Who do you look like?

It’s late and you’re probably wondering again why Rhema is so late! Well, let me tell you the truth! I tried to spiritualize it and say that perhaps it’s a sign of what’s to come. You know…the end. I’m tired and maybe I just don’t have anything left to say. But the Lord stopped me mid sentence and said “tell the truth!” He proceeded to show me how I have prioritized everything before writing and made Rhema a chore rather than the assignment that it is. Hurt my feelings, y’all! But the Lord loves me enough to not want me to live a lie. What I was doing was trying give myself an easy out by making my excuses sound better than the truth. Whew! That will preach, right?! But seriously, what the Lord was trying to remind me of the value of truth in the church. Too many of you have forsaken truth for acceptance and correction for feeling good. But today, the Lord simply said truth = freedom.

So I’m not going to give you a sermon about telling the truth. That would take all day! But what the Lord asked me to briefly share is the importance of walking in your truth. There are so many Christians lying to themselves and other people daily. You know, pretending to be happy but really harboring hatred from 5 years ago. Declaring victory but actually living in bondage. Speaking in tongues but their relationships are in shambles. There are too many people that left self examination and honesty behind in exchange for a good social media presence. But the Lord wanted to remind you that He knows the truth. As a matter of fact, He is the truth! So please mam, please sir, stop making Him out to be otherwise.

Jesus then took me back to one of His most powerful and repeated statements in the Bible. John 8:31-32 says, ““Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. “If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.””(‬MSG‬‬) Notice two things here. One, Jesus is speaking to church folk…people that should already know the benefits of truth. He is calling them out even as He teaches them and reminding them what happens when you obey and listen. Second, truth is not just an easy word that you can pull out when it seems convenient. Nope, it is a noun with power! It will set you free. You see at the beginning of this chapter, Jesus stopped a woman from being stoned to death by calling for the truth. At the end of the day, truth wins.

It is so vital that your reality is reflected in your ministry. People need to see and hear your authentic self. It is time out for lying when your truth could set someone free. In the middle of John 8, Jesus responded to the Pharisees with the summary to it all. He said, ““Jesus replied, “You’re right that you only have my word. But you can depend on it being true.” (John 8:14-18) We are supposed to be like Christ and represent Him well. In order to do that, people should be able to depend on you the same way.

Amen