truth

     I was reading Christine Cain's blog earlier. And after reading a post, a saying stuck with me. "we cant just do church, we got to be church" Wow, it gives me the chills to even say it myself! Why do I get the chills? Because it is the truth. And whenever God speaks the truth to me, I get chills. Because I don't like to veer away from the truth, especially God's.
     Growing up my parents stressed the importance of obeying. And so I did, well for the most part. But whenever I disobeyed, the inside of me would ache so deeply. Even in the times when I did not get caught, I was still hurting inside. When I did disobey, that hurt feeling stuck with me. Even today, thinking back to times I disobeyed someone, I still feel the hurt and disappointment in myself like it was yesterday.
     When God speaks the truth to me, if I go and disobey Him, that hurt I just described is a million times worse. He tells us the truth, why then should we turn to the world looking for the truth? Friends can lie, family can even lie, this world can be filled with lies, all just to try and meet the needs of people, trying to be nice, to keep that 'safe relationship.' Y'all, I am convicted of lying by trying to protect people from getting hurt. But now, I am asking myself, "Kathryn, when someone lies to you don't you just wish they would have told you the truth?" So if your at all like me- then if that is how we want people to speak to us, shouldn't we always speak the truth?
     Let me shout, God is truth! He is real, He is honest. He is the only one we can fully and completely rely on to tell us the truth. How do we know then what He is saying if we can't always hear Him inside us? Two words.. the Bible. Hmm... sounds like a Sunday School answer? Yes! Even when we were in first grade, we were told to open the Bible for truth. The answer is still the same for us 10, 20, 30, 80, 100 years later.
     I have had the truth sitting in front of me for 19 years. Nineteen years y'all, I had it right in front of me but did not once sit down to really read it! I am all about truth too. I would look for magazines to tell me what I thought I needed to hear, I looked to people to tell me the truth, I looked to possessions, I looked to google, I looked everywhere. And what I can tell you from that mistake... if you want to try and justify what you are doing and look to the world, then you can find that 'answer' you are looking for. But now the question is, is it the truth?
     For nineteen years, I would not bring myself to read the bible. I blamed it on being boring... but in reality, I just didn't want to face the truth. Not only has the Bible provided me with the truth, it has provided me with support, love, comfort, satisfaction, hope, faith, understanding, confidence... everything I need, the Bible meets my needs. It is through God and in His truth, which is the only truth worth hearing and living for. The nineteen years I did not read the bible, I still believed in Him and had a relationship with Him. But let me tell you... as soon as I started hearing His Word and truth, that relationship grew and it grows everyday.
     It has been just three months since I have started reading the Bible. And as soon as I started, I have not, and still not wanted to stop. In fact, yesterday I thought I had lost it and I began to freak out because it literally felt like my life had just gone missing. After I found it, I realized, oh wow... the Bible is apart of my life, without it I would be lost! And it was such a cool feeling. Y'all... that is so true though. Without the Word, we are lost.
     I still make mistakes, everyday I do and I am able to open the Bible to be filled with hope, faith, support, comfort, confidence, understanding and love from God even after my mistakes. I can come to Him and be so honest about my mistakes and still be filled with an everlasting love. I can't describe how amazing and comforting it is to have the Bible. It is the first thing I turn to when I am half awake in the mornings, He gives me the foundation to start my day.
     My prayer is that the world will stop putting a judgement on the bible like I did for so many years. That no one would think of it as out-dated, non relatable. Because it is just the opposite, it is SO relatable, it is SO real.
     Open it, spend time in His word. I began with Ephesians... start in any chapter you like! Just open it! He will not let you down!

1 Timothy 

3:16 All Scriptures is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

4:4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

4:5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.