Hello friends, family, and guest.

I must say the last month has been such a whirl wind for me, yet one topic continues to come up time and time again is truth. Last month I taught a two-day seminar on, "What is Truth?'. I taught it to teens which went extremely well. A week after the event a song on the radio caught my attention called, "The Truth", by Megan Woods. I wish I would have known of this song for my seminar, for it would have been the anthem of the event. Then last week I went to a Women in Apologetics conference in Mt. Juliet, TN. The theme of the conference was "Reasons for Hope", which comes down to the truth of where our hope comes from.

The question of what is truth, is not by any means a new concept. In fact, it has been a question for centuries. We see that in John 18:37-38, Jesus is on trial in front of Pilate, and Pilate ask Jesus if he is a king, for which he is on trial for.

37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”

Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.”

We see here that Jesus tells Pilate for what reason He was sent to earth in order to bear witness of the truth, and everyone who is of the truth hears the voice of Christ. Yet when Pilate ask Jesus, what is truth, I noticed something very interesting. As soon as Pilate asked the question, he did not stay to listen to the answer. As soon as he asked the question, he went out again to the Jews. Many people today do the same thing. They may be wise enough to ask the question, but not wise enough to listen to the answer.

Today with so much technology and media outlets, all of which are claiming to speak truth. How does one know what is truth? First one must know what the definition of truth and why is it important that we know it? Truth is defined as fact or belief that corresponds to reality. The reality portion is vital, because it is the reality portion that separates truth from a dream, VR experience, or even a delusion. In a dream we see things, experience things, and even have reaction to what we are experiencing in the dream. For example, if I am having a nightmare that I am running for my life and wake up. I might have really cried out in my sleep, I may wake up with my heart racing, shortness of breath, but in reality, I wake up relived because it was not true, it was only a dream. Same is true in life, many will present lies that seem, look, feel real, but are not based in reality.

Secondly, in knowing the definition of truth, we need to be educated on the different types of truth there is. There are in fact two types of truth.

1. Subjective Truth- based on claim or influenced by personal feelings, taste,

              or opinions. Examples of this is stating, "Pizza is the best food!" Now although this statement may be true for me, it is only true for me and not for everyone. I cannot make someone else say that pizza is the best food. Maybe they like tacos instead, or maybe they are gluten and lactose intolerant, and pizza would make them sick if they ate it. You see the statement is only true for me and even at that I can change my mind at any moment of time. We have all at one time or other changed our minds on our favorite foods.

2. Objective Truth- the second type of truth is called objective truth. Claim made on facts. It can be proven true or false. Does not involve feelings, taste or opinions. It is true for all people not just for one person. Examples of objective truth is math, and science. It doesn't ever change, and it is true for all people. Like 2+2=4. It doesn't matter what country you are in, what time of day, or generation 2+2 is always 4!

Truth is important because it has relevance and has consequence. If a person has a nut allergy, do you think they are going to take labels seriously if a food is nut free or not. They have to because their life depends on it. The person with the allergy needs to know what label is telling the truth, but if they choose to ignore a label that may have nuts in it, they can die. As an individual truth is important because it protects us, gives us freedom and even life. As a society truth is important because it strengthens social bonds, promotes respect, and builds community. When we look back on history the most horrific events of mass casualties that happened at the hands of man was because of lies. Examples are slavery, genocide, and famine all came about due to lies, which resulted in the destruction of community and nations.

Truths that we believe then leads to our worldviews. Worldviews such as how we view our identity, purpose, faith, humanity, and morality. It is these worldviews that we cannot base our knowledge on subjective truth or something that is based on someone's opinion or feelings. We need to base such important views on facts! It is these reasons that it is important to know what is true and what are lies. Jesus says in John 8:44,

"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

You see Jesus tells us the character of Satan; he is a liar. In John 10:10 he tells us his agenda which is,

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

It is this reason that Satan is pushing such lies upon us. He wants to kill, steal and destroy our youth, families and joy, ultimately confusing us to the point in which we continuously separate ourselves from God. In closing it is this reason that it is vital that we know what is true. In John 14:6 it states,

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through Me.

It is this truth that gives hope, life and salvation and it is only through Jesus Christ. I hope this message will help you understand the importance of truth, and how we cannot allow deception to overtake our reasoning, families or community all for the sake of political correctness. If you enjoyed this blog or others, please subscribe to be updated each time I put out a new blog. God bless you all.

Vedel