focus on that a lot so that I don’t get discouraged by the pain and sin in and around me. Focusing on God’s revealed truth is focusing on him (worshiping). Believing his truth allows us to connect with him. Trusting his truth is faith. God wants faith. That is it.
I like EFCC’s new mission statement; you may have heard Pastor Paulson say it over these last months or may have seen it on the church website www.efcc.org, “Living in the way of Jesus with the heart of Jesus.” This phrase is a prescription for or description of aligning oneself with the truth. It is a statement of a life of faith or as Jesus portrayed true worship.
Faith does change our behavior, but you can’t force faith by changing behavior. Good behavior may lead to faith, or it may not. Good behavior can happen apart from faith, but it is empty; I don’t mean it is meaningless but in light of worship — empty.
So, spend some time today considering how you might align your thoughts and focus on the truth that God has revealed.
Pastor John Riley
Jr. High Pastor