“Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”
John 8:34 ESV
The truth shall set us free! There are just as many prisons as there are sins in this life. Materialism, addiction, pornography, lies, fornication, gluttony, and the list goes on and on! We are all born into original sin, the desire to sin. Maybe this first begins when we put ourselves first? “Mine!” young children shout as they seek to keep their toy to themselves. Some of us never get beyond this desire to kept it all to ourselves even throughout adulthood.
The verse before this one Jesus says, “31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.”
If we abide in Gods Word then we can be set free. “Your future loyalty to my teaching will prove the reality of your present profession. So the conclusion of this future condition is put in the present tense. Continuance in the word (teaching) proves the sincerity or insincerity of the profession. It is the acid test of life.”-biblestudytools.com
We learn the truth by studying and knowing the Bible. It is the revelation to us of who God is, what our purpose is and it’s God’s plan for us to be set free! Freedom comes with a price. God requires our lives, our homage shown publicly. We become His, a part of a great army seeking to advance God’s Kingdom through obedience.
Are you a slave to sin today? Living in bondage? Read God’s Word, the Bible, repent and be set free. You’ll wonder why you put it off in the first place. My fellow sinner, I am not better than you. I wish for you to find what I’ve found. Freedom, it’s the sweetest gift. Basque, dance, rejoice!
So much depression and suicide in our communities! As a foster parent experiences with the teens I cared for taught me how to gauge whether or not someone needed to be in a mental health facility. Expressing no hope and having a detailed plan to end one’s life are two indicators someone needed a safe environment where they could get help. I’m not a mental health professional but I have walked with several teens through seasons of no hope.
On this day, 9/11, the Twin Towers came crashing down. These were incredible strong towers! I’ll never forget our entire nation experiencing shock together at the same time. The Lord has built a tower for us that cannot fall down because He holds it up. This is the greatest tower, taller and stronger than any other. We are safe! God protects the righteous. Of course none of us are righteous, but righteousness comes as we surrender to God more deeply each day. Our life of righteousness begins as we invite Jesus to forgive us and guide us through this passage of life. This is only the first stepping stone. There are times we sprint into God’s strong tower! I’m grateful and know that no matter what happens I have a strong place of refuge. Earthly evil has the ability to take down towers built by mankind but nothing can take down God’s tower.
Dear Friend, Brother, Sister, Neighbor,
Yes, we can physically accomplish things on our own, but this verse highlights how God is vital in our homes and cities. Mankind can do all he chooses but the Lord is all powerful and if we do not give God watch-care over our homes and cities what we do is done in vain. It produces no result and is useless. Feeling useless can feel terrifying to some of us as we feel we know what we are doing. We cannot see what God sees.
Such foreshadowing! We cannot leave out verse 15 that precedes this one, “The Lord has taken away the judgements against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil.”
Many have sharpened me over the years and I hope I’ve sharpened others as well. Nobody get sharpened if meeting together is neglected. To those who say they do not need a group of believers to meet with, every day your fullness will take over and eventually you can lose your faith.