Truth Liars

“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.”
— 1 John 3:18

“I cannot tell a lie…I did cut it with my hatchet,” George Washington is often quoted in a confession to his father bolstering his integrity. The only problem is it never happened. The story was completely invented by Mason Locke Weems in one of the first biographies of the president in his book The Life of Washington (1800). Taught to school children in America for generations, the “white” lie had merit. A nation without honesty is in peril.

I’ve experienced this in my own life. I’ve worked with several high profile individuals who had extraordinary stories that taught amazing life lessons. I’ve also learned many of them aren’t true. They were exaggerated or completely made up. Neither am I immune. In my early years, I will admit I concocted a story or two about what my grandparents taught me in order to drive home a point. I was always ashamed of it, but felt people would consider what a wise old grandparent would say over the ideas of a twenty-something upstart.

The tactic is a total fallacy—a false argument. It is known as an “Appeal to Authority.” The presenter is basically saying, “These people, who are greater than you, hold this position, therefore, you cannot question it.” And it is always wrong! Arguments have to stand on their own.

I was in a meeting today where the presenter stated that he had spoken to U.S. Presidents, Congressmen, CEOs and even actors in Hollywood. The implication; so if they listened to me, who are are you to question me? Well, I know a lot of idiots who have also talked to those people. What’s your argument, logic, point and proof of what you are saying? That is what matters, not to whom you have spoken.

Yet, we somehow feel compelled to make the truth bigger than ourselves. To leverage other people’s names, stories or inferences to give our truth more weight. What a shame!

Truth is truth. You don’t need a Washington to lead a future nation into truth. You need a child who tells the truth to become a Washington. You don’t need someone who speaks to presidents to guide a nation, you need a child who tells the truth to become a president.

1 John 3:18 states, “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and truth.” Let our lives be the witness of our truth. You don’t need a Washington or a cherry tree to teach about the importance of truth. You just need to be a person who lives it.

You don’t need a nifty story about truth for people to believe it is important. When they see the importance of truth in their own life, they will definitely get it.

We have become TRUTH LIARS in our society. Follow social media and you will see numerous false stories aimed at teaching a greater truth. What a tragedy! If you need a lie to teach a truth, your beliefs about truth are a lie. Truth is truth. It is lived in deed and in word, but never in a lie.

The ends never justify the means when it comes to truth. Rather, truth dictates the ends.

I’m challenged this week to be more honest in my conversations. To resist the urge to amplify my speech, appeal to authority, allow false assumptions to be embraced or flat out make something up to win an argument. If we want to create something real, it has to be built on truth. I don’t need Washington and his cherry tree to express how important truth really is to society. I just need to live it in word and deed.

© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.

The Glory of Drudgery

“Is not life on earth a drudgery?”
- Job 7:1 (NABRE)

Drudgery is not a term we utilize much these days, but it fully embodies the meaning of the word when we say it. It means “hard menial or dull work.” Just say it out loud. You experience its meaning in the pronunciation. A synonym of drudgery is “donkey work.”

Job expresses his suffering in Job 7:1-2 as such work. The New King James Version translates the verse as, “Is there not a time of hard service for man on earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hired man? Like a servant who earnestly desires the shade, And a hired man who eagerly looks for his wages,…”

Drudgery is all the stuff we know we should do daily, but hate to do. The necessary “to dos” that if neglected for long cause havoc in our life. The stuff that no one applauds, rewards or even notices most of the time. Yet, it is vital.

The neglect of drudgery is peril. I have often told my daughters, “Success in life is dependent on how well you can navigate loneliness, boredom and failure.” Oftentimes we find ourselves facing these three menaces because we neglect the drudgery.

We neglect to spend the time with family and friends to foster our relationships with the result of loneliness. We neglect to lay the groundwork for fulfilling our purpose and in the place of purpose we find boredom. We neglect the menial work necessary for success and are frustrated by failure. We can never avoid facing these three menaces all together. However, far to often we are tormented by them because of our own choice; the choice to neglect the donkey work that would have changed our circumstances.

Paul talks about how we should approach this type of work in our lives in 2 Corinthians 6:4-10 (I encourage you to read the whole passage). He states, “But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distress, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumult, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fasting;…”

In other words, when you find yourself confronted by drudgery, act as a minister of God. Do what needs to be done as unto the Lord. And do the donkey work, as he states in verses 6-7, “…by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and the left,…”.

Drudgery often seems meaningless at the time, but we are called to redeem the time. Where the simplest things (even when they are hard and debasing) become God moments. Like when Jesus in John 13 humbled Himself and washed his disciples feet. It wasn’t just a symbolic gesture. It was a necessary activity before Passover usually performed by a servant. It was donkey work that had to be done. Yet, He made the lowest drudgery the highest form of service to God. Stating in John 13:15, “For I have given to you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”

In the midst of drudgery, it is easy to loath life and have a pity party. Primarily because we often cannot see the greater purpose. We are blind to how this serves us. That is when we need to shift our focus to how this moment serves God. As Corrie Ten Boom once wrote, “When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away your ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.”

We all face drudgery. There is always donkey work to be done. Do not neglect it, but face it “by the Holy Spirit…by the power of God.” Trust the living Lord to live through you. Trust the engineer to take you through the darkness of drudgery. And you will find of those times, those are the moments that create the foundation for a greater life.

© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.

A Tree Falls...Does It Make a Sound?

“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”
- Mark 11:24

The old adage often attributed to George Berkeley asks, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Now, I’m not going to get too deep philosophically, but the simple answer is NO!

Does it create sound waves? Yes. Does it create a sound? No. A sound by definition is audible vibrations of the air that are perceived. Without the reception of the sound waves, there is no sound. It is no different than a hearing test where they put the headphones on you and create sound waves. The sound waves exist, but you only raise your hand when you perceive the sound. Otherwise, you are deaf to vibrations created. The vibrations were present, but their was no sound. The fact that it should have made a sound doesn’t change the fact that it didn’t.

Prayer is talking and listening to God. Many people struggle with prayer. Reading a post on social media, a text message, or a phone call is much easier. It brings the communication down into our physical senses. Spiritual listening is more complex. It is easy to talk to God, but to listen? That is our challenge.

The key to the adage is “and no one is around to hear it.” It is easy to avoid being “around” to hear. Most often it is because we do not expect a response, or we expect a response before we actively listen.

Jesus tells us in Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Notice what this passage does not say. It doesn’t say “believe that you will receive them”, nor does it say “believe as you receive them.” It says “believe that you receive them!” A present reality.

Part of being around to hear from God is acting on your own prayers. Believing you have received them. You can’t pray and leave the forest and hear the tree fall, or the mountain moved, a miracle performed or the voice of God.

Yet, we often wander through life waiting to hear from God. Constantly moving and hustling to make it our own. We are overwhelmed by oppression, stress, worry, fatigue, doubt and general busyness. We are eager for change, but we want the mountain to start moving before we believe.

Paul tells us in Romans 4:17-18, “God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who contrary to hope, in hope believed…”. Belief came first. Before there was reason to hope, hope prevailed. Those who remained steadfast in faith in the forest of doubt hear not the tree fall, but the Lord speak.

One of the great challenges of the Christian life is waiting upon the Lord. It is a monumental challenge because we are conditioned to wait for a sign. To see His work being done before we join the ranks. What Christ is calling us to here is an active waiting. Not stagnation, but rather actively pursuing His will in the absence of evidence the mountain is moving.

Faith prays and then acts believing “that you receive.”

The only clarification I will make in this regard is that we are talking about anything we ask in His name. (John 14:13) That doesn’t mean we can ask anything and end the prayer with “in Jesus’ name” and get what we want. In His name means to be in Him. It is asking in an abiding relationship where we are in Him, He is in us and He is living through us. In that state, anything we ask, He will supply. Believe that you receive it.

The greatest challenge to prayer is overcoming ourselves. Understanding we are not what’s most important. He genuinely cares for you and wants the best for you, but His will is what matters. Today, I’m challenged to set my own selfish outlook aside and humbly pray for His will in my life. Then, to have the courage to believe and act knowing I have received it. Will you join me?

© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.

You're Fired?

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away;…”
- John 15:2

I am my own worst critic. I’m harder on myself than anyone else could ever be. I’ve led non-profits for years. Yet, I still stress out before every board meeting. I’m not afraid of answering for anything I’ve actually done, but for what I could have done but didn’t. You can always do more. People at the end of their life fret more over what they didn’t do than they fret over what they did. There is always more to be done. Right?

There is a part of me with insecurity that fears the day I hear the words I so often feel I deserve, “You’re fired!” I worry and stress that people will judge me against what was possible for me to do. I fear they will find the shortcomings I see in myself, and I will be found wanting.

I don’t think I’m alone. I know I’m not. It is this insecurity that makes a passage like John 15:2 terrifying; “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” This is talking to Christians. Those “in Christ” and saved. It reminds me of the doctrine I grew up with (but never agreed with) that basically states, “Once saved, always saved, unless you do something bad enough and then you might not have been saved in the first place.” Then, out the back door of the church you go.

Our salvation and redemption are based on the finished work of Christ, period. To be “in Christ” is to accept the unmerited gift of grace. Therefore, nothing you can do can make Him love you more, nor can anything you do make Him love you less. An unmerited gift cannot be amended based on merit.

So, where does this leave us with this verse? Are we endanger of being fired from Christianity? Is our lack of “fruit” going to end in us being “cut off” or “take away”? I will encourage you to look at your Bible. You will notice a reference mark in it along with the words “takes away.” Those words are equally translated as “lifts up.”

The very context of the verse precludes the idea of those bearing no fruit being cut off from the vine. The full verse reads (changing the words to the equally acceptable translation), “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He lifts up, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” To cut it way would be pruning as detailed in the second half of the verse. So, what is this lifting up?

Occasionally, in a vineyard, a branch will drop down onto the ground in the muck. When this happens, if a node of the branch comes in contact with the ground, within months, that node will start growing roots and form a new independent vine. To counter this, the vinedresser will lift up the fallen branch and tie it to a support. He will clean it and remove all the dirt. Because if it is utilizing its energy to produce roots of independence, it cannot produce fruit.

This is the context of the verse. It is not a ultimatum dependent on the works in your life. It is a explanation for the trails we face in this world. Those in Christ who bear fruit, He will prune in order to bring them to completion in Him. Those who do not bear fruit, He will lift up. He will shake up their lives and detach them from the roots they are trying to establish in this world so they can see who they were created to be.

Many use this verse (and others) to become fruit inspectors. To evaluate their own lives or that of others. In doing so, they miss the point. It is not about fruit! It is about being connected to the Vine!

As Jesus continues in the passage, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in Him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

The entire passage is directed to those who are in Christ. However, the lifting and pruning are meant to disconnect us from our love of the world so that we can bear fruit? And what is that fruit? It is only one thing: Christ in us and living through us. Period. The outward expression of that doesn’t really matter. The only thing that matters is whether or not you are in Christ, He is in you, and He is working through your life. With that you have everything, without it you have nothing.

Fear not coming to the Lord under any circumstances. He is not looking for a reason to fire you! Rather, he wants to abide with you (to live with you in every moment). Maybe you need to be lifted up today and unrooted from the world. Maybe you need some pruning in your life where you are expending energy that is not beneficial. Maybe you are struggling with regret thinking of all that you could have done that you didn’t. Take it to the Lord. Without Him, you can do nothing!

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NOTE: Why do most Bibles translate it as “takes away”? The word used in the passage is αἴρει (airei). It has a wide semantic range that includes “takes away,” “removes,” “cuts off,” “lifts up,” “raising,” or “picking up.” Context clues within the passage are required to determine which of these it actually infers. Unfortunately, due to a strong emphasis in historical Christianity to control behavior, especially during the medieval period, most interpretations have landed on “takes away.” Thus, it stands as a warning and a threat. I, however, disagree with this take and see that interpretation as a contradiction in theology regarding the finished work of Christ and grace. There is only one work we must do: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” (John 6:29) That one work will change you forever as the living Lord lives through you. The real key to the passage is understanding “takes away” from what? Most people assume it means the vine, but could equally mean the ground. He “takes away” the branch from the ground, lifts up, removes it from the ground, cuts it off from the ground or picks it up from the ground. When you consider what it is separated from, the vine only works with a couple of the terms, but in reference to the ground the entire semantic range works equally. Thus, I settle on “lifts up”

© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.

Giddy Up: The Spur of Hope

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
- Hebrews 11:1

The world needs…scratch that…YOU need hope!

Often times we are so desperate for hope that our understanding of it becomes warped. It becomes our goal. I recently read something I wrote at least 20 years ago:

“Hope is not an ultimate destination; it is the initial motivation and the spur of transformation.”

We have a tendency to look for hope like we look for a paycheck to cover the bills due. However, hope is meant to be a tool which motivates us to create, build and hold our ground.

Hope is motivation. However, faith must bring substance to that motivation. Acting in faith upon our hope produces substance in our lives. Confidence, peace, love, patience, grace, endurance, strength of heart and mind, and etc., they become the substance in our lives and the evidence others see in us.

Ephesians 2:12 reads in part, “that at that time you were without Christ…having no hope and without God in the world.” Without Christ in our life, the best we can claim is a false hope based on human frailty. With Christ, we have true hope. Hope for today and hope for eternity. Hope to get through anything we are currently navigating.

However, that hope is useless in our lives unless we act in faith. If you are in Christ, He is in you! You have the living Lord living in you and He desires to live through you. The hope you have is not a place of stagnation. It is a call. Motivation to take the next step. Cross the river. Walk through the fire. Hope is sometimes just the motivation to get out of bed.

There is more in you than you know! I know this because I know who created you, and nothing is impossible with Him.

Hope is the mount on which we ride. Pull out the spurs. Give it kick. And giddy up! You’re not finished yet! There is more in you! Ride on my friend.

© 2026 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.