Truth and Freedom

John 8:32 (NET) – “and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

This passage of scripture has been on my mind a great deal lately.

Anyone can see that it is composed of two parts.

The first part says that we will know the truth.

What is the truth?

When Pilate questioned Jesus, Jesus tried to explain truth to him.

John 18:37 (NET) – Then Pilate said, “So you are a king!” Jesus replied, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world – to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

Pilate did not understand.

Pilate responded with the question, “What is truth?”

Two thousand years have passed and the world still echoes that same question.

“What is truth?”

Jesus could not have been clearer.

Jesus said, “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

Jesus is the source of truth.

Think about the number of times Jesus spoke the words, “I tell you the truth...”

If Jesus is the source of truth and we know it, we will be made free.

The question then remains, “Free from what?”

Death? Even the faithful die an earthly death.

Persecution? Some of the most faithful are persecuted for their faith.

There is freedom in His truth.

We are freed from fear.

Even the fear of death is forced to release its hold on us.

1 Corinthians 15:55 (NET) – “Where. O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?

We are freed from this fear and all others.

We are even freed from the fear of persecution.

Matthew 28:19-20 (NET) – Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, May 1, 2015.

I’ll be back here on Friday, May 8, 2015

The Pride Within Prejudice

Matthew 22:37-40 (NET) – Jesus said to him, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Prejudice has been around for almost as long as there have been people.

When I was a child, prejudice puzzled me.

I wondered how any one group of people could look upon another and somehow feel superior to them.

I witnessed prejudice at an early age.

With God’s help I was able to determine that it had no place in my life.

Being a child, I was also a bit naïve.

I remember thinking at the time that prejudice would surely be gone by the time I grew up.

Sadly, I was wrong.

Half a century has passed and prejudice is still alive and well.

If today’s headlines are any indication, it will be around for some time to come.

Do not get me wrong.

I do not believe that everyone is prejudiced,

I am certain that there are many people who feel as I do that prejudice serves no useful purpose.

I am also certain that many people will disagree.

When it comes to prejudice, I have reached several conclusions.

I honestly believe that some people look down upon others as a way of feeling better about themselves.

Perhaps they too have felt the sting of prejudice and somehow feel better about themselves by thinking themselves superior.

I also believe that prejudice is quite often a learned behavior.

When children see prejudice in those they are supposed to look up to, they could learn to emulate it until it becomes a part of who they are.

Even people who consider themselves Christians can be guilty of prejudice.

That is perhaps the saddest conclusion of all.

Jesus told us what the greatest commandments are.

He told us to love God and love our neighbor.

Let’s be completely blunt and honest.

Prejudice flies in the face of both.

We cannot love our neighbor if we feel that we are superior to him.

We also cannot completely love God if we feel are superior to someone He has made in His image and His likeness.

Someday mankind may learn this.

Hopefully, he will learn this before it is too late.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, April 17, 2015.

I’ll be back here on Friday, April 24, 2015