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When the Truth Sets You Free

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

What is Truth?

The truth can be concealed behind many ‘convenient lies’. We can deceive ourselves or let the mainstream views of society steer us down a path that is contrary to the will of God.

The turning point in my life occurred when I turned 40 years of age. Until then I was chasing many ‘career dreams’ that obscured the truth about my true identity.

FINDING OUR TRUE IDENTITY – Who are you? Who do you want to be?

It was my husband who helped me to discover who I really wanted to be. He used to ask me this question: “who do you belong to?”

I think deep down in my heart my answer to this question was “I belong to me” but not wanting to irritate my jealous husband I said, “I belong to you” and that answer made my husband smile.

At that time in my life I began to struggle with a profound feeling of being ‘incomplete’ and ‘unfulfilled’. This restlessness led to me questioning just about everything.  As I searched for meaning and truth, I also began to seek God and pray.

Then something miraculous happened.

One day as I was praying, I truly believe I heard God speak in my heart.

God asked me a question.  A quiet, gentle voice said “What is love?”

I thought I knew what love was, so I answered “Love is a feeling”

To this, I heard God say once again in an interior voice as quiet and gentle as a whisper “wrong”.

So I asked “What is it then?”

And God replied

“Love is a choice”.

The rest of the conversation occurred without words. The Holy Spirit began causing me to question if my life choices were reflections of ‘love’ or ‘selfishness’. I began to understand that ‘true love’ requires making choices that honour God.

This conversation changed my life.

I began to reflect deeply on the choices I was making. I realized first and foremost that I wanted to please God and make choices that God would call ‘love’.

Some time later, my husband asked me his favourite question again “who do you belong to?” and this time without hesitation I answered “I belong to Jesus!” and my husband said, “I know”.

I had reached a milestone, a really important turning point in my life. I had discovered that my true identity was rooted in a relationship with Jesus.  I knew He loved me and that I loved Him.

DISCOVERING LIFE’S TRUE PURPOSE: How does the truth about your identity influence your life choices?

All true followers of Jesus belong to Him; in fact, Jesus is described in the Bible as the Bridegroom of our souls.

“For your Maker is your husband– the LORD Almighty is his name– the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.” Isaiah 54:5

“I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD.” Hosea 2: 19-20

I realized that my restlessness and sense of not being ‘fulfilled’ flowed from my ‘identity confusion’. If you don’t know who you really then how can you make the right choices?

When I discovered that I wanted to be a faithful follower of Jesus, I decided that my life’s purpose would be focused on doing one thing:

Making Jesus smile!

My goal of ‘making Jesus smile’ is my simple way of saying ‘pleasing Jesus’ and ‘giving God glory’ is the ‘true purpose’ of my life, a purpose motivated by my ‘true identity’ as a follower of Jesus.

Jesus taught me the truth about what mattered most. By studying the Word of God I learned that this life would influence another important truth – what happens in the after life.

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE AFTER LIFE

The rewards of eternal life depend on the choices we make in the present life.

God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” Romans 2:6

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6: 9-10

THE DIVINE RELATIONSHIP SETS US FREE

Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

The truth is this:

If we remain connected to Jesus and do what He commands we will have peace both in the present life and in the after life. This doesn’t mean we won’t have challenges or suffering, for we will, but peace can exist even in times of trial and suffering.

Living in the divine relationship with Our Lord Jesus requires that we first discover the ‘truth’ about ‘who we belong to.’

God is our Creator and our Saviour. It is only through Him and with Him that we can become fully alive, realizing our purpose in life to be people of love.

Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

When I finally gave my life to Jesus, I found great inner peace. I was freed from my restlessness, and my sense of being incomplete vanished as I gave my complete trust to the Holy One, Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, who never lets us down.

I stopped chasing ‘financial/career dreams’ as I embraced a new dream ‘to become a woman of God’.

God teaches us that: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Matthew 6:19-20

When I began to reflect on this passage teaching us to build our treasures in heaven, I began to refocus my life on trying to discern God’s will and do God’s will.  With the help of Jesus I realized that ‘Loving Jesus and being His disciple’ was the true and right goal for my life.  I truly believe that Jesus is ‘our treasure’ in heaven and He is also here with us on earth if we choose to let Him into our hearts.

We can chase the wrong dreams until we give God permission to truly work in our lives. We must allow Jesus to become the spiritual bridegroom of our souls and give Him the trust and time needed to transform every aspect of our existence. Jesus will chart a course for our life if we consent to His Holy Will.

Sometimes we might not know what is God’s will in a particular situation, but through prayer and increased knowledge and understanding of His Holy Word we will find the answers we are looking for.

When God chose the Virgin Mary to be the Mother of His Son Jesus, Mary gave God her total unconditional consent to God.

I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Luke 1:38

We too must give God our total and unconditional consent to transform us into people of faith, hope and love, always serving and pleasing Him.

FREEDOM FROM FEAR

If we want to be truly free from anxiety and worry, we must surrender our life to Jesus who will guide us day-by-day, moment-by-moment, enabling us to become the people of love He wants us to be.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18

Especially now as we confront a global pandemic it is easy to become anxious and afraid, but Jesus wants to protect our hearts and minds from fear by living with us and in us through every moment.  Trust in Jesus and let Him replace fear with faith and hope in His endless love.

HOW JESUS BECAME MY EVERYTHING!

I fell ‘in love’ with Jesus when I began taking a daily spiritual pilgrimage with Him to the place where He was crucified. For over a decade now, I have been stopping at the Time Jesus died for us, 3pm, to remember His Passion, death and resurrection. As I began to contemplate how much Jesus suffered for our redemption, I realized I wanted to give Him everything, even if everything I had was not that much at all.

I keep encouraging Christians all over the world to stop (if but for a few moments) at the Time Jesus died for us (3pm) to remember His Passion, to truly see Him being crucified for our salvation and to see Him dying on the Cross with so much desire and longing to be our everything! I believe that you too will ‘fall in love’ with Jesus if you go to Calvary to remember the greatest love the world has ever known and will ever know, the love of Our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Jesus gave His life not only to redeem us from sin but to unite Himself to us in the current life so we can become the people of love He desires us to be.

I truly believe that fidelity to God begins at the foot of the Cross of Jesus. It is at the place of the crucifixion of Jesus that we will witness something that changes our heart, and our mind, and our life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

THE TRUTH ABOUT OUR ETERNAL INHERITANCE

Eternal life is a true perpetual inheritance that we receive from God if we choose to believe in Jesus Christ.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

Let us repent of our sins and trust in the mercy of Our Lord Jesus.  There is nothing Jesus cannot forgive if we go to Him with sorrow for our sins desiring forgiveness.

THE TRUTH ABOUT TEMPTATION

Remembering the Passion of Christ every day silences the power of temptation in our life. We are only tempted if we want something more that we want the love of Jesus. For me there is nothing that I want more than the love of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The truth is that Holy desire, desire for God and for the things that please God, destroys the power of sensual desire through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus says,  “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  Matthew 26:41 

The flesh is weak but it can be conquered by the love of Jesus Christ.   The more we reflect on the price Jesus paid for our redemption, the more we will be able to say truthfully “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

See your Holy Lord Jesus dying on the Cross for you.  Look into His eyes and then reflect on  this question:

If Jesus gave His life for us, we will not give Him everything?

Please learn more about A Peaceful Revolution in the Name of Jesus Christ, a mission giving glory to God by uniting Christians in a daily moment of remembrance of the Passion of Christ, daily at the Time Jesus died for us, 3pm. At this time let us thank Jesus for dying for us and let us ask Jesus to send His Holy Spirit upon our world to help us to embrace His Love and His Truth so we can be truly His disciples.