August 4th
“Help, LORD, for the godly man ceases to be, For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. They speak falsehood to one another; With flattering lips and with a double heart they speak. ” Psalm 12:1-2 NASB
“O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? 2He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. 3He does not slander with his tongue…” Psalm 15:1-3 NASB
“Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.” Psalm 51:6 NKJV
“Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, But those who deal truthfully are His delight.” Proverbs 12:22 NKJV
Integrity was an issue in David’s time just as it is today. Though it may be counter-culture to be truthful, God desires us to be people of integrity. This includes both what we speak and what we think. Why does God feel so strongly about lying? He is the God of Truth. He knows the damage and destruction that even little lies can lead to. Once we start giving falsehood a foothold, the lies we say and think tend to grow.
Another point is that every form of sin involves some kind of a lie. Like Eve, when we sin, we’re buying into a lie of some sort that suggests the boundary God has established in that area is unreasonable or unjust, or that the consequences won’t be as bad as God said they’d be. As a result, our decisions to sin damage our own lives and those of the people around us.
God calls us to worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). In order to worship God in truth, we cannot be harboring lies in any area. God knows everything about us, so it’s futile to try to hide anything from him.
The clean up process starts with identifying the lies we’ve told and thought and confessing them to God. We then can ask God to purify us and strengthen us to walk in truth from this point forward (1 John 1:9). Additionally, the Holy Spirit will help us by “re-sensitizing” us to the truth. As the “Spirit of Truth,” his function is to guide us in truth (John 16:13). This will help sharpen our recognition of the lies we have grown callous to so we can avoid them in the future.
Questions for further thought:
What lies have you harbored in your life? Please take a sheet of paper and jot these down. Ask God to reveal them to you now as you do this.
What do you think it means to worship God in truth?
What actions do you plan to take to pursue truth in your life?
Prayer:
“Lord Jesus, I confess that I have sinned against you by ___________________(list all the ways you’ve lied). Please forgive me for harboring these lies in my life. Please wash my conscience of those lies and renew a steadfast spirit in me that will cling to truth. Thank you for dying for my sins and giving me new life. Holy Spirit, please sharpen my recognition of any lies I have been blinded to. Help me to tell the truth, even when it hurts. Please strengthen me to walk in purity and in truth from this point forward. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.”