IN THE WORD DAILY
with Brother Rick
John 8: 42
Jesus said unto them, If God were your
Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came
I of myself, but he sent me.
Throughout the history of the
world, we have pondered and studied the mysteries of the universe. God created
and we work to no end to disprove his work. God supplies and we spare no
expense to explain it away with man's wisdom or should I say lack of. God gives
us in detail the events that will destroy this earth. But that's not good
enough, we use global warming as a way to control lives, rob hard working
people, and serve a political end. 2 Peter 3: 10 says, “But the day of
the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass
away with a great noise, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are
therein shall be burned up.” That's the end of the story, friend. No
need to consult an astrophysicist. God says it and that settles it. But
apparently not for the majority.
In the text, Jesus is
speaking to the Jews about liberty. He tells them in 8: 32, “And ye shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” The Jews then claimed to be the children of
Abraham. But Jesus tells them, “If ye were Abraham's children, ye would
do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man who hath told you
the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of
your Father”, John 8: 39- 41. Here's the message, the Jews tell Jesus
in verse 41 that they only have on Father, even God. Then Jesus gives them one
of the most controversial statements of all time. This flies directly in the
face of the wisdom of man. It contradicts the teachings in most Bible colleges.
It is heresy to the secular education system as we know it. It has caused the
death of millions and will cause many more. Never has one statement affected so
many lives as the words of Jesus in two verses. One is John 14: 6, which says, “Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the
Father but by me.” The other is our text. Jesus says, “If God is
your Father, ye will love me”. Try to tell that to your boss. Try to
tell that to your college professor. Try to spread that message down at the
public school. Jesus tells them that there is no going to heaven, unless you
love me. You can't see God, unless you love me. You can't have eternal life,
unless you love me. You can't be a child of God, unless you love me. Here's the
question of the week, “WHO'S YOUR DADDY?”
This doctrine will be the
great separator at the end of this age. Those who have loved Jesus will stand
before the Bema Seat, (Judgment seat of Christ). And those who refuse to accept
God's Son will stand before God at the Great White Throne Judgment. That's it,
there are no other paths, there are no other ways, it's that simple. 2
Corinthians 11: 3 says, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent
beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the
simplicity that is in Christ.” No need to complicate the issue, it's
Jesus or nothing, it's heaven or hell, It's life or death. We will be bombarded
even today with devils who claim to be children of God, but hate the thought of
having to go through Jesus. Their end is destruction.
I certainly do my best to
give truth in these devotions, some say that I come off a bit rough, but the
reality is this, I desire to see folks trust in Jesus. I pray that my lost
family will trust in Jesus. I pray that my coworkers and those who I spend
countless hours with, will trust Jesus. I pray that my church family will make
Jesus preeminent in all that they do. It's all about Jesus. The life I once
knew is over. I have a new life now, and it hinges on the death, burial, and
resurrection of the Savior of the world, the only begotten Son of God, the
God-man, Christ Jesus. He is the only way. “If God were your Father, ye
would love me”. Some powerful words from our Lord. Do you love him?
If there is one thing that
you need to nail down today, it's the fact that God is your Father and Jesus is
Lord. That's really all that matters.
