Is the truth really being told when commercials claim they can make a 71 year old look like a 17 year old? Perhaps they just got those numbers accidentally reversed. Not! I don’t believe for a minute all those claims about being younger, stronger, live to a 100 or get rich quick schemes actually work. If they did – where are all these amazing old, healthy, beautiful, rich, marathon running hundred year old people? Truth is – nowhere in my neighborhood, unfortunately, or I’d be signing up for all this stuff.

Truth in the Bible is portrayed as an unchanging reality that initially flows from God Himself. God embodies truth. Denying truths lead to all kinds of messes in every area of peoples’ lives. That’s why it’s imperative to get truth. Pr 23:23 advises us to “Buy truth – don’t sell it for love or money; buy (instead) wisdom, buy education, buy insight.”

As I have mentioned before – truth is dying. So it’s imperative that we ask the hard question of “what is truth?” This is truly life’s most important question. Determining what is true is no doubt the most essential and necessary quest of our human existence.

Bottom line here is that we have a huge decision to make during our brief but fun-packed lives. If it’s true that God is who He claims to be, then follow Him. And if you personally decide that God is just not your gig, then follow one of the other hundreds of religions in the world today. But before you decide be sure and ask yourself – but is this true?

If God is true then in the beginning before time started ticking, God spoke words no one could hear because there was none present to hear them and the world spun into existence at the creative word of His power.

If it’s not true then everything is here from an accident. A crash created something beautiful. A wreck caused order and life to come from nothingness.

If God is true He created man in His image. We are breathing in God’s breath. If it’s not true then man is a well-shaven monkey who is his own sovereign. Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.

If God is true there is a righteous judge. There is a law-giver to whom we are accountable.

If it’s not true every moral law should be abolished. There is no right or wrong and we should do what is right in our own eyes.

If God is true there is a heaven. There is a hell. There are angels. There are demons.

Jesus Christ was born of a virgin. He lived a sinless life. He lived the life we couldn’t live to be die the death we should have died. He rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father.

If it’s not true literally centuries of people have wasted their lives believing in and serving an illusion. Martyrs have lost their lives in vain. The 500 witnesses recorded in

the New Testament who saw the resurrected Son of God were all men suffering from great depths of delusion!

So now…where’s ‘the dare?’ You may not believe anything about God, but I dare you to spend just one hour looking into these amazing claims about Him. I’m sure you have spent time house hunting, or looking for a new car, or shopping for new clothes. But how much time have you spent checking out God and your eternity?!

The Duke of Wellington once haughtily drew himself up to his full height and thundered to one of his staff officers, “God knows I have many faults, bur being wrong is not one of them!” We may feel like the Duke a times when it comes to believing in God – “I’m not wrong.” But, just in case…what if you are?! Selah!

Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information, you may contact them at DPCitychurch.org

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Truth has become an increasingly rare commodity in our world! The very idea that “truth always wins out” has been thrown out the window and in its place the ‘power brokers’ have taken over. You can see it everywhere – in politics, media, commercials – propaganda & conspiracy theories abound!! Once-sane people have lost the ability to rationally debate issues. Instead, we get ear-loads of cursing, name calling, & slander. Every time I hear or read this stuff I ask myself – “But is it true?” That, I submit, is the most important question we can dare to ask.

I read articles maligning our government, our heads of state, and our laws. There are many who think it’s a virtuous thing to try and assassinate our elected officials. It seems that ‘divide and conquer’ is alive and well in the United States and we are getting a textbook, up close look at Division 101.

Like it or not, truth is dying and it cannot help but have serious consequences for us all. Jesus said it in Matthew 12 – “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to resolution and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” Abraham Lincoln echoed this thought in 1858 when he also said, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Cannot!

It reminds me of an old story about a letter to a neighbor: It reads: Dear Frank. We’ve been neighbors for six tumultuous years. When you borrowed my tiller, you returned it in pieces. When I was sick, you blasted rap music. And when your dog went to the bathroom all over my lawn, you laughed. I could go on but I’m certainly not one to hold grudges. So I’m writing this letter to tell you that your houses on fire. Cordially, Bob.

America is on fire. Is anyone paying attention or are we all just adding on firewood?

Proverbs 12 tells us that “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.” My advice to people is to always confront deceit & lies. When people just make stuff up, do we say nothing?! Proverbs 29 is 100% on target here: “When the godly are in authority the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan.” Speak up or get ready for more groaning!

There is a stunning verse found in Joshua 24:19. Joshua has confronted the Hebrew people with truth. Many have chosen to follow idols so he called them all together and delivered these now famous words: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” What does the Word of God say about laws & boundaries, right & wrong, good & evil? Find the answers to these and you will find truth.

Gregory Elder tells of spending many hours at the beach and of building many sandcastles during the summers. One year some bullies appeared and smashed his creations. Day after day they would come and destroy what he had made. One day he

decided to do something about it. He gathered stones, rocks, blocks and other hard materials. He put them in place and covered them with sand to create his sandcastles. Just as the bullies appeared, he disappeared. He watched a good way off as these bullies – barefooted – ran off in pain as their bare feet had met their match.

I suppose, applying that narrative here, we could call these bullies secularism, politics, heresies, or just plain ol’ sins that kick at the foundations and structure of our society. If our structures are not built on The Rock (Jesus Christ & The Word) they will eventually crumble. After all, the Bible reveals truth as a moral concept rooted in God’s very character. As Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) so brilliantly noted: “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” Selah!

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Recently there’s been an increase in interest in our culture about life after death.

There are many people who claim to have the ability to contact dead relatives reuniting them with family for one last conversation. I certainly don’t advocate this practice of contacting dead people and I believe it’s demonic. But it does demonstrate the curiosity that people have about the afterlife. As the Bible tells us: “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” Death is called the great equalizer – in the end it visits all people.

But death is not the end of existence. We are eternal beings who exist after this physical body is caput. Unfortunately, many people don’t prepare themselves for that moment. They leave it all up to fate. What will be will be.

You have probably heard the phrase – “If these walls could speak.” I say to heck with walls – what if dead people could speak?! Now that would be something!! I have always wondered what people would say to us if they could come back for just a few minutes. Would they magnify the glories of heaven or the miseries of hell? I wonder what Billy Graham would say? Probably a lot different from what the past leader of Iran – Ayatollah Kharmenei, would say! And what about recently departed Ted Turner? Now what would he have to say about eternity?

But, in fact there is a Biblical account of two dead men speaking. The story is told about Lazarus and Dives. This is actually a pre-Christin account. Our first dead man – Lazarus, was not a Christian but was saved on the basis of the Old Testament dispensation so the account is in pre-Christian terms. I won’t take the time to go into all the details here but it’s an interesting study to do on your own.

Basically this is a conversation between a rich man and a very poor man. They were on opposite sides of a great gulf separating those who were ‘saved’ and those who were ‘lost.’ The rich man was in Hades not because he was rich and had fine food, but because he had zero concern about following God’s laws etc. God’s requirement is that we do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with Him. Dives failed to do any of these while alive and was justly condemned.

Dives saw in hell what he never saw on earth. He was raging but not against injustice. When Abraham points out the contrast between his life and that of Lazarus, Dives knows he’s there justly and he knows he never repented.

So now he pleads for his brothers to be warned so they would repent and not end up as he is. For the first time he knows the truth but now it’s too late. Dives wanted Lazarus to return to his five brothers and warn them. But honestly, they would probably kill Lazarus for telling them their brother was in hell. How could he ever prove he was from the land of the dead?

As Abraham told Dives, if his brothers rejected Moses and the prophets, why would

they listen to this former poor man who begged food at their gate every day?! Point taken! If the Old Testament was sufficient then, how much more is our New Testament a sufficient revelation to escape hell and gain heaven by faith now In Jesus Christ?

But if a person rejects this New Covenant then all the evidence in the world will not move him.

One cold night in December of 1959 machine guns blazed and took down one Roger Toughy, a former member of Al Capone’s gang. He was shot down in front of his sister’s house in Chicago. It had been only 23 days since his release from prison but he knew too much about the underworld. They had a saying – dead men don’t talk. So down he went.

But as we have found – dead men do talk. People are still talking about Roger Toughy 65 years later – what exactly did he know? And in fact, Hebrews 11:4 tells us that “he being dead still speaks.” In other words – read the Living Word of God! It and the people therein will speak volumes to you about eternal life -heaven & hell. After all

– what have you got to lose?

Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information, you may contact them at DPCitychurch.org

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