Jesus Speaks

JESUS SPEAKING

            Then Jesus said to those who believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”

            They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can you say, ‘You will be made free’?”

            Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave to sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8: 31-36.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

             Slavery was common in the ancient world.  Although some masters treated their slaves well, most were treated poorly.  They were bought and sold like livestock.  Slaves had very few rights, and even fewer choices: they could not choose where to go, what to eat or what to wear; they could not Merry or have children.  Punishment for disobedience was often severe an occasionally fatal.  A compassionate master had the power to free a slave.  Many who were freed were given the opportunity to become permanent members of the family; similar to a son or daughter.  The master’s children often had the authority and power to grant a slave their freedom as well.  Jesus was the Son of God, and as the Son of God, he had the authority to   both, free anyone who was a slave, and grant them access in to the house of God permanently. Throughout history the Jewish people were conquered and taken in to slavery by other nations; yet, they had served an even crueler and more oppressive master than the Romans or the Greeks.  Sin was the worst of all of their task masters.  Sin had kept them from obeying God; sin had made them a disgrace to the nations; sin had fractured their marriages, and widowed and orphaned their children.  Sin had made them exploit their own people and use God’s temple to sell merchandise.  Jesus came to set them free from the bondage of sin.

             I have had many masters in my life […] alcohol, prescription drugs, pornography, fornication, mental illness, idolatry (body building), dating, envy, lust, laziness, lying, gossip, and self-centeredness (and God has delivered me from them all.)  Nicotine was the cruelest of all of my masters.  At one time I smoked nearly 2- 2 ½ packs a day.  I smoked first thing in the morning…I smoked in the car, and before and after a ‘work-out’…I smoked after I ate, and when I had a cup of coffee…I smoked before I went to bed and in the middle of the night.  There were burn holes in my clothes, car upholstery, couches, beds, and carpets.  My fingers, nose, and teeth were stained yellow.  The cigarettes were with me when I went camping; out with friends, to work, or to school.  I had to find exits in the airports during layovers.  While my friends sat through a movie, I would take a mid-movie break to get my fix.  Cigarettes kept me from making healthy relationship with healthy people.  Financially, I was spending 200-300 dollars a month to keep my lungs filled with smoke and my bloodstream bursting with nicotine.  My one constant thought was, ‘when is my next cigarette?’  After committing my life to Jesus Christ, I had a new master (I began to read the bible.)  The closer I grew to him, the less power cigarettes had over me, until finally, he set me completely free from my addiction, and added to my freedom, eternal life.

             Are you a slave to anything today?  Is there something that controls you?  You can be set free from bondage; the way to overcome sin isn’t to try harder, but to go deeper […] deeper with the savior of the world.  Read his word, pray to him, and become a disciple.  Make him your teacher, your master, and your brother; only then can you be set free.  You will remain a slave until you become a son (daughter) […] an eternal son of the one True and Living God.

             “Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You to be set free from any sins that control us.  We desperately want to be Your Son’s and Daughters and to reside in Your house forever.  Save us from our bondage Lord; we cry out to You for our salvation; be our master, and may we be Your eternal children.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things in Jesus Christ’s name, amen.”  God Bless all of you.