Are you really free?

4 x 6 Plan | Read: John 8:31-47 & Galatians 5:16-26

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

Have you ever made a mistake at work or got caught doing something and had to lie to someone else?  Then you have to start covering those tracks with more lies just to keep the original from being found out.  It’s exhausting.  It may even keep you awake at night.  I saw a speech on Youtube where someone said: “The truth will set you free.” If you’re hiding something, then that phrase may feel like someone hit me in the stomach.

Have you heard of this before? It is a strong message and hard to live by. If you tell the truth will it set you free. Really?  It actually comes from Jesus.  He says that we are all slaves of sin and don’t want to admit that we make mistakes. We try to hide things from others and from God. We are ashamed.

I know from my own experience that it is hard to tell the truth, especially about your own life. I have been struggling with this. To share mistakes with my wife, my co-workers, my children. I found that it was controlling me. I had to think about my mistakes all the time. Until I released them and started admitting it to people.

Jesus’ message is that sin tries to captivate us. It puts us in prison. Jesus asks you to admit your sins to Him. He was without sin and He will forgive you. That is a promise. Forget the rest of this story (which might be complicated). Jesus’ message is: Share with me what keeps you in prison and I will set you free. No longer enslaved by the past but free for the future.

Action Steps 

Bible: What is God showing me?  What am I going to do about it? 

Bless: Serve one person through word, action, or gift today.