Jesus said in John 8:31-32  “If you continue in my Word, thn you are truly disciples of mine and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free!”  I think one of the great tragedies of the world that we live in today, is that most people don’t have anything to believe in.  We have things that we like, care about and even some things that interest us, but most people don’t have a whole lot that they really believe in anymore.  When I say “believe in”, I am talking about something that you are willing to fight for, something that you are willing to die for, something that has challenged and changed your life so much, that you can’t live life without it!

This is what the Bible – God’s Word should be for those of us that call ourselves Christian.  If we really believe it – we will read it, be corrected by it and grown through it!  Jesus said:  “If you continue in my Word…”  This does not mean that we pick it up once every now and then.  This means that we live with it and by it every moment of every day.  The secret to a powerful, fulfilled and exciting Christian life is found in our BELIEVING that God has spoken and is speaking to us.  And this is exactly what the Word is all about!  We know that we are really believing, when we find ourselves living according to the Word.

It’s not easy!  In fact, it is a constant challenge!  It is not easy to live life in and through the Word, because the word is continually attacking.  This is why the Word is so important – it is our stregth and power to overcome the attacks of the world.  It is not easy to live life in and through the Word, because the world is continually distracting.  The Word helps us to keep our focus, so that even when distractions come, we stay on course and in right direction.  It is not easy to live life in and through the Word because the world is continually convincing us to live according to something other than God’s Word.  The Word helps us to understand that the best way is always God’s way!

Jesus said:  “If you continue in my Word, then you are truly disciples of mine!”  Does the Word really matter?  It matters if you want to be a true disciple of Christ.  We have someone amazing to believe in and He has given us something amazing to believe in.  Let your belief bring you back to His Word and let His Word grow you into something that is beautiful, amazing and powerful!

The chatter is beginning to pick up about the comment that Oprah made on her web cast about Jesus being her way to God, but not the only way!  Oprah is a very smart and talented person – she would have to be, to enjoy the success that she has experienced.  I think that she has and continues to do a lot of good things, but she has missed it on this one!

Jesus says of Himself in John 14:1-6 “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father, but by me!” 

JESUS IS THE WAY!  The world would have you believe that there are multiple ways to God.  I think that there may be a million ways or more to know about God, but there is only one way to know Him and that is in a personal realtionship that is comes through our belief in Jesus Christ His Son!  There may be a lot of different ways to God, but they all have to ultimatley go THROUGH Jesus!  Jesus said in John 10:9  “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.  He will come and go and find pasture!”  Play around with this truth and your are playing with fire!

JESUS IS THE TRUTH!  Truth is absolute, not relative!  Truth is based on fact and fact is provided by our Creator and Sustainer!  John 1:17 says:  “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”  God has given us His law, which teaches us how to live our lives for Him and in blessing.  And for the areas where we all fall short and there are many He has given us His Son Jesus, Who provided grace which forgives and restores and truth which sets us free!  We don’t make the truth – the truth makes us!

JESUS IS THE LIFE!  This is not just some abstract concept to get us through another day.  Jesus really is life and when we live in a real, meaningful and personal relationship with Him, it changes everything!  Jesus is our way of life, through a personal relationship we have a reason to live and find fulfillment through that reason.  We need to stop chasing life and start chasing Jesus.  There are a lot of people out there who have religion – I’m not talking about religion – I’m talking about relationship!  Jesus came so that every person, not just those that you and I deem worthy – every person, those that look and act like us and those that don’t, might have a real, personal and meaningful realtionship with God, Who created us, loves us and has an amazing plan for our lives.  When you really get to know this Jesus, you wll GO the WAY, KNOW the TRUTH and LIVE the LIFE!

I guess that one of my all time favorite sayings is:  God Is Good!  I believe it, because I experience it again and again and again!  Lately, I have had a hard time accepting how ugly, mean spirited and negative some people in our world can be, especially church people.  I often think to myself:  “If they could just realize how they are being, then there is no way that they would be the way they are!”  But there is the rub – they can’t realize how they are being, they refuse to realize how they are being and the result is they miss the opportunity for personal growth and the ability to be a blessing.

I have had some encounters with some of these kinds of people over the past few months and have always had in my heart a desire for all of us to go together to the amazing and incredible places that I know that God has for us.  It burdens my heart to realize that not everybody wants to go to that place and not everybody will go to that place.  I sometimes get so burdened that I beat up on myself – thinking there must be something else I can do, there must be some better way or there must be something I can do or say that I am not doing or saying!

The reason God is so good to me this week is because He has set me free from a jail of my own making.  He has shown me that I can’t take anybody anywhere.  I can show them the way, but I can’t make them travel and I can’t travel for them.  God has confirmed in my life again and again in recent days that I am doing a good job of showing the way and I need to stay with it and not get distracted!  Thank you to so many of you for letting God speak through you to me in such a positive and beautiful way.

God is good in your life too!  Because if you are paying attention – He is telling you some things about yourself and your relationship with Him.  I hope you hear Him and respond to what you are hearing!  God Bless, Keep It Real & Press On!