Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Surrounded By Lies

 

In John chapter 8 verses 30 - 36 it says, 

30 As he spake these words, many believed on him.

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.

36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

 

Ye shall know the truth shall make you free. It is a deeply profound truth he speaks. For without the truth that we can know from Jesus we remain in bondage for we remain in sin. 

What is sin? Sin is an archery term for missing the mark. I have been taught that Christ is the mark. What if it is also a correct understanding of things? Without a correct understanding, without truth then we miss the mark and it will and does lead us astray. 

We need to be constantly seeking truth for we live in a fallen world and the foundation of this world is lies. Lies told by the adversary as he corrupted this world and tried to set up his own kingdom. Lies which permeate every aspect of our lives. Lies which we may be repeating and not even know it. Lies so innocuous that we may  not even be able to see them until finally our eyes are opened to the truth. And our eyes can only be opened to the truth if we truly believe on him. He is after all, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Without him we are lost. 

Where then do we find this truth? Where then do we seek it? Everywhere, anywhere, the truth is there. There is truth to be found in so many places. Firstly, however, go to God. Ask him to show you the truth and he will direct thee to it. We are told to seek, ask, knock. If we fail to do this how are we to expect that he will show us the truth. The truth of our awful situation. The truth that is all around us but obscured by the workings of the adversary against us so he can have power over us. 

It is time for us to elevate our thinking. It is time for us to elevate our ways. For God says in Isaiah chapter 55:

7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

 We can only come to understand His ways and His thoughts by seeking the truth of all things. So, go and seek the truth, His truth, today. 

It is in knowing the truth that you are saved. It is in knowing the truth that you are free.

Wednesday, May 8, 2024

What Did Jesus Do?

 I am often appalled when I see that the worst among us are those that claim to be believers / followers of Jesus Christ. They are so busy using him as their reason for treating people poorly, especially those that do not live up to their standards and are considered sinful. 

How did Jesus treat the people that the self-righteous religious zealots thought were sinful? 

 What did Jesus do? 

And when you think about it, just who was it he did condemn?