Telling the Truth

“In the desert someone is shouting, ‘Get the road ready for the Lord! Make a straight path for him.’”

Matthew 3:3b (CEV)

Every day we face a war on truth in our culture. Everyone makes up their own rules. Many believe that each person has their own truth.

But that’s not what God says. With God, there is one truth—his truth, as recorded in the Bible. During Bible times, God sent a man to proclaim the truth and tell people to get right before Jesus came. His name was John.

You could say John was a peculiar guy—living alone in the desert, wearing camel’s hair clothing, eating bugs and honey. But people saw he was a prophet, and they paid attention. John boldly called people to repent—to turn away from sin and rebellious attitudes, to straighten up their lives. To show their change of heart, John would baptize them in the Jordan River—earning him the name “John the Baptist.”

John’s entire life was dedicated to proclaiming God’s truth. He was bold about it, and ultimately, he died for it. He called out even the most powerful people on their sin.

While God might not be asking us to live in the wild in isolation, he is calling us to be different. We need to speak his truth with our words … and live out his truth through our actions.

SPIRITUAL FITNESS TRAINING

What might these words from today's key verse mean for your life? What is God asking you to do?

• desert
• someone
• shouting
• road
• ready
• Lord
• straight path

INSPIRATION

“Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.”

—D. T. Niles, Ceylonese pastor and evangelist in the 1900s

KEEP IT GOING

Related passages: These additional verses will help you expand Scriptural knowledge and place on the armor of God’s Word to tackle each day. Refer to the tabbed Bible references to read the passages today.

1 Chronicles 16:8

Psalm 108:3–4

Matthew 28:19–20

Acts 1:8