May 1 - May Day
May 1
May Day
Bible Reading: Isaiah 40:6-8
6The voice said, “Cry out!”And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. 8The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.”
TAKE THE MAY Day Challenge! See how many answers in the following quiz you can get right. Decide whether the following statements are true or false:
T F The sun revolves around the earth.
T F Tomatoes are poisonous.
T F Sneezes are the body's way of getting rid of evil spirits.
T F Iron, lead, and other metals can be transformed into gold by a chemical process.
T F The world is flat.
T F Trees have souls.
T F The Black Death was caused by evil vapors.
So, how many did you think were false? How many did you identify as being true?
The truth is, all of the statements above are false. While all of those statements were once thought to be true, the truth is, they have always been false.
For thousands of years, many people thought the sun revolved around the earth. But what they thought did not change what was true. The sun was the center of the solar system the whole time! Similarly, the fact that people once considered tomatoes--or "love apples" as they called them--to be poisonous didn't change the truth. And no matter how many people agreed that the "Black Death," or bubonic plague, was caused by "evil vapors," the truth (that the deadly plague is spread by fleas from infected rats) never changed.
Truth doesn't change. People may be mistaken. Stories may be incorrect. Ideas may be wrong. But truth doesn't change.
A prophet named Isaiah once wrote that "the word of our God stands forever" (Isaiah 40:8). And Jesus once prayed to his Father, "Your word is truth" (John 17:17, NIV). No matter what textbooks or teachers may say, no matter what you read in the newspaper or hear on the evening news, no matter what new light may be shed on old mysteries, the truth will never change. We may deny it or acknowledge it. We may ignore it or recognize it, but whether we know it or admit that we know it, the truth is the truth. And it doesn't change.
REFLECT: Can you think of other things that were once thought to be true but never were? Can you change what's true by admitting it or denying it? Can anyone do that? Since Jesus said God's word is truth, do you think followers of Jesus should: (a) believe the Bible? (b) read the Bible? (c) memorize parts of the Bible? (d) obey the Bible? (e) do all of these? Which do you do? Which do you need to do more of?
PRAY: "Thank you, God, that Your Word will always be true."