The Truth Shall Set You Free
As Christians, we believe and know we have the truth about life and eternity. Don’t we? Then why don’t we just tell the truth and let the truth speak for itself? It could be that we have some doubts about the information we have that we call truth. Or possibly we “humbly” don’t want to offend anyone with the pure truth of God’s Word and become a “Bible thumper!” The truth is we need to be totally sure of what we are preaching and teaching. The best way to get sure about it is to study it and let it change us at our core or soul. The soul makes up our emotions, our will, and our mind and the changes that are lasting change our soul. Proverbs 2:10 says 10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. If you want to have a change of mind about anything it begins in your soul and that inward part of your being makes that change complete. Of course, with that change in the mind, the will also is affected and has to bow to the will of our heavenly Father. The will is part of the soul and that inward change leads us to seek God’s will in everything. First Chronicles 22:19 says, “Now set your heart and your soul to seek after Jehovah your God. Jesus spoke to this very truth in Matthew 6: 33 where He said, Seek the Kingdom of God above all else and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. To set our minds on the will of God is a forward-thinking action that denotes a will change from ours to God’s. If God says to do it, guess what? We do it! Then we know that emotions are a huge part of this whole equation of the soul. Our emotions include love, hatred, joy, grief and many others. Our love for God is the very basis for living and loving. In Psalm 42:1 the Psalmist says, As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. That is the very reason we want to spend time with God. We love Him and love spending time talking to Him and listening to Him. Psalm 27:8 says My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.” Do you see how all of this fits together? It helps us realize the complete person that God can make if we give all our lives to Him. That is the “Lord” part of Savior and Lord.
To be as clear as possible. You will NEVER grow in your personal relationship with Jesus unless you have Life Change at the point of salvation. But, you will have a life-changing desire at your core to grow this relationship that is Spirit-driven and truth infused. That truth WILL set you free!! So the end result of all of this is to realize that God has commissioned us to reach others and the stimulus for this reaching out is found in the truth and the freedom that results is a life of devotion and service to the Lord. Jesus was praying for his disciples in the verse below which means Jesus was praying for you and me, and the prayer goes like this…
John 17:13-19 “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is the truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.
Let the truth set you free so you can see the truth set others free as well. You will be changed from the inside out. 1 Samuel 16:7 says it all, 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” The question is “where is your heart?” I hope it is right with God.
The Pilgrimage continues…..
David Warren