Pravda
I just finished listening to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speak to all of congress about how the United States has helped and hopefully will continue to help his country of Ukraine fight for freedom, and how they fight against the powerful lies of Russia’s elite, while Ukraine seeks to fight with dignity and for Truth, or “Pravda” in Ukrainian. He said he believes they have already won the war for the minds of people, knowing they stand on the side of truth.
Rexanne and I have strong feelings for the people of Ukraine. On a mission trip with Master Provisions to this country in 2007 we made many friends there, including a family we spent two nights with in the town of Belegorsk, Crimea, which has been under Russian control for several years now. We sent money monthly for 10 years to support this family as they adopted a child through Master Care, a sister organization of Master Provisions. Once Russia took over this region, we lost all contact with them. The father and son who provided transportation for our team on this trip, Victor and Sasha, became close to us also. Sasha was 18 then, about 32 now, and living in Kherson, possibly has been involved in fighting with the Ukrainian army. We just don’t know. We did hear recently, while at the International Conference on Missions, that the church in Belegorsk is still going. We are so glad for that.
What is pravda, or truth? I’m sure there is corruption at many levels in the Ukraine, just like there is in Russia, just like there is in our country. Can we find truth in politics? It’s mixed in there somewhere, often hard to decipher with all the shenanigans practiced by the politicians. Is that where we find truth?
In our American culture it has become an illusive concept. “All truth claims are equal” some say, but logic tells us that cannot be true, it is merely our “all things are relative” society putting their spin on it for selfish gain. Most reading this identify as Christian, so what is truth for you and me? Unfortunately, according to a 2022 Gallup Poll, a record low 20% of Americans now say the Bible is the literal Word of God. That’s half of what a similar poll said in the early 1980’s. Many, including many “Christians,” seem to have lost our bearings on the source of truth.
The apostle John opens his gospel, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us… full of grace and truth.” This man, Jesus, would later say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” So, truth is embodied in Jesus, the Messiah. And he will give credit to the words of scripture containing the truth we need to find salvation in him, and to find the way we should live, as we call on him (John 12:48).
The truth Jesus embodies goes beyond what we believe mentally. The word used for truth in the Old Testament is “emet” and is a “living body of beliefs, proven by how one lives, rather than what one professes.” In the New Testament the word for truth is “aletheia” and is “that which is pure from all error or falsehood and represents conduct conforming to what you believe is true.” These definitions coincide with what we are told in the book of James, when we’re told “faith without works is dead.”
“If we claim to have fellowship with him (Jesus) and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth” (I John 1:6). Jesus had said, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Part of the reason we have so much problem convincing people we have the truth as Christians is because we do not live out what we believe ourselves. “Guide me in your truth and teach me” said the Psalmist (25:5). We need to be saying that prayer more often, our lifestyle impacted by the teaching we believe.
Rexanne and I have strong feelings for the people of Ukraine. On a mission trip with Master Provisions to this country in 2007 we made many friends there, including a family we spent two nights with in the town of Belegorsk, Crimea, which has been under Russian control for several years now. We sent money monthly for 10 years to support this family as they adopted a child through Master Care, a sister organization of Master Provisions. Once Russia took over this region, we lost all contact with them. The father and son who provided transportation for our team on this trip, Victor and Sasha, became close to us also. Sasha was 18 then, about 32 now, and living in Kherson, possibly has been involved in fighting with the Ukrainian army. We just don’t know. We did hear recently, while at the International Conference on Missions, that the church in Belegorsk is still going. We are so glad for that.
What is pravda, or truth? I’m sure there is corruption at many levels in the Ukraine, just like there is in Russia, just like there is in our country. Can we find truth in politics? It’s mixed in there somewhere, often hard to decipher with all the shenanigans practiced by the politicians. Is that where we find truth?
In our American culture it has become an illusive concept. “All truth claims are equal” some say, but logic tells us that cannot be true, it is merely our “all things are relative” society putting their spin on it for selfish gain. Most reading this identify as Christian, so what is truth for you and me? Unfortunately, according to a 2022 Gallup Poll, a record low 20% of Americans now say the Bible is the literal Word of God. That’s half of what a similar poll said in the early 1980’s. Many, including many “Christians,” seem to have lost our bearings on the source of truth.
The apostle John opens his gospel, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us… full of grace and truth.” This man, Jesus, would later say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” So, truth is embodied in Jesus, the Messiah. And he will give credit to the words of scripture containing the truth we need to find salvation in him, and to find the way we should live, as we call on him (John 12:48).
The truth Jesus embodies goes beyond what we believe mentally. The word used for truth in the Old Testament is “emet” and is a “living body of beliefs, proven by how one lives, rather than what one professes.” In the New Testament the word for truth is “aletheia” and is “that which is pure from all error or falsehood and represents conduct conforming to what you believe is true.” These definitions coincide with what we are told in the book of James, when we’re told “faith without works is dead.”
“If we claim to have fellowship with him (Jesus) and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth” (I John 1:6). Jesus had said, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Part of the reason we have so much problem convincing people we have the truth as Christians is because we do not live out what we believe ourselves. “Guide me in your truth and teach me” said the Psalmist (25:5). We need to be saying that prayer more often, our lifestyle impacted by the teaching we believe.