John 18:37
Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are you a king then?" Jesus answered,"You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to THE TRUTH. Everyone who is of the TRUTH hears my voice."
Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"
Truth is not complicated...
Truth is not multi-dimensional, or have layers.
Truth is not cultural discernment.
Truth, at times, is painful.
Especially when it goes straight to the heart of why we are in a mess. Especially when it uncovers our sin and exposes our heart. There is only one kind of truth that has the POWER to act in such a way. That would be God's truth, and that truth can only be found in a person.....the person of Christ. In John 14:6 we read: "Jesus said to him, ' I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" Notice that Jesus proclaimed that He was THE truth. There is only one truth that exists in this world. Let me rephrase that. There is only one truth that matters when it comes to the heart of man and his destiny when he dies. That truth is found in Christ. Funny part about this truth, when I accept Him as my Lord, Savior and Guide, I receive more than a ticket to punch when it's my time to leave this old world. I am given life and life abundant in the here and now. That I can attest to.
I don't proclaim any wisdom on my part. I only speak from what I know.
I know how I use to be....
How I use to think...
How I saw and interacted with life.
I have to ask myself, "What happened? What changed me? How did I come from the life I use to live into the one I have been blessed with today?"
There is only one answer.
I turned my will and my life over to the care of God.
Theology would say that I was saved.
Some might use the term Born Again.
It doesn't matter what the terminology is that you use, as long as the end result is change in the form of wanting to live a life that is pleasing to God. No longer living for self.
I was taught early on during my time at Rapha, that people didn't have alcohol or drug problems...they had a living problem. They suffered from a broken relationship with Jesus. They were living for self and trying to fill their emptiness with whatever would numb the pain. They were living under a lie that was controlling their every thought and every move. They were slaves to a nature that could only be put down and destroyed by truth....real truth....Jesus truth.
That is why I am passionate about wanting you to meet my Jesus.
Meet the One who is more than a meeting....
More than a denomination....
More than anything my feeble brain could cook up or create.
He is life...
He is the giver of life.
Such is why we will gather tonight at Vineyard ReCovery Church.
We are going to talk about a meal Jesus shared with those He loved. A meal He shared even though He knew that everyone around that table was going to leave Him at a most critical time in His life here on earth. Knowing this, He shared the meal anyway. Why? Because He loved them. Because He saw beyond the dastardly act they would all be a part of, and yet He still chose to share this meal.
What manner of love does this Jesus possess, that He can still look with love on those who turn away from Him? That love is still burning in His heart today. As Larry Norman so aptly put it in one of his songs...."Why not check into Jesus...He's got the answers".
God on you....
michael b
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