Brown's Daily Word 3-11-10

Good morning,
Praise the Lord for the gift of this new day. It is almost Spring, and it is going to be a glorious day. Our friends Jerry and Barb have started their spring ritual, tapping their maple trees for making maple syrup, one of the simple gifts of the Lord. Barb said she has seen robins, a sure sign of Spring, back in New York. Others in the group shared that they have seen flocks of geese flying North in v-formation. I spoke to some of friends and family members in India yesterday, where it is almost like summer. The mango trees and cotton trees are in full bloom.
The Lord blessed us with a wonderful evening of fellowship and Bible study yesterday. For our Bible Study we looked once again in Matthew 5. The Lord spoke about integrity and honesty.
There is a story of a wealthy businessman who lay upon his deathbed. His pastor came to visit and talked about God’s healing power, and then prayed for his parishioner. When the preacher was done, the businessman said, “Preacher, if God heals me, I’ll give the church a million dollars.” Miraculously, the businessman got better and within a few short weeks was out of the hospital.
Several months later, the preacher bumped into this businessman on the sidewalk
and said, “You know, when you were in the hospital dying, you promised to give the church a million dollars if you got well. We haven’t received it as of yet.”
The businessman replied, “Did I say that? I guess that goes to show how sick I
really was!”
A few years back two men Doug Sherman and William Hendricks, interviewed thousands of people, and they published their findings in a book called, "The Day America Told the Truth". Of those surveyed by the two men,
a. 91% said that they lie on a regular basis.
b. 86% said they lie to their parents regularly.
c. 75% said they lie to their friends.
d. 69% said they lie to their spouses.
e. 50% said they regularly called in to work sick when they weren’t .

In Matthew 5:33-37 we read, “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
This passage reveals some important reasons why we must live truthfully. The first is that dishonesty undermines our relationships. When we lie and fail to keep our promises it destroys the trust that healthy relationships are built upon. Honesty helps us to grow in our relationships with Christ and with others. In Ephesians 4:15 we read, "Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ."
Dishonesty is contrary to the character of God. God is a commitment-keeper
Numbers 23:19 states, "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?"
It is quite the opposite with Satan, the father of lies. John 8:44 b states, regarding Satan, "He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
Being a follower of Christ means a commitment to truth. We need to be people of our word. As Christians, we need to be known as persons who keep our promises, no matter what. The world around us is watching, always waiting to point a finger at us, mock us, and say that Christians are not so different from anyone else.
In Christ,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km63bQinoJk