Where is Truth To Be Found?

Today's scripture

"Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words or He will rebuke you & prove you a liar." Proverbs 30:5-6.

Today's devotional thoughts

We've looked at The Truth. We haven't talked much yet about what it means to "Walk in the Truth." Today I want to focus on the source of The Truth.

Lutherans--and we are not the only Christian denomination who believe this doctrine--teach that the only source of God's Truth is God's Word. The Old Testament writer of the Book of Proverbs affirms this in today's scripture reading when he states that every word of God is flawless.

"Flawless" means without fault; without error. "Every" means, well, it means just what it says.

The writers of the Bible--prophets, evangelists, apostles--were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write The Truth, the very words of God. The very inerrant words of God, as inspired by God Himself.

We all understand how important it is to "source" our material. I love reading history, & I just finished a book about the great Chicago's World Fair, held in the 1890s. The author, while not an eyewitness, used references written by first-hand witnesses to the fair. He turned to sources such as books, newspaper articles, and interviews written by or given by the people who designed & built the architectural masterpieces, "invented" the Ferris Wheel, introduced the world to shredded wheat. By using testimony from those sources, the author's words carry special weight.

And so it is with Holy Scripture. We can read God's inerrant, inspired scripture & know without a doubt that we are reading The Truth, because the ultimate Source, the Author, is God Himself, speaking to us through the writers of the Bible.

In a world when we never know whether what we see or hear can absolutely be trusted, it gives me great comfort to know that there is an absolute source of Truth. It is the only Truth from a God that can be absolutely trusted, absolutely believed, & absolutely known to be true. Why? Because it contains the story of His great love for us--a love that led Him to send His Son Jesus to take our punishment for sin & make it possible for us to be forgiven & saved.

Whenever another person, another church, or another religion comes along & teaches an added word from our God or another god that adds to God's Truth or changes God's Truth or develops an entirely different or new truth--we can know without any doubt that we are listening to a false truth--a truth that is coming from Satan & is meant to draw us away from Jesus Christ, God's Son, our Lord & Savior:  the ONLY Way, ONLY Truth, ONLY Life.

Today's prayer thought

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in your reading of God's Word to grow your faith & guard you from following the false truths of those who would lead you to follow a path away from the one True God!