Truth Be Told: A Blog by Pastor Bill Alderson

It is no coincidence that Jesus’s first miracle was performed at a Galilean (Cana) wedding. The wedding was the most important event taking place in the Galilean villages of Jesus’s day since it was to be celebrated by all. The entire church age as defined by the new covenant established by Jesus at His first coming is predicated on the traditional wedding feast of the first century. By examining the elements of this wedding, the believer in Christ can begin to appreciate the sanctity of the relationship with Christ, His completed work and His promises. The wedding began with a betrothal. The father of the bridegroom would select a bride for his son and a marriage covenant would be obtained. The father of the bride and bridegroom would meet and agree upon a dowry, intended to be given by the bridegroom to the bride as consideration in case the bridegroom were to abandon the bride by divorce or death. The bridegroom would select a ring and take a cup of wine and offer them to the brid...

  One of the most important statements Jesus made at the Sermon on the Mount dealt with the people’s concerns about who He was in relationship to the Old Testament, defined by the Law and the Prophets. In Matthew 5:17, He said that He did not come to abolish (do away with) the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them. He further states that it is a sure thing in verse 18. Jesus was telling them that He came to complete the required relationship with God as revealed in the Law of Moses so that He could introduce a new one. This new relationship would be better than the old since He would become the strength of it as mediator. He was introducing a ministry of excellence, as Hebrews 8:6 says, “ But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry , by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant , which has been enacted on better promises ”.   John 2:1-10 “ 1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 and both Jesus a...

Jacob’s 11 th son, Joseph is a picture of one who overcame rejection and became the second most powerful man in Egypt. His life is a testimony of the way God can use anyone to be victorious in spite of incredible opposition and betrayal by even his own family. Genesis 39:1-4 “1 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. 3 Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and how the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge .” Having been rejected by his own brothers, Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt. What is striking about him is his response. Joseph did not resist or com...

  Romans 4:16-22   “16 For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 (as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. 18 In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE." 19 Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; 20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He ...

  As I get older and older, the passage of time becomes more obvious and my awareness of time more relevant. To the young person, time is something that is in much abundance and to guard or protect it is not so important. Solomon spent a great deal of Ecclesiastes considering the dynamics of time and its effect on his pursuit of a meaningful life. Gleaning Biblical principles helps the believer to become a good manager of the time afforded him by God which makes life on earth purposeful.   No regrets   A few years ago a nurse working in palliative care found herself having profound conversations with her patients. The result was a book,  The Top Five Regrets of the Dying . From what the dying wished they had done differently, the living could learn precious lessons about the changes they should make in their own lives — before it’s too late. They express the need to value time more wisely. Here are the five regrets. 1.       “I wish I...

  Psalm 27:1-5   “1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread? 2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. 3 Though a host encamp against me, my heart will not fear; though war arise against me, in spite of this I shall be confident. 4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple . 5 For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; in the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock .” One of my favorite passages in Scripture is found in Psalm 27. David testifies to his relationship with God as a place of protection and a place reserved specifically for him. God wants each believer to recognize that he is special. In verse 4, David seeks his own dwelling as being ...

  The night before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed to His Father, “ I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do ” (John 17:4). Throughout His public ministry, Jesus was preoccupied with this work as He said that His food was to do the will of His Father and “ to accomplish His work ” (John 4:34). This divine work, planned before the foundation of the world by “ the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God ” (Acts 2:23), is the central part of God’s plan of redemption for all mankind. It requires a victorious Messiah to be the Pascal Lamb (1Cor 5:7). When Jesus said on the cross, “ It is finished! ” in John 19:30, He was speaking about more than His work on earth.   So much of Jesus’s last week of human life was the fulfilling of many Scriptures. The Last Supper was a Passover Seder and at the center of the service was an unblemished lamb that needed to be slain so that blood would be shed. When Paul identified Christ as our Passo...

The story of Martin Luther’s importance to the Protestant Reformation can be summed up in three particular places, representing three major events in his life. These include Wittenberg, where he nailed his Ninety-five Theses on the door of its church, Worms, where he defended his faith in front of the secular authorities, and Wartburg, where he hid for nearly a year and translated the Bible from Latin to German, the language of the people. A Catholic priest, Martin Luther became increasingly disenchanted with a number of practices of the Roman Catholic Church. As a professor of theology, he was a trained academic who spent a great deal of time studying the Scriptures and he was beginning to question the church’s position on salvation. It was a trip he made to Rome in 1511 when he began to seriously question his own spirituality. Luther was bothered by the luxurious living, the loose morals, and the lack of interest in spiritual things among the monks they visited as well. At the sam...