In His Service

                             Truth and Freedom John 8:31-38   Truth and freedom have been distorted, spun, and twisted for so long that very few would ever know what their real meaning is. People have replaced truth with mendacity: the pernicious relativism of lies spun to resonate in the ears of the factually deaf. They have spun freedom to mean we have a license to do whatever we want, to whomever we want, whenever we want without consequences.  Paul put those who seek this type of truth and freedom are those who want their ears tickled and that sin is allowed because of a misunderstanding of grace (2 Tim. 4:3, Rom. 6:1).  Jesus came as the Truth, but the jews had been so conditioned by those enslaved to sin, they couldn’t conceive the truth spoken to them by God the Son. Peter wrote it this way: “ With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those wh...

        The Light of Life John 8:12-20 In the law of Moses, in order to condemn anyone it had to be confirmed by two witnesses. “ One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” Deut. 19:15  In our legal realm today, the rule is they (prosecutors) must prove your guilt, the defense has only to prove reasonable doubt, regardless of the number of witnesses.  The days of black and white have become greyer and greyer. But in God’s kingdom, light is supreme and darkness is banished. Let’s look at the first part of the text, “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” The Pharisees challenged him, “Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid.” Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own beh...

                                         Throwing Stones John 8:10:1-11 When I was little, I had a neighbor who loved to throw rocks at me, until my dad heard about it and went and had a talk with his dad. This was the end of rock throwing. We have all heard the idiom, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” Well, names can hurt as well, especially if they reveal a hidden problem or sin. Such could have been the case in this story in John chapter 8. Though many scholars believe that this was inserted later than the writing of John’s gospel, nevertheless, by the Holy Spirit’s directing and anointing, the lesson is profound for the pariah of the world. Let’s begin the lesson, “ but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the l...