PuttingTruthFirst

It was my habit to put the Christmas tree up immediately after Thanksgiving. I love Christmas and all it stands for. The spirit of giving abounds even though motivations of the heart may be compromised. To really give, one must want to give and do so with only the motive of love behind it. Too many give because they want to receive something or feel that there is some obligation to give in order to be acceptable to ones peers, siblings or parents. There is a tremendous pressure that Christian society places on others at the time of Christmas. We are reflecting on what Christ did for us by coming to a lowly manger, laying aside his divinity to take up humanity. My, what a step He took. And yet repeatedly, we see the love He had for all mankind which demonstrates the idea that God felt the world and everyone in it both past, present and future are worth saving. This is really what I perceive Christmas to be about. A gift was given. A gift of unspeakable love and ever since we h...

What is truth? It would seem to be an obvious conclusion. It is honesty, an absence of distortion of facts or feelings, a clear understanding of reality. This is Truth. Truth is absolute. This is what we know to be our reality. Yet for all of us, to some extent truth has been skewed by our own perceptions. It has been interpreted for us by family, friends, national beliefs, religions and environment. So truth, which is absolute, can be reframed or restated to insinuate a different conclusion. It can be distorted. It is hard to peel away the layers of distortion and arrive at what is real. Our minds are bombarded with information intended both to clarify and cloud truth. Truth for you may not hold the same meaning for me. I have different life experiences, different family, friends than you. So we may hear the same thing, or read the same words and come to a very different conclusion. What then can we do to arrive at actual truth? We must begin from the same point. We m...