Truthful Tuesday: Black or White - Denise Pass

Inspirational Thought of the Day:

If we have a standard and do not uphold it, then we have no standard at all.

Scripture of the Day:

Mark 8:33

But after turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.”

Opinions are bemoaned as being black or white when they are stark or clearly delineate a point of view. We are supposed to be “tolerant” of all and having a conviction is legalistic, old fashioned or judgmental. But if we have a standard and do not uphold it, then we have no standard at all.

The upholding of a standard need not be judgmental. It can bring clarity and safety to ones who acknowledge and receive the warning that a rebuke brings.

Exhortation is the ugly stepchild of the spiritual gifts. We would rather encourage others and do not necessarily see speaking the truth as encouragement.

Jesus did not parse words when He called His beloved disciple “Satan”. Such a sharp rebuke for one of the top three closest of His disciples seems harsh and out of place. That is until we consider the spiritual danger of being in error and the lasting legacy we leave behind us, whichever path we choose.

If Christ permitted Peter to talk Him out of the impending suffering, Christ would not have redeemed all of mankind. Sometimes we have to call out the influences in our lives that are not drawing us closer to the LORD and clearly delineate what is from God and what is not.

We cannot serve God and mammon and fuzzy boundary lines do nothing to help us live lives of conviction that please the LORD. The lukewarm attitude that says everyone is fine and is afraid to speak the truth to one another is not love at all.

Although we might not want to be called out as behaving like a black sheep, we all like sheep are capable of straying, but the LORD our Shepherd calls us back to Himself with a loving rebuke and has laid on Himself the iniquity of us all.

Sometimes the truth might hurt and sometimes it might not be spoken in the manner we would like. But Truth, when combined with grace, opens our eyes to see our own deception so our lives are not wasted and leads us to the sweetest gift of all – eternal life with Christ.

Lord, thank You for giving us Your Holy Spirit Who reveals sin in our hearts and pierces our inner being with Your Truth. Help us to faithfully, stubbornly persist in the Way of truth, all for Your glory, teachable and grateful.

Denise Pass, Worship Leader/Songwriter/Artist/Author