Friday, June 21,
2012, 8:00 a.m. – The Lord woke me this morning with the song, “Praise the ‘I AM.’” Then, for my quiet
time with the Lord I read John 8:12-59
(NIV 1984):
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 behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came
from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am
going. You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do
judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father,
who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is
valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who
sent me.”
Then they asked him,
“Where is your father?”
“You do not know me or
my Father,” Jesus replied. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” He
spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the
offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his time had not yet come.
Once more Jesus said
to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your
sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”
This made the Jews
ask, “Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, ‘Where I go, you cannot
come’?”
But he continued, “You
are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the
one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”
“Who are you?” they
asked.
“Just what I have been
claiming all along,” Jesus replied. “I have much to say in judgment of you. But
he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”
They did not
understand that he was telling them about his Father. So Jesus said, “When you
have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to
be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught
me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do
what pleases him.” Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him.
To the Jews who had
believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my
disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
They answered him, “We
are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say
that we shall be set free?”
Jesus replied, “I tell
you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no
permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son
sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know you are Abraham’s descendants.
Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am
telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have
heard from your father.”
“Abraham is our
father,” they answered.
“If you were Abraham’s
children,” said Jesus, “then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you
are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from
God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your own father
does.”
“We are not
illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God
himself.”
Jesus said to them, “If
God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I
have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you?
Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the
devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from
the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he
lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! Can any of you prove me
guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? He who
belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do
not belong to God.”
The Jews answered him,
“Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”
“I am not possessed by
a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. I am not
seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. I
tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
At this the Jews
exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did
the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste
death. Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the
prophets. Who do you think you are?”
Jesus replied, “If I
glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God,
is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said
I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word.
Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was
glad.”
“You are not yet fifty
years old,” the Jews said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
“I tell you the
truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” At this, they picked
up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple
grounds.
The Light of the
World
“Light” is the absence of darkness, and darkness represents
that which is evil and sinful. Light is truth, knowledge, and understanding.
Light illuminates our minds and hearts to see life through spiritual eyes, i.e.
it is inspiration and revelation. The light of God’s word and his gospel leads
us to salvation and guides us into all truth, i.e. in the way we should go.
God is light. Jesus Christ is the light. He leads us into
all truth and all righteousness. If we follow him, we will never walk
(lifestyle; way we live) in darkness (sin). Instead, we will have (will possess)
the light (the truth) of life (eternity) in Christ Jesus, revealed to us
through Christ and through his word. If we say we have fellowship (relationship;
communion) with Jesus Christ and yet we continue (persist) to walk in darkness
(sin), we are liars and we do not live by the truth (light of Christ), says
John (see 1 John 1).
Jesus said: “You are
from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I
told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the
one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”
We, in our human nature, are of this world. We are fleshly,
sinful and worldly. We don’t have the mind of Christ. We live to please
ourselves. Our focus is on the things of this world and on our earthly lives.
We don’t have eternity’s values in view. We are not in line with the truth of
God’s word, nor do we make it our goal to please God in all that we do. We are
outside of Christ, we will die in our sins, and we will spend eternity without
God in eternal punishment (eternal fire). This is the reality. Only through
faith (via repentance and obedience to Christ) in Jesus Christ can we come into
relationship with Christ, be freed from the penalty of and bondage to sin, and
can have the promise of eternal life with God. Jesus said that if anyone would
come after him, he must deny himself (his flesh), take up his cross daily (die
daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. He said if we hold on to our lives of sin,
we will lose them for eternity, but if we lose in our lives (die to sin), we
will find them.
Jesus said, “If you
hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth,
and the truth will set you free.”
So many people today are teaching a false gospel of “easy
believism” and of a false grace that gives the adherer a free license to sin.
This is not of God, and this is not what God’s word teaches us, nor is it true
to what Christ Jesus taught us. They say we don’t have to turn from our sins
and we don’t have to obey Christ’s commands for salvation, and that God is
pleased with us no matter what we do, which means he is pleased with us
sinning. Yet, that is not what Jesus taught. He taught that whoever follows
(obeys) him will never walk (way we live) in darkness (sin), i.e. we won’t
continue (persist) in sinning on a daily basis. He said that if we live worldly
and sinful lives we will die in our sins. Then he said that if we hold to his
teaching, we are really his disciples. To hold to something means to continue,
to obey, to keep your promise. So, to hold to Christ’s teachings means to
continue (persist) in them, to obey them (do what they say), and to fulfill our
vows to our Lord. Being a follower of Christ means to love, honor and obey him
and to turn away from our lives of sin.
Jesus said if we continue in sin we are slaves to sin, yet
if we, by faith, are freed from our sin via Jesus’ blood sacrifice on the cross
for our sins, then we are free. Jesus did not free us from the ultimate penalty
of sin (hell) just so we could have a “get out of jail free card.” He didn’t
save us just so we could go to heaven one day. He freed us so we would be free
from the control of sin in this life, while we are still on the earth, so we
could walk in fellowship with him and live holy lives pleasing to him.
If we continue (persist) in sin, we are not living to please
God (our Father), but we are living to please our worldly father, the devil. We
can’t serve both God and Satan. Jesus drew the line in the sand. And, we have
to choose which side we want to be on. We can’t straddle the line. If we don’t
listen to Jesus, and we don’t obey what he says, we don’t belong to God. But,
if we obey him and we do what he says, and we keep his word, then we do belong
to God, and we receive all the blessings and richness of his glory in our lives
from now through eternity in heaven.
This does not mean we live in sinless perfection, but that
we make a conscious choice each day of our lives to walk in obedience and
surrender to our Lord, that we choose his way over our own, that we desire to
please him in all that we do, and that our focus in life is on him and his word
and his will for our lives, rather than our focus in life being on continuing
to do as we please, and walking in the ways of this world. We must choose! May
we choose Jesus!
Praise the “I AM!”
/ An Original Work / February 24, 2012
Jesus, my Savior, full
of compassion,
Glorious in power,
mighty in strength;
Gracious Redeemer,
mighty deliv’rer,
My heart adores Him.
Praise to His name!
Perfect salvation my
Lord provided
When He died for my
sins on a tree;
Crucified my sins;
conquered in vict’ry,
When He arose, so I
could be free!
I am so thankful for
His forgiveness;
Grateful that He chose
to pardon me,
Giving me new life
full in His Spirit,
So I can serve Him;
His servant be!
Walking in daily
fellowship with Him,
Obeying Him whate’er
He commands;
Forsaking my sins,
living in freedom,
I will endure with Him
to the end!
He gives me peace and
calm reassurance
In times of sorrow, or
in distress.
His grace is sure, and
oh, how sufficient
To meet me in my need
for sweet rest.
Oh, how I love You,
Jesus, my Savior.
My heart longs for You
where’er I am.
Your word is precious;
speaks to my spirit;
Brings comfort,
healing. Praise the “I AM!”
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