Blessed is the person who is too busy to worry in the daytime and too sleepy to worry at night. Author unknown
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 Abrahams 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 of 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 NKJ)
Have you ever tried to carry on a conversation with someone that is talking about one thing and you are talking about another? Every now and then you might hit on something that makes sense to both of you, but most of the time they are trying to apply what you are saying to their view, and you try and work in what they are saying into what you are trying to get across. Of course there might be a conversation but little understanding. Many times Jesus said, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. This statement is an example of what I am talking about. Upon first reading this we get a picture of physical ears that we hear with, but Jesus repeated it so many times that I feel He was talking about hearing with our spiritual ears, the ears of our heart. When Jesus gave His teaching about being set free, He was teaching in the temple, and He said, If you abide in my word. I would at this time like to comment on the word if. There are 1,522 ifs in the Bible, and each one is like a hinge, they will swing one-way or another. Jesus said if you abide in My word you will be free. He was talking not so much about being free as He was about living and taking up residence, in the security of the Word of God. Here is an example of people hearing only with physical ears. They thought He was talking about their freedom and they told Him that they had never been in bondage to anyone. That was just an out and out lie. They had been in bondage for several hundred years in Egypt; the Assyrians took them bondage, the Babylonians took them into bondage, and at the time of this conversation, they were under the thumb of the Romans. Jesus was having a conversation with people that understood one concept as He was talking about another. A lack of communication is one of the major reasons for our problems today also. The problem is not listening. We can hear without listening. I find this true in my life, that when someone is speaking to me and I am thinking about what I am going to say, I am not listening. My thoughts today are that I may not only hear with my physical ears, but that the ears to my heart may listen. Then and only then can God do for me what I could not do for myself JRE
Divine control and unquestioning obedience to God are the only conditions necessary for a spiritual life. Divine control means absolute faith and trust in God, a belief that God is the Divine Principle in the universe and the He is the Intelligence and the Love that controls the universe. Unquestioning obedience to God means living each day the way you believe God wants you to live, constantly seeking the guidance of God in every situation and being willing to do the right thing.
HAZELDEN ..Twenty-Four Hours A Day
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 Abrahams 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 of 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 NKJ)
Have you ever tried to carry on a conversation with someone that is talking about one thing and you are talking about another? Every now and then you might hit on something that makes sense to both of you, but most of the time they are trying to apply what you are saying to their view, and you try and work in what they are saying into what you are trying to get across. Of course there might be a conversation but little understanding. Many times Jesus said, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. This statement is an example of what I am talking about. Upon first reading this we get a picture of physical ears that we hear with, but Jesus repeated it so many times that I feel He was talking about hearing with our spiritual ears, the ears of our heart. When Jesus gave His teaching about being set free, He was teaching in the temple, and He said, If you abide in my word. I would at this time like to comment on the word if. There are 1,522 ifs in the Bible, and each one is like a hinge, they will swing one-way or another. Jesus said if you abide in My word you will be free. He was talking not so much about being free as He was about living and taking up residence, in the security of the Word of God. Here is an example of people hearing only with physical ears. They thought He was talking about their freedom and they told Him that they had never been in bondage to anyone. That was just an out and out lie. They had been in bondage for several hundred years in Egypt; the Assyrians took them bondage, the Babylonians took them into bondage, and at the time of this conversation, they were under the thumb of the Romans. Jesus was having a conversation with people that understood one concept as He was talking about another. A lack of communication is one of the major reasons for our problems today also. The problem is not listening. We can hear without listening. I find this true in my life, that when someone is speaking to me and I am thinking about what I am going to say, I am not listening. My thoughts today are that I may not only hear with my physical ears, but that the ears to my heart may listen. Then and only then can God do for me what I could not do for myself JRE
Divine control and unquestioning obedience to God are the only conditions necessary for a spiritual life. Divine control means absolute faith and trust in God, a belief that God is the Divine Principle in the universe and the He is the Intelligence and the Love that controls the universe. Unquestioning obedience to God means living each day the way you believe God wants you to live, constantly seeking the guidance of God in every situation and being willing to do the right thing.
HAZELDEN ..Twenty-Four Hours A Day
