The truth will set you free....

John 8:31-32 “If you live according to my teaching, you are my disciples; then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (NAB)

 “If you are faithful to what I have said you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” (Phillips)

 “If you stick with this, living out what I tell you…..” (MSG)

 “…..continue in my word” (KJV)

 “….hold to my teaching” (NIV)

 “If you keep on obeying what I have said…” (CEV)

Heavenly Father,

 What is the mark of being Jesus’ true disciple? I have 6 translations, each saying it a bit differently: “live according to my teaching”….”are faithful to what I have said”….”continue in my word”…”hold to my teaching”…”stick with this, living out what I tell you”…”keep on obeying what I have said”.

 1. Live according to: to act upon it, respond daily

 2. Be faithful to: single-minded clarity 

3. Continue in: consistency and forward movement

 4. Hold to: tenacity and persistence in duplication 

5. Stick with – living out: commitment to a life style

 6. Keep on obeying: obedience at all times.

 All of these things are connected to Jesus’ teaching, what he has said, his word. Being a disciple is a single-hearted commitment to be faithful to and obey and live out consistently and continually Jesus’ teaching and words.

 The most well-known part of the verse is the final part that follows the “then”: “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Jesus told us “I am the Way, the Truth, the Life…” If we substitute “Jesus” for “Truth” in this verse we have “You will know Jesus, and Jesus will set you free.” Becoming his disciples through faithful obedience to his words, will allow us to know Jesus…to understand who he is and what he has done for us. This truth, this knowledge of Jesus will “set us free”….bring us salvation. Jesus is our Savior. Jesus is our Lord. Knowing Jesus is freedom.

 Knowing Jesus comes from following Jesus. Discipleship isn’t just saying something, it is living something. I don’t want to use the word “doing” because we are not earning our freedom by what we do. We are discovering who Jesus is, why he wants to save us, what he did to bring it about, establishing an on-going relationship that becomes our life. We are changing. The clearer we see and know Jesus, the closer we are to the Truth that sets us free! Jesus’ part---the work of salvation….is finished, but our part…becoming a true disciple…is on-going. The Holy Spirit is here to help us…the Spirit of Truth. We are set free in the Truth of Jesus Christ to live forever with our Father. Thank you, amen!

Walking in the light...

John 8:12 “No follower of mine shall ever walk in darkness; no, he shall possess the light of light.” (NAB)

 “I am the Light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (KJV)

 “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (NIV)

 “The man who follows me will never walk in the dark, but will live his life in the light.” (Phillips)

 “Follow me and you won’t be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life.” (CEV)

Heavenly Father,

 This verse begins: “I am the Light of the World.” If we follow in Jesus’ footsteps, we are being led by the Light. We can’t possibly walk in darkness, because the Light is always right there before us! The world is darkness. Not because you created it that way, but because man has thrown the shadow of sin over it everywhere he touches it. The evil one uses this darkness to enslave us. The hopelessness that comes from sin, lays on us like a shroud…a death blanket blocking light.

 But Jesus is The Light! He brings Light back into the world, hope back into the realm of despair, lifts the shroud of death, and dispels the dark of sin with his Light! Hope reborn! If we are following him it is impossible to also be in darkness. We now “possess the Light of Life” (NIV). Jesus’ light is life not death. Eternal light, eternal life. We will “have the Light that gives Life” (CEV) and “live his life in the light” (Phillips). Our life is now in Christ’s life. There is no darkness there. 

This is a light that is on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year after year! Eternal, forever….the sun may burn out some day, but the Light of Jesus Christ will still shine! This constant Light illuminates the world for us and shows us all we need to see and know. This Light is a growth light…bringing Life in its beam. The only way to again be in darkness is through a choice to back away from the Light. The Light is still there, but our feet are not following.

 This darkness is not a comforting darkness like our normal night where we find rest (but there are always slivers of light in the night). This darkness is sin and death and the darkness of a complete absence of light…deep, penetrating, scary, like in a cave where you are afraid to move, paralyzed with fear, and have no guidance or assurance of where to step. This is not a darkness to desire. We walk out of that darkness forever in the footsteps of the Light of the World! Eternal Light and Life now ours! No more darkness ever!

 Thank you! amen.

Laying-down-my-life love....

John 15:13 “There is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (NAB)

 “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (KJV)

Heavenly Father,

 Comparisons….great-greater-greatest. Jesus says this is the “top” category….”No greater love”…same as greatest if you put it into a positive rather than a negative. The greatest love is “to lay down one’s life for ones friends.” He laid down his life for us…literally…on the cross. He didn’t have to do it. He chose to make this sacrifice. Love chooses the right thing to do for the other person….our friends. Love isn’t selfish and doesn’t choose for its own benefit. Love focuses outward toward another.

 Love like anything else can have levels or degrees. We move to the highest degree when we can lay down our life for friends. To me, “laying down my life” doesn’t necessarily speak of dying. If I lay down a book, I “set it aside”. Laying down my life for friends can be setting aside my own life, my own concerns, to focus on theirs. This is love…the love of listening and caring. The love of.. “I’m not important, tell me your problem”. Jesus said being his friend involved obeying his commands….the command to love. Each time we set aside our self-involvement, self-concerns, self-focus, we obey his example of loving others. 

Paul understood Jesus’ command to love others or he couldn’t have written 1 Corinthians 13 where love is described and defined in totally selfless terms….and called “the greatest of these”. So love is the greatest attribute of Christ that we can develop and “laying-down-my-life-love” is the greatest form of this love. Jesus topped the charts by laying down his life for all, even before they were friends. Now it is our turn.

 Who can we lay down our life for? Who are our friends? Is Jesus our friend? Will I lay down my life…set aside my free will and desires….for him? It’s a choice we make daily. Teach me to lay down my life for my friends in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Following Christ....

I read the following in one of Max Lucado's books:

"God does what it takes to get our attention.  Isn't that the message of the Bible?  The relentless pursuit of God.  God on the hunt.  God in the search.  Peeking under the bed for hiding kids, stirring the bushes for lost sheep."

Mankind doesn't change a lot.  We are all individuals, with unique circumstances, but at the same time we are like other men and women who have lived before us.  Somewhere in scripture we can find our story and how God dealt with it.  I believe this is particularly true of the NT stories.  The gospels are filled with encounters between Jesus Christ and men and women we can identify with at different times in our lives.

Jesus asks many questions:  "Who do you say I am?---"What do you want?"---and he issues many challenges:  "Go and sin no more"---"Come, follow me"---"Go, and sell all"---"Who touched me?"---Who are my mother and my brothers?"---"Don't be afraid, just believe"---"Your faith has healed you"---"Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place"---"You give them something to eat"---"Put out into deep water"---"Blessed are the..."---"get up!---walk!---come out!---be still!"

The more time we spend in scripture with Jesus, the more apt we are to encounter ourselves in these multiple lives and circumstances.  It changes every day as we read the words.  God's words in scripture are alive through Jesus Christ.  As we read his words, we find him pursuing us, and inviting us to come and follow and find our place as God's children. 

 We have all the guidance, all the commands, all the encouragement, all the rebukes, all the life lessons we need.  We need only study them and obey them.  We have the Sermon on the Mount with lessons for kingdom life.  We have Jesus' own descriptions of himself----"I am..."---- to show us who we follow and the power and authority he brings to our lives.  We have the lessons of Paul and Peter and John and James and others who knew him, to show us the characteristics of being a Christ follower as we live the Christian life.  It's all there, spelled out in God's words and in his Holy Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ.

He wants us to "grow in grace and the knowledge of God."  He wants us to worship in "spirit and in truth".  We wants us---period!  We are God's children and he is leading us to eternal life and home.  Thank you, Father for pursuing us through your Son, Jesus Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  amen.