Mar 8 - DAY 24 - Transformed by Truth

Day 24

Transformed by Truth

Everyone who hears

these words of mine

and puts them into practice

is like a wise man who

built his house on the rock.

Matthew 7:24 NIV

Wow! I love Rick Warren’s opening lines:

Spiritual growth is the process

of replacing lies with truth

As a pastor, one of my most important jobs is pastoral care. It’s important to visit people when they sick and counsel them when they’re hurting. But I view visiting and counseling as secondary pastoral care.

What’s primary pastoral care: spiritual growth (and the ministry attention needed to encourage that process).

Everyone will face trials in this life. And while it’s nice to have a visit when you’re hurting, it’s better to have a rock to stand on in the face of the storms.

I’ve been to two hospital rooms on the same day. Imagine that in both rooms dad’s had a heart attack. In the first room, I have to spend an hour teaching the faith and building up the faith to a family that’s crippled by fear. In the second room, the family’s also worried. They love their husband and father very much. But after an hour with them, their faith has strengthened my faith.

Do you see the difference? Primary pastoral care – nurturing a family’s spiritual growth – has prepared one family for life’s inevitable illnesses, trials, and even death.  A lack of spiritual maturity – in the other hospital room – has left them totally vulnerable when these same inevitable trials come.

Rick Warren says that spiritual growth involves replacing the lies of the world with the truths of scripture. It is transplant surgery. We need to cut out the obviously diseased tissue – including the world’s lies and our own selfishness.

We also need to replace any theology that’s mixed-up with half-truths. That’s why Rick Warren says, we must abiding in God’s Word. His word is truth. Anything else – including pious and religious half-truths – is ultimately a lie.

And the first step to abiding in God’s Word and growing spiritually is to “accept [the Bible’s] authority.” If God is God, his truth is timeless – and thus is more true than my personal opinions or my culture’s changing values.

Personally, my freedom in Christ began the day I accepted his authority by submitting to his Word. It seems ironic – that submitting is the beginning of freedom – but it’s true. When I submit – and let God be God – I don’t have to be in charge anymore. Someone more loving, more wise, and more powerful is in control. And that’s freeing indeed.

In Christ’s Love,

a former slave

(to myself)