Here we are!!! Welcome to the most wonderful time of the year!!! Anyone telling you to be of good cheer yet? No? Well let us be the first to wish you the best during this time of seeming continual celebrations! Welcome to Tuesday and Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!
If you have ever enrolled in a Philosophy course or ever made an extended study of the way the mind works, you are sure to have encountered the question (or one of its derivatives)...what is true? Is truth a relative term or is it static? Does my truth always have to be your truth? Is there even anything that is an absolute or universal truth?
Folks have been asking these questions since God breathed into man and gave him life. It seems that we rarely are satisfied with our conditions and thus feel the need to inquire about things that rarely do we have the propensity to understand. The subject of truth, or something being true, is one of those posits that are outside of our realm to understand in many ways. An ocean of books have been written on how we can determine what is true. In 1983, however, we did know this much was true...
Written by guitar player Gary Kemp, "True" became the biggest hit for the '80s New Wave band Spandau Ballet. In autumn of 1983 it peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's constant use in a variety of media has enabled "True" to be so easily recognized as to almost achieve iconic status.
Spandau Ballet is like many bands from the '80s in that they continue to tour and produce new music. While suffering a breakup during the 90's, the band reformed in 2009 to sold out concerts and throngs of adoring fans waiting for new music. What was true for Spandau Ballet in the '80s must have translated pretty well into the next millennia of music fans.
Do you every find it easy to "stretch the truth"? Every told a "little white lie"? For some crazy reason, the season that is supposed to celebrate the Lord of the truth is filled with so many inconsistencies, deceptions, and outright lies that it boggles the mind. Christians succumb to the trap of telling "fibs" by not wanting to disappoint a loved one or spoil surprises during the Christmas season. Yes, I confess, I have been known to tell a few whoppers for the sake of Christmas secrets during the time period of November 26th - December 31st. Why do we do this though?
The apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Roman church that there is nobody who is righteous (filled with right living in a matter of speaking). The Apostle Paul's Letter to the Roman Church, chapter 3 - New King James Version of the Bible/The Message Paraphrase of the Bible parallel This "none" would include the apostle himself. Paul goes on to say that God (the Father) set things right in the days of Moses. God made the sins of the Israelites go away due to the sacrificial system He had set up. God (the Father) was the source of absolute truth during the Mosaic period. Paul then tells the Roman church that in the new "church" age, Jesus (God, the Son) was the arbiter of what was true. Because of Jesus setting things right by sacrificing Himself, absolute truth could be discovered through His personage.
Jesus made this proclamation regarding how we can be assured of things being true when He proclaimed himself THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life. The Gospel of Jesus According to the Apostle John, chapter 14 - NKJV/The Message In essence, if we want to know whether or not something is true, we can filter it through the saving grace of Jesus Christ and discover it's level of integrity.
In case you haven't noticed, the season of celebration is upon us. Let us be examples of truth during this Christmas time. The apostle Peter, a contemporary of Paul's and one of Jesus inner circle, made a good suggestion for every day living that is especially applicable during this Christmastime...1 Peter 2 - NKJV/The Message
Why can't Christmas just be about Jesus? Why can't sharing gifts be a reminder of the gifts that were brought to our Savior? Why can't the lights, ornaments, and trees, just be examples of the Light of the world, the beauty and splendor of a King, and the eternity that awaits those who believe the truth... Be challenged friend to not allow the influence of this world's culture to keep you from boldly proclaiming...I know this much is TRUE...
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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