Pastor Christian Smith
Devotional Plan for: Week of August 16 - August 20
Monday - Read John 8:31-38
John 8:31-34 NIV: "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, "Very truly I tell you, 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 that you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are looking for a way 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 are doing what you have heard from your father."
It seems that many if not most people define freedom as independence: freedom from constraints. Freedom to choose to do whatever we want. As long as we don't hurt anyone, we should be free to live our lives however we please. This is the modern concept of freedom.
But the kind of freedom Jesus is speaking of in this passage is a far greater and far deeper kind of freedom than most of us might think of when we hear that word. It's something greater than the civil and political freedoms we enjoy. He speaks of the greatest kind of freedom of all a freedom that everyone desperately needs; one that transcends all other temporal circumstances of freedom that we might experience, and that gives the greatest possible meaning and value to them.
So, in our passage this morning, when Jesus said, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free", He's talking about Himself. He's talking about the greatest experience of freedom anyone can have, and He is telling us that this freedom comes through hearing Him and knowing Him.
True freedom—at the deepest level—comes only through a relationship with Him who is the Truth.
So how do we experience this Freedom? We must abide or take hold of the teachings of scripture which is God's word.
What does it mean to "abide" in His word? It means to acknowledge the authority of His word, to 'remain' in it and 'live' in it; to continually meditate on it, to obey it, and to let it guide our way of thinking and living. And do you see what He goes on to say about that? He says that if you do this—if you abide in His word faithfully as a regular pattern of life—you are His disciples 'indeed'. You're the real deal.
We are creatures who are designed to live in accordance with the thoughts and words of our Creator—that is, in conformity to truth. And until we get back into the truth—and abide in the truth—we're not free.
And so, the more we obey our Lord, the more we walk in accordance with truth, the greater our freedom. That's the path to true freedom—to believe on Jesus and to walk in accordance with His true word. If you want to be truly free, then enter into a relationship with Him by faith, and be faithful to abide in Him.
Reflection Question(s):
What do I need to ask of God in order to grow in light of this?
- Ryan Moore - Pastor of Care
Tuesday - Read Matthew 28:16-20
Matthew 28:16-20 NIV: "Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Let's get illustrative here.
Say you are a private in the army. Now, let's say some random person comes and gives you an order. Will you obey? Probably not. However, say this person is an officer who ranks higher t
