God of mercy and joy, be merciful to the needs of this dear reader and grant them Your joy; in Christ Jesus I pray, amen.
How many of us know this verse? John 8:32: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free .
It was early morning, Jesus was in Church teaching His disciples about God when He's interrupted by the Pharisees who come with a woman caught in adultery. You know the rest of the story; Jesus wrote on the ground and many believe He may have listed the sins of all who wanted this woman killed. He then shares what has made an impression on many a life: "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." All dropped their stones and walked away. A teenager and I had a nice conversation and during it he said he had just read that for the first time in his life and said, "That's pretty cool." It is pretty cool. And what follows is even cooler; in His defense of His mission and purpose and the truth about His having to die, Jesus speaks of His being the light of the world and then makes the above verse about our knowing the truth and the truth making us free.
There's no greater taste in the whole world than the taste of freedom. Ask the smoker who has wanted and knows to quit and when she or he finally does, there is no better taste or freedom. Ask the alcoholic and the addict about taste after giving up deadly addictions. Ask the prisoner who is finally released from days, weeks months, years of being held a prisoner. Freedom. Ask the believer who has had his or her sins forgiven about that taste of freedom. I will tell you and you should tell someone else; nothing tastes as good as being alive in Jesus after living a lie or in bondage. Christ came to set me free.
Do you know the truth behind this? The truth is that God loves you and because of that love has given Jesus for you so that you might be free.
PRAYER: Loving God, as this dear reader reads and prays this prayer, set him or her free from whatever prison or addiction or captivity he or she is in. Make true and real the power behind the words of Your Son's words; He came so that we might know the truth and because of that truth we are made free. I pray this in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
