Truth-----It Really Is More Powerful Than We Give It Credit

John 8:31-32
Then Jesus said to those Jews 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.

Lot's of people out there claiming those verses. The whole "Know the truth and be free" part. They forget that part that speaks of abiding in the Word of God. They forget that to be free means you drive your tent pegs down in the Word. Dwell there...Find a group of people who have the same address. They also have chosen to abide in the Word of God.

What I hear, more often than I care to, is "I know that the Word of God is true........BUT!!!!  Dude, there ain't no "BUT" big enough to cancel out the power of God's truth. "But you don't understand my situation...you don't know what my life is like". Well, no I don't. I can see the destruction that you have inflicted on yourself through your really bad choices. But either God's Word is true, and contains the power necessary to redeem and save, or it's all a bunch of hokum and let's just all go to Waffle House. I happen to know...(Did you catch that..pretty bold statement isn't it?) that the Word of God is the Power to save.

Save what?
Whatever needs saving...you, me, the person next to me.
Save us from what? Whatever it is we need saving from.
O.k. 
Let's get real honest here.
My idea of being saved and your idea of being saved may be two totally different things.
My idea of salvation is that God will wipe the sin/slate clean, clean you up inside...New heart...New mind..New Spirit...and empower you to begin the process of change in your own life.
Your idea of salvation is that God simply makes the pain stop and all the bad things we are facing go away so we can catch our breath. I wish it were like that, but it isn't.

O.K.
Let's look at it in a different way.
Verse from John 8 says that we will KNOW the truth and the truth will make us free. The word "KNOW" is defined as "having an experience". An encounter with truth, if you will. In this case, the encounter is with Jesus, who claimed to be THE TRUTH, the Way and the Life. So to know the truth, we have to have run into Jesus..
Now running into Jesus is more than a "Howdy-do" on the street. It can happen anywhere, and it usually involves being keenly aware of His presence, His perfection and holiness and, at the same time, very much aware of what a mess you are. In Luke 5 we see a perfect example of this from Peter, the fisherman. Peter has followed Jesus' instructions, and has wound up with nets full of fish. So full, in fact, that his boat is about to sink. At that point, Peter falls down at Jesus' feet and says, "Get away from me, I am a sinful man." Jesus never told Peter this. It was Peter having an encounter with the presence of Truth. 

Anyway, back to John 8..
The Truth will make you free. Or to be more blunt...The truth will put you in a place....a frame of mind where you can start living, not the way you want to but the way you ought to. Taking care of your daily affairs under the watchful eye of God's Holy Spirit, now living in you. I know, it sounds like something out of a sci-fi story, but I'm telling you as best I can. It's real..Jesus is bigger than the "church" Jesus we thought we knew, and His heart is for the restoration of those who turn to Him and cry out for help.

SO this is the battle that we face..
Taking the truth of who Jesus is, and the truth of what He desires to do for those who are trapped in addiction. Our job is to love them and break down every "BUT" that they throw up as an excuse or reason as to why they can't live life outside the walls of the darkness they are currently in.

You can either continue to make excuse after excuse with all your "But's" or you can let the truth into your heart and experience the life change for yourself.
Pretty simple isn't it?
Yes, it is.
May you find my Jesus today.

God on you...
mb