Lynn H. Blackburn

Whatever is true . . . think about these things. (Phil 4:8 ESV)

What is true?

The dictionary defines true as “Truth, Reality. The quality or state of being accurate.”

The Greek word used here is “alethes” and it means “true, loving the truth, speaking the truth, truthful.”

From what I could gather, the word “alethes” is a combination of words that mean “not” and “hidden, concealed” – so “alethes” refers to “things out in the open, unconcealed.”

I find that very interesting.

Because we know that Satan is the father of lies. He is called the deceiver. He specializes in keeping things hidden and concealed.

So it should come as no surprise that Paul exhorts us to think about what is true. In a world filled with lies, our minds must be daily renewed with truth.

So what is true?

God.

John 3:33b – God is true. (ESV)

Does that seem overly simplistic? Maybe it is. But remember, simple doesn’t mean easy.

Every thought must be held up to the light of His Word. If it’s true, then we dwell on it, we ponder it, we allow it to change us.

But not every thought that flits through our mind will be true. Satan will send doubt and shame. He’ll flat out lie, or he’ll take truth and distort it. Sometimes he’ll help us justify our sin until it doesn’t seem all that bad.

How will we know what’s true and what isn’t?

Come back tomorrow…

***********

If you’ve just popped in today, we’re spending the month of October studying renewing. You can read previous posts here.

.