About 18 months ago, I read the 30th anniversary edition of a book entitled “The Lies We Believe – Renewing Your Mind and Transforming Your Life” by Dr. Chris Thurman, a Christian psychologist. This 30th edition is updated from the original edition with the additional wisdom he has gained in the 30+ years of his practice and his personal Bible study. This book has been transformational for me.
The premise of the book is amazingly simple: Our faulty beliefs (the lies we believe) keep us from discovering and living in the freedom that God has designed for us. After all, Jesus said:
John 8:32 HCSB You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
The key is to identify those lies that we believe, and then identify the corresponding biblical truths that displace the lies and lead to freedom.
Easy, right? Well, we all have no problem agreeing with that premise – the “what.” The problem is in the “how” - the actual nuts-and-bolts work of doing it. That is the great value of this book. It carefully goes through categories of lies with lots of examples, as well as the scriptures for the corresponding truths.
In the coming episodes, I want to share with you some of the highlights of this book. But first, some foundational principles about “truth” – from chapter 10 of the book.
Truth is not ours. It belongs to God.
· Psalms 25:5 - Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day.
Truth comes piece by piece.
· Like putting a puzzle together, truth requires humility and patience.
Truth is a prerequisite for personal growth. It is healthy nutrition for the mind.
· Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
The genuine pursuit of truth requires exploring our doubts.
· Example: doubting Thomas
Truth will stand forever. Although many things have a shelf life (except perhaps for Twinkies 😊), some things do not: God, our spirit, God’s Word, and the truth.
· Isaiah 40:8 - The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.
· Numbers 23:19 - “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
· Malachi 3:6a - “For I, the LORD, do not change.
· Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Dr. Thurman says, “We need to approach the issue of truth with great humility and never think for one second that we have things all figured out, because the truth is bigger and deeper and wider than we can possibly imagine. On the other hand, we are to be confident about what we know to be true once God ‘shows us the nail prints,’ [as He did with Thomas,] and [we are to] boldly speak truth wherever we go and regardless of the audience.”
He continues, “As you go through life, it is important to understand that truth has certain qualities and characteristics you have to accept and to which you need to adjust…. If you were to take up the sport of tennis, you would have to comply with the requirements of what it takes to get the ball successfully over the net. For example, you could decide to hit the ball with the handle of your racquet rather than the strings, but you would never be very good at tennis. You have to hit the ball with the strings if you want to play well. Similarly, to renew your mind successfully, you have to adjust to the fact that God is truth. He has wired the truth with certain properties and requirements, and He isn’t going to adjust the truth in our efforts to grow psychologically, relationally, and spiritually. When it comes to the truth, we adjust to it… or we play life poorly.”
John 1:17 (NASB) For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
John 16:13a (NASB) But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth.
The practice of using truth to replace lies is changing me in wonderful and much-needed ways. I invite you to join me on this journey in the following episodes, because I am confident that it will change you as well.
Today, I encourage you to “Reflect on This.”