There are some people who have the gift of discernment given to them by God. The world calls it intuition or a knowing that seems like sorcery. But in those who seek God first and ask for wisdom; God gives what they need to discern lies from truth in people and in situations which make them feel uneasy. My dad, a man of strong faith, had discernment from God. When people unknown to our congregation would try to flatter leaders and then lead through manipulation of others in our church or family; we would ask Dad what he thought. Dad didn’t want to judge, he wanted to first think the best of people. But when an uneasiness would form; he would “pray about it’ for a while. God would lead him with clarification to settle his soul or warn him impending danger for when “something was not quite right” and was probably a lie. Without or without dad’s thoughts, prayers and input; God had a way for Truth to rise above the lies for all to see. God still does that for us!
Why is God the best and first place to go? God does not lie. He is Truth. It is not in his character to lie. Jesus, who is God in flesh, is Truth. Jesus, who came to seek and to save the lost without God–all because of the lies of the Deceiver, the enemy of God. Jesus said of Himself for all to hear; “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
God is truth. Jesus is truth. God’s Holy Spirt is truth who lives in us to guide us to truth.
Want the truth and nothing but the truth? GO TO GOD FIRST!
Joshua 9, The Message
Gibeon
1-2 All the kings west of the Jordan in the hills and foothills and along the Mediterranean seacoast north toward Lebanon—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, Girgashites, and Jebusites—got the news. They came together in a coalition to fight against Joshua and Israel under a single command.
3-6 The people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai and cooked up a ruse. They posed as travelers: their donkeys loaded with patched sacks and mended wineskins, threadbare sandals on their feet, tattered clothes on their bodies, nothing but dry crusts and crumbs for food. They came to Joshua at Gilgal and spoke to the men of Israel, “We’ve come from a far-off country; make a covenant with us.”
7 The men of Israel said to these Hivites, “How do we know you aren’t local people? How could we then make a covenant with you?”
8 They said to Joshua, “We’ll be your servants.”
Joshua said, “Who are you now? Where did you come from?”
9-11 They said, “From a far-off country, very far away. Your servants came because we’d heard such great things about God, your God—all those things he did in Egypt! And the two Amorite kings across the Jordan, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth! Our leaders and everybody else in our country told us, ‘Pack up some food for the road and go meet them. Tell them, We’re your servants; make a covenant with us.’
12-13 “This bread was warm from the oven when we packed it and left to come and see you. Now look at it—crusts and crumbs. And our cracked and mended wineskins, good as new when we filled them. And our clothes and sandals, in tatters from the long, hard traveling.”
14 The men of Israel looked them over and accepted the evidence. But they didn’t ask God about it.
15 So Joshua made peace with them and formalized it with a covenant to guarantee their lives. The leaders of the congregation swore to it.
16-18 And then, three days after making this covenant, they learned that they were next-door neighbors who had been living there all along! The People of Israel broke camp and set out; three days later they reached their towns—Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. But the People of Israel didn’t attack them; the leaders of the congregation had given their word before the God of Israel. But the congregation was up in arms over their leaders.
19-21 The leaders were united in their response to the congregation: “We promised them in the presence of the God of Israel. We can’t lay a hand on them now. But we can do this: We will let them live so we don’t get blamed for breaking our promise.” Then the leaders continued, “We’ll let them live, but they will be woodcutters and water carriers for the entire congregation.”
And that’s what happened; the leaders’ promise was kept.
22-23 But Joshua called the Gibeonites together and said, “Why did you lie to us, telling us, ‘We live far, far away from you,’ when you’re our next-door neighbors? For that you are cursed. From now on it’s menial labor for you—woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
24-25 They answered Joshua, “We got the message loud and clear that God, your God, commanded through his servant Moses: to give you the whole country and destroy everyone living in it. We were terrified because of you; that’s why we did this. That’s it. We’re at your mercy. Whatever you decide is right for us, do it.”
26-27 And that’s what they did. Joshua delivered them from the power of the People of Israel so they didn’t kill them. But he made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the Altar of God at the place God chooses. They still are.
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
God’s people are not perfect. They fell for a ruse from a neighboring group of Gibeonites. Flattered by this group’s spokesperson; they fell for their deceit. Why? Verse 14 says it all; “The men of Israel looked them over and accepted the evidence. But they didn’t ask God about it.”
Falling for lies has consequences. Telling lies has consequences. What are we willing to live with? Truth or lies? Our choice. God wants to live Truth and gives us the ability to choose truth with the power of His Holy Spirit living in us. How often to do first “pray about it” asking for the discernment of God’s Holy Spirit? How often do we tap into the gift of God’s resurrection power that lies within us who guides us to all that is God/Truth? This is “tapping into power” discipline is worth all our efforts to obtain as we sift through the information the world distributes daily.
TRUTH:
“God does not lie” (Titus 1:2). He is “the God of truth” (Isaiah 65:16 ESV). “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind.” God was, is and always will be Truth.
Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, You would have known my Father also. From now on you know him and have seen him” (John 14:6–7).
Jesus relates the work of God’s Holy Spirit: “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine. That is why I’ve said, ‘He takes from me and delivers to you.’” John 16:13-15, MSG
When we believed the gospel, and trusted Jesus to save us, that’s when we were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. If you are a Believer in Jesus, then the Bible calls you God’s temple because “God’s Spirit dwells in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16).
Believers in Jesus are led by God’s Holy Spirt of truth. Paul, a person devoted to Jesus and His church, explains how His Spirit of Truth works in all who believe;
“This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.
So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.” Colossians 1:26-29, NLT
(*Gentile—anyone not a Jew from birth. “Perfect” used here means maturing in faith.)
Who do we depend on for truth? Pause to “pray about it and talk it over” with God’s Holy Spirit who will guide us. I am recalling a gospel song of my childhood— “Just a Little Talk with Jesus Makes it Right” For me, it takes more than a “little talk” but a passionate plea for truth these days!
“I sought the Lord, and He heard, and He answered.” This a phrase from a popular song today in reference to Psalm 34:4; “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. God’s love drives out all fear.
And do you know what else God’s loves? God loves to give us wisdom, the skills for living truth, when we ask Him. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” James 1:5-8
Lord,
“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.
Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you.
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” Psalm 143:8-10
In Jesus Name, for our good and your glory, Amen
Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus) 