Month: May 2024

³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to MY TEACHING, you are really MY DISCIPLES. ³² THEN YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH AND THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.’ John 8

We might call this, ‘KNOWING BY WALKING’. To those who hold onto “MY TEACHING – MY DISCIPLES”. Later in John’s Gospel Jesus told the disciples He had more things to tell them, ‘but you cannot bear them now’. John 16:12

There are different layers of Truth in the Kingdom of God and it’s to be hoped we will grow in and into this Truth as we walk out our lives before God on earth. Young people gain more freedom from parents as they mature in life, for instance the right to drive cars. However, they have to learn how to become responsible before they are entrusted with such things. We should add that the Lord’s sacrifice on the Cross was a perfect work of Redemption that can never be changed. 

³³ They answered him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants (By Birth) and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?’

This is often the answer given by people involved in religious observances, they see themselves as blameless. We’re ticking all the right boxes, perhaps going to Church, giving to the collection, being respectful and respectable BUT NOT IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

³⁴ Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, EVERYONE WHO SINS IS A SLAVE TO SIN. (Jesus didn’t recognise any exceptions) ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it for ever.³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8

Verse 35 is a powerful scripture, contrasting the difference between a slave AND A SON.  The slave has no permanent place IN THE FAMILY, BUT A SON HAS FULL RIGHTS BY BIRTH. HOWEVER, MANY OF GOD’S CHILDREN ARE NOT LIVING AS FULL FAMILY MEMBERS! Jesus told His disciples that as they held to His teachings and were led by His Spirit, they would be able to take hold of more Kingdom. (There’s always more for us in God)

⁹ For with you is the fountain of life;
    in your light we see light. Psalm 36

Many today have made commitments to the Lord, but are walking by the light of this world and that’s not where we belong. Truth is only found in His Light and we need to walk and live in Him.

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.

⁹ Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant BUT ALSO THE FRUIT OF THE VINEYARD WILL BE DEFILED.

¹¹ DO NOT WEAR CLOTHES OF WOOL AND LINEN WOVEN TOGETHER. Deuteronomy 22

Some days ago we visited a sea side town in Ireland and it was an unusual day because God spoke to me twice through events during the course of the day. We went in to a menswear shop during the late afternoon and I tried on some jackets which looked good, but fortunately they didn’t have my size in the preferred coat. The man who was attending me said that bales of cloth woven in Ireland were sent to Morocco where they were tailored and returned as finished garments, cheaper labour costs I assume. He also said that the cloth was a mixture of WOOL AND LINEN.

I didn’t think of the verses in Deuteronomy at the time but shortly afterwards they did come to my attention. In a short reel, (Don’t mix the Pure Spirit with the Impure, 5mins 34secs) Derek Prince discusses the verses above, where he warns that GOD WILL NOT ACCEPT MIXTURE, we cannot offer something which is part flesh/carnal and part Spirit. In the Bible ‘Linen is a type of Spiritual  Purity’ and ‘Wool is a type of Human Effort that generates sweat’. These represent ‘Two Different Spiritual Worlds’ and they cannot be offered together to God. I had never thought before about this before but I was glad that I didn’t buy a jacket symbolising MIXTURE IN SPIRITUAL REALMS.

In his Book, ‘Ordering your Private World’, Gordon MacDonald speaks of the Lord’s choice of disciples. Pages 29, 30

‘Frankly, some of those volunteers who were turned down by Jesus are more my style. They are go-getters … and He turned them down! Why?

Perhaps (it’s pure speculation) if they had come aboard we would have discovered that they had a lot more in their agendas than was apparent at first. We would have found that they were men WITH THEIR OWN PLANS AND SCHEMES, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES. And Jesus Christ will not do mighty works in the private lives of people who are so driven. He never has. He seems to prefer to work with people whom He calls. AND THAT IS WHY THE BIBLE KNOWS NOTHING OF VOLUNTEERS, ONLY THE CALLED.’

May the Lord bless and keep you today. Immanuel, God is with us.