John 14:6. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.
And Wednesday continues like Tuesday; sunny but windy and chilly. That’s more than welcome though, since we did not get any of that dreadful 8 cm. of snow that was forecasted. Can you imagine the confusion that so much snow would have caused, especially with much, if not all of the snow clearing budget already being depleted. (smile) It seems we might have budgeted for the snow clearing by the amount of snow we received the previous year, and that certainly did not prepare us for the greater quantity we actually received. However, let’s believe that snow is a thing of the recent past, and we won’t have to remember it for another six months.
In the meantime, let’s remember Jesus, all that He’s done for, is doing, and has promised to do for us. That will keep us safe and secure in both mind, body and spirit. And some upcoming memorable and oh so true words of His to the disciples highlight it all. Jesus in talking to the disciples about His going away, that’s His ascension, to prepare a place for them, concludes thus: ‘And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.’ (John 14:4) But that didn’t sit as well with them as Jesus had figured. For ‘Thomas saith unto him, Lord we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father by me.’ (John 14:5-6)
Yes friends, that’s one of the biggest truths and foundational principles of our Christian faith! The ONLY way one can get to heaven, or to the Father is through the Son, Jesus Christ! Yes, it’s a one-way street! There’s absolutely no other way to get to heaven and eternal life unless you believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God! So, let’s see if we can come up with some scriptures to prove Jesus’ point.
And, as per ‘the way,’ there can be no better scripture to prove that fact than these marvellous words of Jesus, where He informs the Jewish Leader Nicodemus: ‘For God so LOVED the world, that he sent his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ (John 3:16) That’s the long and the short of the story: either believe in Jesus and have eternal life, or don’t and be condemned to eternal separation and death! No two ways about it.
And Bruh Paul, in writing to the Ephesians about Christ being our peace, reiterates that fact when he says: ‘For he (Jesus himself) is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition (division) between us… And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain (put to death) the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off (Gentiles), and to them that were nigh (Jews). For through him we both have access by one spirit unto the Father.’ (Eph. 2:14, 16-18) Yes my people, Jesus came and broke down all the barriers through His death and preaching of peace and reconciliation, so that we all could get to the Father through Him.
And as per ‘the truth,’ we can begin right at the beginning of John’s gospel where he unequivocally states: ‘And the Word (Jesus) was made flesh (became flesh), and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.’ (John 1:14) Then three verses later he writes: ‘For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.’ (John 1:17) Then later on, Jesus Himself in speaking to those Jews who believed in Him, said to them: ‘If ye continue (abide) in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth , and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31-32)
Then to Pilate’s question about Him being a king, Jesus answered: ‘Thou sayest (rightly) that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.’ (John18:37)
And, as per ‘the life,’ this magnificent scripture highlighting the conversation between Martha and Jesus re the death of her brother Lazarus, says it all. Jesus tells Martha that her brother would rise again, but she mistakenly thinks it’s in the resurrection at the last day. However, Jesus then says to her: ‘I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead (may die), yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believeth thou this?’ (John 11:25-26) Now my brethren, that’s a question all of us should take a moment and ponder and see if we believe it, because it hinges directly on where we will spend eternity.
And as per ‘no man cometh unto the Father, but by me,’ check out these scriptures. Bruh Paul writes to Timothy: ‘For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Who gave his life a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.’’ (1Tim. 2:3-6)
Then after Peter and John had healed a lame man and the Jewish Leaders took them to task for it, Peter stood up and boldly proclaimed: ‘Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you (rejected by you) builders, which is become the head of the corner (the chief corner stone). Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.’ (Acts 4:10-12)
And that’s the gospel truth friends! There’s no other name than JESUS by which salvation can be achieved! So, please, let’s remember that and act in the appropriate manner that we can be saved. (smile) Now let’s go home declaring (chuh man!!!) our Wednesday Wail letting the whole world know of our wonderful position in Jesus Christ.
As one strong and sincere voice: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’
And in case you didn’t know, there’s a promise for those who endure to the very end with Jesus; that future is going to be even more glorious than we can ever ask or imagine. So, I recommend that we all stay with Him right to the very end, so that we can enjoy that marvellous future together! Much LOVE!.
..Jesus is indeed…the ONLY WAY…to eternal life…
Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien
SCRIP-BITS 
Today’s Scrip-Bit 2 September 2022 John 8:32.
02 Sep 2022 Leave a comment
by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: a means of restoring faith in you, an inherent need for responsibility, anointed me to preach the gospel, be responsible and stay safe, bring backsliders back to your fold, divine help, embrace Jesus as Lord and Saviour, freedom, freedom is a figmnet of our imagination, Friday chant, heal the brokenhearted, I am the way the truth and the life, if the Son sets you free, if ye continue in my word, in the name of freedom, introduce a whole new flock, Jesus' work on the cross, LOVE, no man cometh unto the Father but by me, offer derogatory comments, right motives in our hearts, show them the error of their ways, stand strong and steadfast, TGIF! Thank God it's Friday!, that magnificent orb, the elixir of the human spirit, the Messiah, the pearly gates, the truth shall make you free, trusting faith, wake up and smell the coffee, we must all bow to somebody, wise guidance, ye are my disciples indeed, ye shall be free indeed, ye shall know the truth
John 8:32. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Oh friends, today as the rising of the sun begins, as that magnificent orb makes its daily journey around the world, many different voices in many different languages will loudly and harmoniously chorus: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! Thank God for the weekend and all the freedom it brings!’
Ah Lord eh, do we ever like and fantasize about that thing called freedom. And down through the ages, so many of us have died shouting out its name, but we don’t really know the heavy price that supposed elixir of the human spirit demands. For to be truly free, one needs to be responsible, not lawless like so many of us believe. Freedom carries with it an inherent need for responsibility, loyalty, self-control, self-discipline and level headedness. It calls for mercy, LOVE, grace, forgiveness, goodness and godliness.
It doesn’t give us the right, as so many of us believe to do exactly what we want, when we want, regardless of the consequences to those around us. It doesn’t mean chaos, selfishness and disregard for our fellow man. In fact, it demands just the opposite; a healthy and responsible care and compassion for our fellow human beings.
And I guess that’s why all the revolutions and wars and other negative circumstances that have occurred in the name of freedom have never succeeded, because in the end, those at the forefront of those uprisings, end up doing exactly what their oppressors and suppressors were doing; oppressing and suppressing somebody in the supposed name of freedom! But yet, we still constantly hear the battle cry for freedom: freedom from this, freedom from that, freedom from responsibility, freedom from paying taxes, freedom from God and His law.
Hn! Yet we still desire all those things that a responsible freedom bring. But in reality, freedom is only, and will always be a figment of our imagination, for as the song so truly says: we all must bow to somebody; to either God or Satan. And once you’re bowing to someone, you’re never free. Bowing to Satan will never make you free, because he is only interested in keeping his selfish claws in you, restraining you from rising to the level for which you were created, and thus making hellfire and damnation your eternal home.
The closest we can ever get to that thing called freedom is by reverently bowing to our Maker, Our Creator and Provider, our Way-maker and Forgiver, the enabler of Eternal Life. And that can only happen when we sincerely embrace His majestic Son, Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. Yes, friends, only through the intervention of the Son, can one get to all the magnificent benefits and freedoms that the Father provides. Listen up as Christ enlightens us on the subject.
First off, He sets us straight by imparting this startling, but ever so true information: ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.’ (John 14:6) Oh my people, unless we believe that, and act seriously upon it, we will never see the bright lights of heaven and enjoy the promise of eternal life! That’s the truth, and nothing but the God-awesome truth! Only sincere belief in Christ Jesus will enable us to enter through those pearly gates we all talk and dream about so much!
And likewise, the only source of true freedom is Christ Jesus. And why do we know this? Listen as He taught in the synagogue of His hometown of Nazareth. On that momentous Sabbath day in the temple, Jesus read thus from the Book of Isaiah. ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised (oppressed). To preach the acceptable year of the Lord….This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears (hearing)’ (Luke 4:18-19, 21)
Oh my people, Jesus was letting His hometown know that He was the chosen One, the Messiah, the One sent to set the captives free, to heal their broken hearts, souls and spirits. But, as it so often happens, when someone close to us, just like us, rises up to another level, we tend to offer derogatory comments rather than gladly accept their new status. And that’s exactly what happened to Jesus in His hometown of Nazareth.
They didn’t believe that the lowly carpenter’s son of Joseph and Mary, who grew up amongst them could ever be the Messiah. His words so annoyed them that they eventually forced him out of the city and tried to throw Him down a hill. Thankfully though, as the Good Book says: ‘But he passing through the midst of them went his way.’ (Luke 4:30) And the scholars offer this explanation on the verse. ‘It is not clear whether this is a miraculous deliverance, or whether Jesus, by dint of His imposing presence, was able to stare His opponents down and then walk away untouched.’ I like to think it was the latter, just to show the unbelieving fools that He was not scared of them. (smile)
Now, this final word from Jesus re freedom. He said to a crowd of Jews that supposedly believed in Him. ‘If ye continue (abide) in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ (John 8:31-32) And when they claimed they were never in bondage, so how could they be made free, Jesus explained to them that they were in bondage to sin. However, ‘If the Son therefore shall make you free; ye shall be free indeed.’ (John 8:36)
And is that ever the glorious truth my brethren! Only through the work of Jesus on the cross of Calvary, His shed blood, His death and resurrection, can we be truly made free. Free from sin, free from our most noted enemy, Satan and the sinful life that he espouses and tries to get us to also espouse, so that we can eventually end up like him, in the lake of fire. But thankfully, we’re wiser than that! We’re following Jesus! Glory Hallelujah! So, let’s go to Him in prayer, through our Friday Chant, asking for His divine help in our troubled world.
As one confident voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough… what with all the anxiety, the confusion and havoc that the Covid-19 and monkey-pox viruses, as well as our many other problems are causing. We can’t seem to fix it on our own Lord, that means we desperately need your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat both the viruses and the unrest in our streets.
So Lord, we sincerely ask you today to give the governments and those involved in the forefront of this serious and unexpected storm, the wise guidance to handle the situation properly, with the least amount of loss to life and property as possible. And please help those of us who must go out to work amidst all the confusion, to be responsible and to stay safe, and avoid any more serious setbacks. And Lord, we fervently pray that You’ll use this situation to bring a lot of backsliders back to your fold, show them the error of their ways.
And please introduce a whole new flock, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. Yes Lord, please use this pandemic and the unrest in the streets as a means of restoring faith in You, so that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
Now friends, if we truly expect positive divine help, then it’s up to us keep the promises we’ve just made, and show right motives in our hearts. Much LOVE!
…ONLY through belief in Christ Jesus…can we gain whatever freedom is possible in this earthly life…
Hear our podcast at https://open.spotify.com/show/3aVfqIC1CqwGybISs9dZJ8