Know the Truth !

    What is the truth?  There is a scripture that has been in my  spirit for a long time. Three years ago, when I left my full time employment, I knew that the Lord was starting our full time ministry. However,  by the third day,  I drove back to the parking lot and wanted to go back in and ask for my job back.  The Lord spoke to me and said don't  go back, and I listened.  Did I understand?  No, but I listened. This isn't the scripture that I referred to above, but it is another of our favorites:  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your understanding.   In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths Prov. 3:5-6 (KJV).  I am digressing, but we will talk about that another time.

    The Scripture that I've had in my heart so long is, " And you shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you free." Jn. 8:32(KJV).  This is how it was  was shown to me in a way that I could understand: if you let a bird out off a cage it has been set free, if you put a horse into a corral from the stable,  it has been made free. What's the difference?  Set, make, it's all the same! In my mind  I saw that the bird could go anywhere it chose to go, but the horse could only go within the parameters that were set by the corral. Both are freedoms.    Because we have the truth of the Word of God, we are free, but like the horse in the corral, we have parameters.

My friend Mike and I were sitting at the Power Show.  It was in a small town and it was a small  crowd.  "Did you see that?"  I asked what? His reply was "I didn't think I would see that in this setting".  I looked around and said "oh".  It was quiet obvious what he was talking about.  We don't share the same faith, so I asked  how he felt about what we had seen.  His reply! If it doesn't involve me I have no problem with it. He never asked how I felt about the situation.  The difference was I had boundaries!  The  Bible gave me a instant answer to what we both observed.  Knowing the Truth in that situation made it easy to make a decision of how I felt.   If I would have tried to make Mike accept the truth of the Word, it would have turned into conflict.

           Some day my prayer is that Mike will know the Truth, so I will continue to talk to him on the
          phone, spend time with him watching tractor pulls, listen to his philosophy, love him
          Jesus does.  And maybe, if I don't grow weary in well-doing, Mike will someday be made free.