John 8:51-59
Jesus said to the Jews: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death." So the Jews said to him, "Now we are sure that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, 'Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.' Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? Or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?" Jesus answered, "If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing; but it is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, 'He is our God.' You do not know him, but I know him. And if I should say that I do not know him, I would be like you a liar. But I do know him and I keep his word. Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad." So the Jews said to him, "You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM." So they picked up stones to throw at him; but Jesus hid and went out of the temple area.
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for those who are struggling with addictions.
If Jesus came riding on a chariot with an army and spoke the words He spoke to the Jews, do you think they would have listened? Do you think that they would have tried to stone Him?
When Jesus came into this world, He came in a package that nobody expected: a package of humility. The truth tends to come bare while lies tend to come in pretty packages. These pretty packages make promises of glory. God went beyond making a promise with us; He made a covenant! In His humility, He gave Himself as a covenant. He did not come for glory; He came out of love.
In our own lives, how often do you hear the voice of "the king of lies" promising glory and cannot be delivered or offering an indulgence that cannot satisfy? I hear it often, and fall for it in the same way Adam and Eve fell.
This is why we must rejoice in everything we have: our struggles, our sufferings, and even our joys. If we do not rejoice in the things that we have been given, we will always be chasing after the empty promise Satan offers us over and over again. The Jews rejected Jesus because He did not fulfill their expectation. Will you do the same? Take care and God Bless.
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