Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

As I stated yesterday, today we will explore worshiping God in truth as He desires.

Today’s scripture again is John 4:20-26 (NIV)…
[20] Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” [21] “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. [22] You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. [23] Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. [24] God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” [25] The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” [26] Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

Consider…
Yesterday we shared from AI Overview that worshipping “in spirit and truth” means expressing worship from the heart, with sincerity, and in accordance with what is biblically true about God. “In spirit” refers to worship that is genuine, heartfelt, and originates from within, enabled by the Holy Spirit, rather than being a mere ritual or performance. “In truth” means that worship must be grounded in and conform to the reality of who God is, as revealed in Scripture, not based on personal feelings or misconceptions.

Yesterday we examined the “In spirit” part of Jesus’ declaration. Before we jump into “In truth”, the Holy Spirit wants me to point out that Jesus used the conjunction ‘and’ to link both requirements of genuine worship.

Oxford Languages defines ‘and’ as used to connect words of the same part of speech, clauses, or sentences, that are to be taken jointly.

That means genuine worship must be jointly Spirit led ‘and’ based in truth.

I thought AI Overview did a good job explaining “In truth”. Highlighting the explanation…
worship must be grounded in and conform to the reality of who God is, as revealed in Scripture, not based on personal feelings or misconceptions.

Two scriptures immediately came to mind as I read that.

First, Jesus said in John 16:13-14 NLT
[13] When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. [14] He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.

That aligns with Spirit led worship. Notice Jesus says we will be guided in truth by the Spirit of truth. That means, truth is a place that we must operate in.

When I looked up the definition for truth in Oxford Languages it said it’s a noun and means that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality.

That runs me back to Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)…And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Linking Oxford Languages to this verse tells us the Spirit of truth will lead us in accordance with the reality of who God is and the facts of His word.

Speaking of the facts of God’s word, the second scripture that immediately came to mind was 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)…
[16] All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. [17] God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

For proper emphasis, let’s bullet point the usefulness of Scripture…

• teach us what is true
• make us realize what is wrong in our lives
• corrects us when we are wrong
• teaches us to do what is right

A couple things stand out after seeing that laid out in bullet point form…

First, Paul said all Scripture, singular. That means God said one thing, not multiple things. He may reiterate, emphasize, reframe for the purpose of understanding, but the Word of God is one continuous thought.

Next, Scripture is meant to be a development or educational tool.

• Teach, what is true
• Assess, where we’re wrong
• Correct, what is wrong
• Teach, what is right

This seems like a good TACT to use when reading Scripture…

• What does God say is true
• Where am I wrong
• When will I stop
• What must I do instead

Instead of just talking in hyperbole, let’s use a real life example from Jesus. He said in Matthew 5:43-45 NLT
[43] “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. [44] But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! [45] In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

Jesus…

• Taught us what being a true child of God is
• Assessed our wrong litigious way of thinking
• Corrected that wrong legalistic theology
• Taught us the right way of loving like our Heavenly Father

On face we typically view this passage as a mandate to love our enemies, but in reality it’s a lesson plan on being a true child of God.

Here’s additional reference material to explain why. 1 John 4:16 (NLT) states…We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.

Do you see it? Living in love is reflective of a true relationship with God!

The word ‘true’ continues to pop up in my searches about truth, so it seems like I should define it too. Oxford Languages defines it as…

• A verb: bring (an object, wheel, or other construction) into the exact shape, alignment, or position required.
• An adverb: accurately or without variation.
• An adjective: in accordance with fact or reality.

I like those definitions because combined they render…
To be exactly shaped, aligned or positioned, without variation with Who God is and what He says!

This what the Spirit of truth leads us into.

I can’t think of truth without hearing Jesus declare in John 14:6 (NLT)…“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

You see, if we want to reach the Father, which worship seeks to do, we must go by way of Jesus, and live according to His truth.

That harkens me to Ephesians 4:20-24 (NLT), where Paul exhorts…
[20] But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. [21] Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, [22] throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. [23] Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. [24] Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

Notice our inspiration to change begins with the truth we learn from Jesus .

That made me think, ‘when you know better, you do better’.

You see there’s something liberating about the truth. John 8:31-32 (NLT) affirms…
[31] Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. [32] And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

People like to only quote the last part of those verses, “the truth will set you free”. But not knowing the truth means you risk trusting and acting on a lie, so while the truth will set you free, it doesn’t liberate the unfaithful and uneducated to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

All of what the Holy Spirit showed me about ‘truth’ today boils down to this, “in truth”, means in alignment with Jesus’ example, especially of obedience.

You already know that I am going to Philippians 2:5-8 (NLT)…
[5] You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. [6] Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. [7] Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, [8] he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

The Holy Spirit just showed me something new about this passage, which is as children of God we must have the same attitude as the Son of God. His attitude wasn’t one of pride, privilege and power, but rather one of humility, submission and obedience.

That brings Jesus’ testimony to mind from Matthew 20:28 (NLT)…
[28] For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

So, for all my ‘King’s Kids’ out there, prove it by serving and giving yourselves in love, like our Heavenly Father’s only begotten Son! Don’t take my word for it, Jesus Himself said in 1 John 3:16 (NLT)…We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.

This seems like a good place to pause in our worship examination of “in truth”.

If you want to worship God “in truth”, then only listen and follow the voice of God’s Word, also known as Jesus Christ! Here’s the good news, God left us a Teacher’s Assistant in the person of the Spirit of truth!

Today let’s focus on hearing and heeding the voice of truth in worship to God that He desires and deserves.

Today’s song is…
Voice Of Truth

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)