Lies no matter how often they are shared, proclaimed, taught or even forced upon people, will never change the truth. Lies can only postpone the truth. Lies can only slow down belief in truth. Some will yell at the top of their lungs that God is dead. That there is no God. That faith is constructed from hopes and dreams. Recently, he deserved to die. That good is evil. Lies are spoken so often that the media we consume will reiterate them.

Celebrities and other cultural influences will spout the same lie. Some lies have even been affirmed in our textbooks. Perhaps you believe these ideas to be true or partially true. There are real side effects when we believe in lies. Despite the truth hitting us squarely in the face we brush it off as a lie. Then every time we are presented with the truth, we dismiss it out of hand, never giving the truth a second glance. Worse yet is that we will begin to hate truth, which in turn leads to hating those who dare share truth. What is the truth?

While there are many things that are true, there is but one truth. One truth that leads to hope for all who are hopeless. One truth that brings peace wherever it is taken. One truth that brings unreasonable joy even in the face of tragedy and disaster. One truth that is eternal. Do you want the truth? Can you handle the truth? Will you accept the truth?

Here is eternal truth: God is real. He put you together in the womb of your mother. He unflinchingly knows the darkness of your heart and mind and still He loves you. How great is His love? Since the foundations of the world were laid, he planned a way for you to be with Him. With His hand over time, world events, and individual lives, God brought to earth Jesus. Jesus who has always existed became a man. Jesus lived among us as a man, yet he did something we could never do. He lived without sin. Since sin’s birth the price is death. Jesus who never sinned paid the price for sin, dying in your place to give you what you could never have. His death was not the end. On the third day, death was defeated. Jesus walked out of that grave with the promise of life to all who would believe that God had sent him. If only the path Jesus took on our behalf was easy. It was not easy. It was bloody, it was violent, it was brutal. Jesus was despised and rejected. He suffered and was familiar with pain. He was pierced for our wrongdoings. God laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted. He was cut off from the land of the living. Jesus did all this for you.

Open a Bible and find John 3:16. And read it like this: God so loved (Your Full Name) That he gave his one and only son Jesus to die in my place. That if I believe in Jesus, putting my faith in Jesus, I will not parish, but have eternal life. You want to know why people around the world will die for Christ? Why was Charlie Kirk willing to face even death? Because of eternal truth. Charlie Kirk joins the souls of millions who have died before him while defending the faith. Will you accept the eternal truth? Will you live it out? Will you die for it? E.H. Hamilton wrote this poem because he was inspired after hearing about the courage of fellow missionaries who were being martyred for the cause of Christ. Afraid? Of What? by E.H. Hamilton Afraid? Of what? To feel the spirit’s glad release? To pass from pain to perfect peace, The strife and strain of life to cease? Afraid? Of that? Afraid? Of what? Afraid to see the Saviour’s face, To hear His welcome, and to trace, The glory gleam from wounds of grace, Afraid? Of that? Afraid? Of what? A flash – a crash – a pierced heart; Brief darkness – Light – O Heaven’s art! A wound of His counterpart! Afraid? Of that? Afraid? Of what? To enter into Heaven’s rest, And yet to serve the Master blessed? From service good to service best? Afraid? Of that? Afraid? Of what? To do by death what life could not – Baptize with blood a stony plot, Till souls shall blossom from the spot? Afraid? Of that?

There is a modern proverb that is attributed to Dr. Gordon A. Eadie. “If they don’t stand for something, they will fall for anything.” He wrote this in the context of the mental health of soldiers during World War 2. In the article he continues with this: They need to realize that we are fighting two wars—the war of arms and the war of ideas—that other wars of which the war of arms is one phase. There is only one war that will determine your eternity. That is the war for your soul.

The evil one has many tactics and helpers. But God has Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith. Isaiah 54:17 AMP “No weapon that is formed against you will succeed; And every tongue that rises against you in judgment you will condemn. This [peace, righteousness, security, and triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And this is their vindication from Me,” says the Lord. May the truth find you. Once found, may the truth embolden you. Emboldened may you stand firm in your faith in Jesus Christ as King.

In His Service Always,

Andrew Christman
Church of Peace
State Road Community Church

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Kewanee Voice.

***This column is sponsored by the Kewanee Ministerial Association