October 30

"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32 ESV)

There is an important order in today's Bible verse: 1) abide - 2) know the truth=understand, and 3) be free.

In one English translation the word used for ‘abide’ is "continue". Discipleship begins with taking to heart and applying the Bible's message, and that we continue to do so. It's about living with and keeping the Bible’s words alive in us all the time. Someone once said that we should ruminate the word of God, chew it over and over again. If we do, we will come to point to 2 in the chain. Then we will understand. Getting to know the Truth is to understand. And when we understand, we become free, which is the last link in the chain. Freedom is tied to how we apply the Bible’s words. To ‘remain’ is something that we humans must do. The understanding and emancipation is something God works in us.

But, as Jesus says in today's scripture, this message was only to, ‘the Jews that had believed in Him.’ Do you believe in Him?

Prayer

Jesus, I want to be open to Your Word in my life today, by reading it with an open mind. I want to remain in your Word, through repeated reading of it and reminding myself of what You have said. Thank you for your promise to me that then I will understand and be free.