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.”
John 8:31-32
Good Morning Folks,
By the time I post this I suppose a better greeting might be “Good Afternoon.” Today is shaping up to be much warmer than the past few days. And I am thankful for that. Of course, if you lived elsewhere, like in Oregon, they received the first ever measurable snowfall in April just yesterday. There is a storm system out there that is threatening to bring “strong tornadoes” and “baseball-sized hail” in the Mississippi Valley and the lower Plains, while the northern Plains will get dumped on with 3 feet of snow. This severe weather is happening in Spring? Well it’s not the first time our country has seen such things. Friends of mine who now live in Michigan have recently shared about the colder weather and snow they received in April. Meanwhile, here in the heart of Georgia we are dealing with extreme pollen conditions, as can be evidenced by some of us who are a little on the sensitive side to that. And the weather last week or so was not the nicest, with quite a few of the surrounding counties under tornado watches and severe weather alerts. And when the rain was gone, the opposite of wet conditions became overly dry conditions with humidities of less than 25%.
What will heaven be like? Perfect weather all the time! And no more wars! And no more pandemics, pestilences or diseases! We can praise God for what good things are to come for those of us looking forward to heaven.
And we can also praise God that He always provides a way for us to navigate the difficulties of life on this earth. He has not left us here alone. In fact, Jesus came to this earth and immersed Himself in our troublous situation, so that He might deliver us from sin and from evil and from falsehoods and lies. Hallelujah! Yes, oh how I look forward to heaven.
As a pastor, I care about people. I especially care that they should be able to know the truth, as Jesus had also hoped. Jesus said the reason that He came to the earth was all about testifying to the truth. And this in a conversation with none other than Pontius Pilate, who in the next few moments would give the permission and the order to crucify Jesus.
Here is the record of that conversation:
Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” 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?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.”
John 18:33-38
What? Pilate questioned Jesus about the accusations against Him. Pilate learned that Jesus was a King, but, “not of this world.” Pilate heard Jesus state His purpose for coming into the world, “that I should bear witness to the truth.” Then Pilate rejected that truth as if truth was not something to be grasped. Yet, Pilate admitted to the Jews, that he found no fault in Jesus, “at all.” No fault at all! And still he gave the order, and the permission to crucify Jesus.
What do you think? Many people today also might agree with Pilate’s careless answer to Jesus, “What is truth?” Many people, like Pilate also believe that truth is not tangible, not something to be grasped. But, Jesus affirmed that truth was something to be grasped, that it was something people could actually find. Jesus actually taught that it was knowledge of the truth that could and would make a person free (John 8:32). Yet, there is a condition. Jesus tied anyones ability to know the truth to a knowledge of His word. In fact, Jesus gave this promise solely to those who believed in Him. Jesus said to those who believed in Him, “If you abide in My word… then you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”
Are you one of those who believe in Jesus? Especially at this Easter season, there are many who will come to worship at various churches around the world. But how many of those worshippers actually believe in Jesus enough to abide in His word? For I know that there are many Christians who also believe in evolution, as if they do not believe that God created the world in six days and rested on the Seventh day, as Genesis chapters 1 and 2 portray.
I would like to give a challenge to you, if you are one of those Christians that also believes in evolution. For the same God you worship at the Easter season, because Jesus went to the cross and died for your sins, this same God also claims to have made the world in six days, and rested on the Seventh. (Side-note: What other evidence is there for why we have a seven day week?)
This God who has testified to the truth wants you to have an intelligent faith. Is there evidence from science that would support the creation account in Genesis, or even the Flood narrative as written in Genesis chapters 6-9? And what about the evidence from scripture that Jesus fully believed in the literal creation account as found in the book of Genesis? If you would like to investigate the truth on this matter, to help you to abide in Jesus’ word, that you may also know the truth and be made free, then consider joining me in an investigation in the following seminar called ORIGINS, written by Dr. Stan Hudson, and presented throughout this year at various locations.
I will be giving a presentation of ORIGINS beginning on May 13 at the church where I serve as pastor. I will do six presentations, the first three on May 13 and 14, and the final three on May 20 and 21. I am hoping that y’all will pray about this and come (there will be a Zoom link for those who live farther away). Also, please consider inviting a friend who may be questioning whether or not he/she can trust the Bible.
People need to hear a different story than the world has been teaching. People need to be introduced to a different world view, a proper Biblical world view that will help them to understand the truth. And people need to understand the truth that God created this world in six days and rested on the Seventh-day, as surely as they also understand the truth that Jesus was crucified for their sins. Will you pray about this? Thank you.
Here is a link to the website created for these ORIGINS meetings: https://originsseminar.org/Griffin/
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Dean
Last Day's Grace 