Everything you do reflects who you are. This is the reason my husband and I decided when we became Christians not to lie to our children about Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy or anything else. We thought, if we teach our children a lie, when they figure out the truth what will be their compass to discern in the future. If you believe a lie so completely it becomes your reality, what does your world look like when that lie is revealed? Can you ever truly trust those who convinced you such a lie was real to ever tell you the real truth again. How can they be sure that what you believe about Jesus is true, when the world says is Jesus is a lie, a myth?
When my daughter was small and in the hospital, she required a lot of medical tests. Scared, she looked at the nurse with the needles and turned to me, asking, "Mama, is it going to hurt?" The nurse interrupting said, "No." But I looked straight at my daughter and said, "Yes it will hurt, but only for a moment, and we are going to count together and in under 100 it will be over. You can squeeze my hand while we count. I won't leave you." The nurse was angry with me and asked why I would cause my daughter to be afraid before she had to be. I said to the nurse, "if I lie to my daughter to bring her comfort and you stick that needle in her arm, she will find out herself how much it hurts. Why should she ever trust me to tell her the truth and protect her from pain in the future? Why should she ever trust another nurse or doctor to tell her the truth? Telling her the whole truth is better upfront. It will hurt, but for less than a minute, and my daughter knows I will be here with her, counting through the pain with her. She will be okay and the pain will stop soon." Expecting comfort and receiving pain is the ultimate result of every lie. It's easy to get caught up with the world in lies. It's easy to think that when you are lying you are helping somehow, but you are not. Standing for the truth in the midst of a lying world is so difficult, but extremely necessary. Once you are anchored in the God's truth, you can interact with the world without becoming part of it. You can influence and bring change for good, without being corrupted. You must be willing to walk through this life in truth in all the things you say with the people you meet. If we ever surrender standing for the truth, we are letting down the people around us, especially those searching for and needing God. There have been moments in the bible and in history where people have protected the innocent from being murdered and brutalized by hiding them and lying to evil men to protect them. While it seems understandable and probably under those instances many Christians would repeat this behavior, the majority of our lives aren't as complicated. Most people lies willingly, without any threat against a human life. They give into little white lies to avoid uncomfortable topics or avoid arguments. But these things should not be. We cannot bend the truth, tell part of the truth while misleading with part of a lie, or omit the truth for sake of convenience. Someone out there is desperately needing to hear the truth. Someone is desperate for a person who will not lie to them, a person they can utterly depend on so they can believe the words and find salvation. The price we pay for dishonesty is our entire witness becomes tainted. This is too high of a price for any Christian, especially when we are to be children of Truth, born by the Spirit of Truth. When you cannot be trusted with telling the truth in the simple things in life, how can you be relied upon for the truth of eternal salvation? The Truth is of the utmost importance. Never be willing to sacrifice it, for it is who you are called to be.
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever even the Spirit of truth;
whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. John 14:16-17
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While everyone is celebrating Palm Sunday today... the truth for 2018 is that this Sunday isn't really the "Palm Sunday" of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem. While it is technically the fixed date the Church decided to celebrate, it isn't based on the truth of the crucifixion or resurrection as identified in Scripture.
For 2018, Passover occurs on sundown, March 30. This means the date of Jesus dying on the cross at 3pm would be on March 31st (Nisan 14th on the Jewish calendar). Four days before this event is Nisan 10th, the day the lamb is selected; the date Jesus would have triumphantly entered Jerusalem on the donkey. This means this year, "Palm Sunday" actually is "Palm Tuesday," March 27, 2018. Palm Tuesday doesn't sound as romantic, but it's accurate. Similarly, the day you were born on might originally have been a Sunday, but this year your birthday is actually on a Wednesday. The date of the month you were born remains the same, but the day of the week moves depending on the year. For those of you who love the Lord, it's nice to know we can still know the EXACT date Jesus suffered and died with little work, but it requires us moving away from the traditions of men in order to find the Truth. It's also wonderful to know we can be positive that before sunrise on April 3rd of this year, Jesus arose from the grave, and the tomb was found empty by Mary. So while you might be celebrating Easter next Sunday... remember on Tuesday morning, April 3, 2018, that this was the actual date almost 2,000 years ago your Savior conquered death! This is Nisan 17, and this is the reason for my newest book: Redemption's Secret.
Today I visited my friend with stage 4 cancer who is struggling immensely with chronic pain, the poverty associated with a catastrophic illness, and the overwhelming discouragement of life where everything seems to fight against you. She's has battled clinical depression and suicidal thoughts for over 30 years; now facing death she deeply longs to continue living. To be perfectly honest, I myself have been battling depression lately as my daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor within the past month. Wondering about whether she might live or die in her last year high school year was beyond discouraging. Not having any solid answers from the doctors makes it worse. While we trudge through the minefield of life with one explosion after another wounding us, it is often easy to lose sight of our eternal hope because we are overcome by the darkness of depression. My beautiful friend reminded me how being in the refining fire like gold is preparing us for better things and to keep hope alive in my heart. Seriously, I said to her, "I don't care about being pure gold, or having pure faith... I don't mind being partly corrupted or tainted, just so long as this fire stops now." She laughed and said, "Sharon, but we must go through it. God has a better plan; you will see." Intrinsically I know I can't stop the fire or the trial, but neither do I truly want to continue through it either. The pain is too intense at times. Yep, this is the crappy part of life, where we have to remind ourselves and each other that thanks to Jesus, this is as close to hell as we will ever experience. Heaven is waiting when we are through finished. The glory prepared for us will be eternal, and this shall pass away, no longer to be remembered. I admit, it's not easy to say some days, and at times it's even hard to remember, but any present evil in your life will stop. It will not last into eternity. You and I will be free of the pain, the sorrow, and the burdens of this life because Jesus lives and made a way for us to enter in to His Kingdom.
For I know that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy
to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:18 My newest book, Redemption's Secret: Understanding the Mystery of Nisan 17 the Most Important Date in History is now available! After finishing Jesus Unveiled, I realized more work needed to be done on Nisan 17 to help readers understand the significance behind this amazing date. While researching I was surprised how much I learned about the pictographs in Hebrew surrounding the number 17 and the entire gospel message outlined on that number, as opposed to all the other popular numbers, in scripture repeatedly. This book has many new insights that will bless your Easter or Resurrection bible study time. Buy it now!
This month the US Supreme Court decided not to hear Raphael Golb's case. This means Mr. Golb's previous convictions and jail time will be upheld. Raphael Golb is the son of University of Chicago professor Norman Golb, who had previously debated the origin of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and is now a disbarred lawyer convicted of a myriad of offenses. Raphael Golb impersonated several Dead Sea Scroll scholars in emails and blog posts to discredit their work and the validity of the Scrolls. In 2010, he was found guilty of 30 counts of identity theft, forgery, and harassment. The Appellate Courts dropped a total of 11 counts against him, but the other convictions and time remained. After the Supreme Court refused to hear his case, Mr. Golb will now finally face his punishment for the 17 charges. Mr. Golb is an excellent example of how Satan, the enemy of our souls, will use anything and everything to discredit the validity of Scripture and scholars who research its credibility. The Dead Sea Scrolls were confirmation of the reliability of the Masoretic text, upheld the Septuagint, and provided awareness of other circulating religious books of the time period. Satan and Mr. Golb would have you to believe otherwise. Mr. Golb's efforts having been circulated on the internet have been picked up by several websites refuting the reliability and historical accuracy of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Scripture. While the authors of those anti-Christian websites were probably unaware of Mr. Golb's deception, they also have not made any effort to removing the false claims. Therefore, as many of you already know, when it comes to the internet, using primary sources are extremely valuable for obtaining accurate information. The website should be operated by a business that is forthright in contact information and scholarly testimony. Sources like the Biblical Archeology Society at www.biblicalarchaeology.org is one of the trustworthy resources a Christian can research for accurate information. "Behold, you have sinned against Yahweh, and be sure your sin will find you out." Numbers 32:23 I'm always hearing about how we will have these great blessings once we arrive in Heaven. It's true Jesus came to save you from the eternal punishment of sin. And it's also true many good blessings await us in Heaven. BUT, Jesus' work on the cross was about more than you going to Heaven. He came to not only save you from your sins but to deliver you out of them. The salvation Jesus gives is more than just for the Sweet By & By, long after you die. The salvation Jesus gives is for the Dirty Here & Now! There is FREEDOM from the power of sin that has reigned over you in this life. It takes living in God's truth and admitting what God calls sin is really sin. We can no longer live according to the world or side with the world's view and deny God's truth. This means refusing many of the cultural attitudes and daily accepted views in the media. We must agree with God or sin will deceive us. When you agree with God, you will be able to rule over all sin through Jesus; instead of sin ruling over you. We can't justifying our sins and wallowing in them like mud. We cannot say Jesus came and forgave my sins so it's okay for me to keep living in them. No! Jesus came to deliver your FROM them. What Jesus did was more than give you a "Get Out of Hell Free" card. He never came to give you the idea that you can live any way you want, embracing sin. That was not the gospel message! Jesus came to make you Sons and Daughters of the Most High God while you are on this Earth, as well as eternally in Heaven. He came to give you POWER over the enemy, over sin in your life. If you have accepted Christ as your savior, then walk with Him in power over the areas of your life where you were yielding to sin. Jesus' power and authority reside inside of you to give you authority over sin. You can stop any bad habit, sinful lifestyle, or unhealthy behavior if you are willing to first acknowledge they are sin and remember your position in Christ, which puts all powers of the enemy under your feet! (Ephesians chapters 1 and 2) There is power in the name and position of Jesus to overcome IN THIS WORLD and the one to come! As Jesus is, so are we IN THIS WORLD! 1 John 4:17 |
Sharon Aubrey
An Alaskan Author, Prospector, Homeschool Teacher, Ordained Minister, I welcome your comments! Before you post, please see my
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