Truth’s Cutting Edge

Truth’s Cutting Edge

When Stephen finished declaring the truth to his accusers, the reaction he got was anything but mild:

When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with [their] teeth. (Acts 7:54 – NASB)

They were so cut to the heart by the truth he declared that it led to his stoning.

The writer to the Hebrews confirms the sharp penetrating power of God’s Word, and how it can expose the very intentions (motives) of the heart.

 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 – NASB)

It is because the sharp cutting edge of truth that people try to blunt it.

When I am shaving I don’t want to use a razor that is blunt; doing so could be quite painful, besides being ineffectual. I don’t want to use a blunt scissors, or a scalpel when a doctor is about to perform an operation.

The healing of the soul requires a very sharp instrument, but we often choose to save ourselves from the cutting edge of God’s Word, rather than allow it to do its full work in us. Why? Because the pain of confessing the sin and shame is too painful to endure. We choose comfort over character, ease rather than the courage it takes to please God.

There are preachers who shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God lest they offend the sensibilities of their hearers. They would rather risk the displeasure of Heaven, than the censure of a few prominent board members.

God help us if we don’t allow God’s Word to do its perfect work.

Come, and let us return unto the Lord:
for he hath torn, and he will heal us;
he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. (Hosea 6:1 – AKJV)

I Won’t

(Wednesday 1^st October 2003)

I won’t soften it up

Or water it down,

Or change the message because

Of a frown that comes my way.

The Truth is as sharp as a doctor’s

Scalpel, and is meant to heal, not harm —

To blunt its edge is a cruel invention,

Revealing an evil, base intention.

So, I won’t soften it up

Or water it down:

I’ll preach it straight and

Make it plain,

Regardless of whether it

Administers pain, or pleasure,

Or ecstatic joy. I’ll spread

God’s truth — without alloy.

I’ll serve it up in the spirit of Love,

With the help of Heaven and the

Host of Light:

I’m not alone as I stand my ground:

By the mercy of God

In His truth I’m found.

I won’t soften it up

Or water it down,

Or change the message because

Of a frown that comes my way,

But I need the prayers of

God’s people each day,

To keep me walking the straight,

Narrow way.

Please visit My website: www.christophershennan.ca
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Nothing but the Truth

(Picture credits at end of post)

“Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.” (John 1:47 – KJV)

Jesus said in John chapter eight that the truth would set us free, but how deep does the truth have to penetrate for that to happen? I would say, “Pretty deep.”

You see, guile and deceit comes various subtle forms; they are not confined to the obvious deception or to the deliberate lie. Untruth can lie so far below the surface that subtle forms of it can emerge almost without our being aware of it.

Sometimes we can lie even while telling the truth – but not all of it. We say what is true while withholding certain facts that could throw a different light on a situation. The rule of thumb is that half a truth is a whole lie.

King David realized this in that great confessional prayer in Psalm 51 when he said: Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, (Psalm 51:6 – NASB)

The question is, “How do I get the truth to penetrate into those lower levels of my nature? How do I eliminate all forms of guile as Nathaniel seems to have experienced?

Jesus reveals the secret in John chapter 8

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, [then] you are truly disciples of Mine; ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:32-33 – NASB)

So the answer appears to be quite simple:

Continue to follow through with the words of Christ, and it will work its miracle in you, and remove all guile from your soul.

Nothing but the Truth

© 10th October 1992 – by Christopher Shennan)

“Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.” (John 1:47 – KJV)

Don’t let me lie

In thought or word or deed,

Or subtle tones of voice

To which my friends give heed.

Don’t let deceit,

Or its dark shadow, fall

Even close to where I walk,

In answer to Your Call.

Nathaniel was

A man in whom no guile

Was let to dwell at all —

Not even for a while.

May it be said of me,

As it was of him,

That the light of truth I hold

Ne’er waxes cold or dim.

Please let the Truth

Enhance my daily walk,

A part of what I am —

Not only what I talk.

Don’t let the truth

Be tainted by my tongue,

Or made to seem unlike

The Pure and Holy One.

Create in me —

Within my inward part —

The unfeigned Truth of God,

Well written on my heart.

Please visit My website: http://www.christophershennan.ca
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Find the Truth by Harie-ruto. Copyright. Used under the CC BY-ND 3.0 license; please note the Disclaimer at this link. No changes were made to this image.

Cracked Ice and a Fervent Heart

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Cracked Ice and a Fervent Heart

I have heard the cracks as I poured warm Cola over ice in a glass, and I have witnessed similar cracks occur in Holy Scripture when a passionate heart has been released upon a cold-hearted audience.

When Stephen released his passionate assessment of his own contemporaries upon the cold hearts of his listeners (Acts 7:51-53), the resulting crack led to his own martyrdom:

 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they [began] gnashing their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; ⁵⁶ and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷ But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. (Acts 754-57 – NASB)

Jeremiah experience the crack when he was let down into a well and had mud up to his armpits. He was also locked in the prison house all because he unflinchingly declared God’s truth to his generation.

I have felt the crack when some warm truth from God’s Word has washed over my own cold heart.

And I long to see the crack appear in the Western church when God raises an anointed Voice to wake her up from her lukewarm slumber.

I’d Rather

(© Wednesday 24^th December 2014 – by Christopher Shennan)

But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. ¹⁴ For this reason it says,

“Awake, sleeper,
And arise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you.” (Ephesians 5:13-14 – NASB)

I’d rather have a crack right through

My frozen heart, than to suffer

The consequences of coldness;

That, I declare, would be tougher.

The warm truth of God flows over

My coldness of heart and cold mind;

It cracks my stubborn will right through,

And melts all resistance – I find.

I’d rather endure persecution

When I speak the Truth from my heart,

Than wallow in self-satisfaction,

And know I have not done my part.

I’d rather the Church be ready,

And waiting for Jesus the King,

Than to wallow in self comfort

And have no true praises to sing.

Oh, pour Your warm Truth upon us;

Crack our complacency right through.

For, Lord, we need a revival

To bring all our hearts back to You.

 Please check out my books at My website: http://www.christophershennan.ca
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Ice Cubes by Darren Hester. Copyright. Used under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license: please note the Disclaimer at this site. No changes were made to this photo.

A Listening Ear

A Listening Ear

 

Read: Luke 8: 16-18

And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.

²⁵ For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath. (Mark 4:24-25 – KJV)

Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have. (Luke 8:18 – KJV)

Mark reports Jesus message as being careful what we hear, while Luke reports Him cautioning us to be careful how we hear.

Both what Mark reported and what Luke reported are vital maxims for followers of Christ. We have to be selective in what we allow ourselves to hear, and we have to be careful of the manner in which we hear what God has to say to us.

First we have to select what is worthy of our attention, as the apostle Paul urges in his letter to the Philippians:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4:8 – KJV)

Once we have decided what is worthy of our attention, we need to go one step further: We need to give attention to how we hear what we have decided is worth listening to. We must take it seriously; we must make sure it does not slip from our grasp.

The worthy things must be applied to our lives, or they become nothing more than sentimentality. We end up loving the words, but neglecting the work those words are designed to accomplish in our lives. We are deceived into imagining we are growing spiritually, when all that has happened, is that we have given mental assent to the words worthy of our attention.

If we are serious about following Christ, we need to do more than that; we need to ruthlessly apply the truth we hear to specific areas of our lives that need attention.

Give Me Ears to Hear

(© Tuesday 5^th May 2014 – by Christopher Shennan)

Give me ears to hear that filter

All of the worldly chatter out;

All of the vain philosophy

The world is excited about.

 

Give me ears that can discern

What is false and what is true,

So my heart can be directed

To the path that will lead to You.

 

Yet once I know what is worthy,

I need to know just one more thing;

Know just how to apply it, dear Lord,

To the path I am following.

 

I want the words I listen to;

Those that have been tried and are true,

To be the words that are changing,

And making me become like You.

Picture by Joanne Shennan

Check out my books at My website: http://www.christophershennan.ca
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Love of the Truth

Love of the Truth

…they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. (2 Thessalonians 2:10b – NASB)

            Acknowledging the Truth and loving the truth can be two different things.

            You can accept the truth that God wants you to remain married to your wife till death parts you – but you may not love the idea that you have to spend the rest of your life with her.

            You may acknowledge your political opponent has won the election, but hate that he has beaten you.

            God does not just want us to recognize His Truth; He wants to give us a love for the Truth.

            The Truth can only set us free if we embrace it; simply acknowledging it without loving it will rob it of its liberation power.

            Truth acknowledged but not embraced is like a seed stored on a shelf but not planted. It will never bloom in your life, or set you free.

Loving the Truth

(© Wednesday 21^st May 2014 – by Christopher Shennan)

 …they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

I did not love the truth I’d found,

Though I kept it in my treasure;

I loved so many other things,

For they gave me so much pleasure.

 

I kept the truth quite safe in store;

I was sure no one could steal it;

So many other things were there,

I was sure they’d never see it.

 

I had the truth; it gathered dust

On a shelf where things could hide it

It was sure to be overlooked

Where no one else could find it.

 

That is the way it was, dear friend,

Till God’s mercy made an offer:

To grant my heart a love for truth,

Such as only Christ could proffer.

 

He said if I would receive it,

And give it first place in my heart,

He’d give me treasure from Heaven,

And joy that would never depart.

 

So I cleared out all earthly treasures

To make place for those that will last;

Truly my Lord kept His promise –

And the riches I have gained are vast.

Excerpt from the Author’s book: Exploring Biblical Prayer (vol. 2) (not yet published).                                                                            Volume 1 available at: http://www.christophershennan.ca