Truth Be Told

Read Deuteronomy 13
 
Deuteronomy 13:4 It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.
 
HAVE you ever talked with someone to correct a mistake? Sometimes we don’t directly say, “You are doing this wrong; here is the right way.” Our hope is one will discover errors with questions we ask to help the person understand wrong and do what is right. If he doesn’t get the point, we might directly say, “Truth be told, this is what you must do.”
     What happens then? You’ll likely test him. You give him a circumstance or job that requires the new knowledge with the encouragement, “Now let’s see what you’ve learned.”
     This is always God’s way. “Truth Be Told” could be another name for the Bible. Or better yet, one could use Jesus’ directive, “I tell you the truth.” (75 times in the gospels) There is no excuse. God’s Word clearly informs, corrects and encourages. 
     When you know the truth, what will happen? You can see here that God will test you on your knowledge. He has given Israel specific commands on recognizing and responding to false teachings. Note he even empowers some false teachers with dreams and visions, so they will be his test to know if Israel lives in truth.
     He also tests us with our possessions. The commands regarding the money and property in this chapter point to a major obstacle in living God’s truth. We love what we own! We often refuse to release even a small portion to the Lord. Truth be told, he wants us to know he has much more for us than any form of physical wealth. Generosity is a sure sign of God’s Word is truly in us.
     Perhaps our current challenge with the virus is an opportunity to pass God’s test as we display a generous hand.
      
Matthew 5:18-19 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.