Exchange Rate
Matt Miles • June 10, 2021
Have you ever regretted a purchase? Exchanging one item for another has become very important as we purchase more and more online. Online purchasing comes with the inherent risk that you may not get what you paid for. Maybe you bought an item to replace another but then you realize the original is better. This scenario has happened to most of us. It is also the premise behind Romans 1:25, “who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”
We often have exchanged what we have known to be true for a lie. At the time it seemed like we were going to be better off. The new thing is “better”, it fills my needs more completely. As an example, we have a generation of students and young adults being fooled into thinking that our main problem is social and racial injustice, and if they don’t agree, they are part of the problem. A small minority of humanists have usurped power over them with a lie. This lie has a foundation in “the lie”, as Satan’s plan is to draw people away from the Truth. If the Truth can be exchanged for the lie, then it becomes easier to manipulate and gain control of a person. Subsequently, “truth” is rewritten to whatever is desired to accomplish an evil agenda, culminating in the giving of a life in worship of self and the agenda.
The Truth sets free while the lie enslaves and condemns. If we would view ourselves as Jesus does, it would be evident that we are all broken. There is none of us good in and of ourselves. We are in desperate need of the Truth to complete us for all eternity. Only when we realize we have all been created in the Truth’s image will we see what we have exchanged for the lie. As I release my will for His, my spirit is renewed by the very One that made it. Then, and only then, will we see sin as sin with the need for reconciliation, loving our neighbor with a desire that they come to the Truth. Only when sin is replaced with a repentant heart will we have freedom to live the life planned by our Creator.
We must keep looking up to our Creator who is the only One deserving of our worship and devotion. Man-made ideas, agendas and programs will only lead to divisive lives focused on “serving the creature rather than the Creator.”
Blessings to all of you who lift this ministry up in your prayers as we continue LOOKING UP and lead others to do the same!
As we begin a new year, it brings new potential and a figurative “clean slate”. Yet at all times it is always good to remember that the Lord never changes and neither does His purposes. His desire is that all come to Him for salvation. As it is not all will seek their Creator, yet He is always at work around us guiding life through the present sinful, cursed world. His purposes are always to bring glory to himself as our Great Almighty Lord God. This divine guiding, moving, and protecting of His Spirit in the affairs of life is called Providence , our theme for the year here at Creation Truth. His Providence has always been at work since the beginning, guiding for the purpose he has designed us for. Over the course of history, we as people have missed it or chosen not to follow it. Providence of the Lord is what guided His people out of Egypt to the Promised Land. Even while suffering judgment for their sin in the desert, there was Providence , providing for their needs with daily manna and encouraging them on to the Promised Land. At just the right time, Providence bestowed to us a Savior, Jesus Christ. Never would we have planned or made provision for the Savior of the world in the manner He came to earth. All of His work while in the flesh was done to point us to Him and His Glory. Providence was fulfilled on the cross for all eternity with the way for all to find the Lord and salvation, to be guided out of death and overcome the trial of this life through His death, burial and resurrection. Providence , 250 years ago, guided our country’s forefathers to seek a land to freely worship their Creator and Savior, with freedom from tyranny and a pursuit of liberty for all. Even though not all were followers of the Lord, it was still more than evident that they knew His Providence had a protecting hand on us. Only by His great Providence did we become a country, for the Lord knew we would become a beacon of that freedom and, ultimately, the only true freedom that comes from Christ. Through many trials and failures in history we have sinned before our Lord, and we must continually repent and seek Him for forgiveness. His Providence has allowed our nation of people from many tongues and tribes to melt together. We have been, and I pray continue to be, the largest Christian nation in the world, proclaiming who He is before all else. This year, as we focus on His Providence , may you seek Him and be reminded of all the times He has guided, protected and blessed you for His name. David wrote in Psalm 31:3-5 of the Lord’s Providence : “For You are my high rock and my fortress; For Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me. You will bring me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, For You are my strength. Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O Yahweh, God of truth.”(LSB) We at Creation Truth Foundation look forward to another year of opportunities to serve, champion, and exalt His Name. May you be guided, protected and blessed through Providence this year.
EACH OF THESE ARTICLES ARE EXCERPTS FROM AMERICA’S EPIC ADVENTURE TM - CTF'S NEWEST VBS CURRICULUM From Lesson 1: The Pilgrims, Walking by Faith in the Lord – Proverbs 3:5-6