Living Stones Series: First Published in All Around Old Bridge Publication – January 2022

People are much more gullible than you can imagine. A proposed ban of the substance Dihydrogen Monoxide (http://www.dhmo.org/facts.html) claimed:

1. It can cause excessive sweating and vomiting.
2. It can cause severe burns in its gaseous state.
3. Accidental inhalation CAN BE FATAL.

86% signed to support a ban on the chemical, while 12% declined. Only 2% knew that the chemical was simply water—H2O!

The adage that "figures don't lie, but liars sure can figure" is perhaps more meaningful in our technological age than ever before. With medical data, media focus, educational priorities, and political statements, one might wonder how much truth is carefully held. Meanwhile distortions run amok.

A 1928 version of Webster's Dictionary defines truth according to the pages of Scripture: Psalm 119:160 "The entirety of Your word is truth…" And Jesus reiterated this to His disciples in His prayer in John 17, "Your word is truth." Yet today, many fortified with an evolutionary mentality readily discard the past as outdated.

King Solomon was by far wealthier than any known human according to the Scriptures—but the real investment strategy he passed on was to "buy the truth and do not sell" (Proverbs 23:23).

The cynical Pilate, hearing that Jesus came to bear witness to the truth, scoffed, "What is truth?" Is this now where we have arrived in our general thinking?

The old show Dragnet is largely forgotten, but Detective Joe Friday's famous line is iconic—"Just the facts, Ma'am."

There has never been a time in history when the Bible has been under such scrutiny and challenge. Yet its amazingly accurate words have profoundly altered millions of lives and the person of Jesus has impacted more of world history than all others by far. Cold-case detective and author J. Warner Wallace applied his investigative skills in his latest book, "Person of Interest," to show that there is no explanation of history without Jesus playing a significant role. And one would expect this if indeed He is the Son of God. Books, movies, and articles throughout history written about Jesus more than double the second-highest person, not to mention His impact on science, literature, and the arts.

And so, what explains this dismissive attitude toward the Bible which has brought such good upon humanity? And how can we uphold truth in the fuller context of court testimony, "I promise to speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth"?

The Bible expressly predicts the laying aside of the truth in the last days in 2 Timothy 4:3-4. It states, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables." And Romans 1:18 also warns of "…the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness."

Looking at how censorship has taken hold of our nation should be of concern to us all. When the media selectively chooses what to cover, it often leaves out essential information. They point the camera's eye at what they want you to focus on and can obfuscate any accurate account by their bias.

For example, in 1948 when Israel became a nation, Christians worldwide were in awe over the fulfillment of a seemingly-impossible biblical prediction that the Jewish people would return and establish a nation after 19 centuries. It has never happened before with any people, so the odds of this prophecy being fulfilled seemed like a vain hope. Yet, with a strong bias against the Bible, there was practically no mention of this being a fulfillment of the Bible's predictions. Oh, the news of Israel's independence did make the front page, but not the headlines, and left an impression of "business as usual." The same is true in many archaeological finds as workers uncover the layers of history recorded in the Bible. They never make a dent in the secular news—but no book in antiquity can hold a candle to the Bible in its historical and archeological accuracy.

How easy it is to have our biases override plain evidence! The Bible records a curious event where Jesus asked God the Father to glorify His name. "Then a voice came from heaven, saying, 'I have both glorified it and will glorify it again'" (John 12:28). The truth was that God had spoken from heaven—but the only sound that could come from the sky in those days was thunder, and so despite the words they heard, many assumed it could only be thunder.

How powerful our biases can be! What will challenge us to take another look at the Bible? What will cause us to take another look at Jesus—who Himself is "the way, the truth and the life"? How much is the truth worth to you?

People are diligent to study all manner of things that will lead to advancement in this life, but have you ever considered the value of that which is eternal? Now is not the time to be unaware of the reality of God’s truth! Buy the truth and sell not!