Devotional – Plus Interesting Reads – 06/29/2023 – Faithful Steward Ministries and FSM Women's Outreach

TRUTH MATTERS

Is Truth important? From a very young age I was told to always tell the truth, we all knew what truth was and even learned sayings like a liar, liar pants on fire to make fun of those kids who lied around us. Then we became adults and Truth became somehow relevant to each individual. Did truth change or did we?

TRUTH (אֱמֶת, emeth; ἀλήθεια, alētheia). Factuality, faithfulness, firmness, reality, reliability.

Elliot Ritzema, “Truth,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

beca-truth Download

Meet and Greet

Esther 1:1–2:23; 2 John 7–13; Psalm 116:1–19

“If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house and do not speak a greeting to him, because the one who speaks a greeting to him shares in his evil deeds” (2 John 9–11).

This passage is sometimes used as support for forming exclusive communities—ones that don’t interact with people who don’t believe in the gospel or who have a different faith. Based on this passage, some believe that we as Christians are not permitted to interact with nonbelievers. Is that what John is really teaching?

John issued this warning during a time when false teachers were spreading confusing doctrines about Christ. He exhorted believers to “test the spirits” to see if these teachers were actually from God (1 John 4:1). They would know if these teachers were from God if they confessed the true message of Jesus Christ—specifically that He had come in the flesh and was from God (1 John 2:1).

John wanted the community to be aware of false teachings so they wouldn’t become confused or weakened in their faith. We, too, need to be intentional about the teaching we adhere to. If we are weak and troubled in our faith, we should seek out mature believers who can teach and minister to us. However, if we are confident in our faith, we should be ready and willing to share the message of salvation with those who need to hear it—both inside and outside our communities.

How are you sharing the gospel with those who need to receive it?

Rebecca Van Noord^[1]

^[1] John D. Barry and Rebecca Kruyswijk, Connect the Testaments: A One-Year Daily Devotional with Bible Reading Plan (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012).