Today’s Encouragement is John 8:31b-32 ESV “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Will set you free –
We all desire to be free, don’t we? If we’re honest we can admit that we all need freedom from something. (Pause, think. What freedom do you want right now?)
My friend the gift of God, truly His gift to us, cannot be earned and is never deserved! (Ephesians 2:8)!
And yet, our spiritual growth, our relationship with Him, and our freedom are contingent upon us doing our part, believing in Him, living out our faith, and “abiding in His word”. For example, Matthew 6:14a NLT “If you forgive…” Or Mark 11:24b NLT “…if you believe…” And Luke 17:33 NLT” If you cling…” John 13:17 ESV “…if you do them.” All these require us to act, to do, to choose.
So, it’s pretty clear that, once we are saved by God’s grace, we then become responsible (“If you…”) for doing our part to grow as His followers…
And today’s encouragement is “if you abide in” His word. And this instruction leads to a promise… then we will know the truth and this Truth will set us free!
Father, You have been so good and kind and loving to us, Your chosen people. Thank You for calling and choosing us. Help us now to grow in our relationship with You, by doing what You invite us to do. Help us to “abide in Your word,” and so to become truly free.
Abide
Aaron Williams
Today’s Encouragement 