Train Up A Child (Part 7)

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” - John 8:32

Many people misquote John 8:32 and/or take it out of context. Most often, you hear people say "and the truth shall set you free" and that's it. But this scripture reveals much more than just that.

If we look at John 8:32 in context, we see in the preceding verse that Jesus talks about people becoming His disciples. A close reading of John 8:31-32 reveals that it's only after becoming a disciple of Jesus that one is exposed to the truth. Exposure to the truth then makes us free.

In other words, there's a whole process to attain freedom. Simple truth doesn't make people free. It's by becoming disciples of Jesus that we come to know the truth and become free.

In other words, Jesus instructs us to become disciples (Matthew 16:24) - that is, to become students or "studiers" of His Word. He tells us to train by abiding in it (John 8:31).

And just like any trainer, He says we can't get the results without going through the process.

So, the real question is, if you truly want to be free, are you willing to go through the process to get there?

How are you training today?

God bless,
J.W.

Train Up A Child (Part 6)

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." - Proverbs 4:23

In Part 5 of the Train Up A Child series, we continued talking about why meditating on God's Word is important. Today, let's talk about why it works.

Proverbs 4:23 tells us that everything flows from what's in our hearts.

See, whatever is planted in your heart flows out in your life.

Our hearts are merely conduits to push out whatever is planted in it. So, if evil is planted in it, our hearts can't help but to push out evil. If lust is planted in it, it can't help but to push out lust. If sin is planted in it, it can't help but to bring sin in our life.

But Philippians 4:8 instructs us to think on good things - whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely. Then "the God of Peace will be with you" (Philippians 4:9).

Peace comes through what we think about. It's why Proverbs 23:7 says "whatever a man thinks, so is he." The results we get in life are simply a reflection of the conditions of our hearts.

What's the condition of your heart today?

God bless,
J.W.

Train Up A Child (Part 5)

In Part 4 of the Train Up A Child series, we talked about why meditating on the Word is important. Today, let's continue in that vein.

In both Luke 8:15 and James 1:25, the Bible speaks of keeping or continuing in the Word.

Keeping and continuing in the Word is all that meditation is. 

It is repeating the Word over and over again until it plants in the soil of your heart.

Joshua 1:8 instructs us to meditate on the Word of God day and night. To keep the Word always on our lips. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray continually. Psalm 1:1-2 tells us we will be blessed for doing so.

God commands us to meditate on His word, not out of His own selfishness or need to control us. Rather, God commands us to meditate on the Word because He knows it will bring blessings and good fruit in our life (Luke 8:15; James 1:25).

And who wouldn’t want those things in their life?

More to come next week!

God bless,
J.W.

Train Up A Child (Part 4)

In Part 3 of the "Train Up A Child" series, we talked about why God instructs us to train through meditating on His Word. This week, let's address the slightly different question of why meditating on the Word is important.

In Luke 8, Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower, in which He likens the Kingdom of God to a farmer sowing seed. Some seed falls on good soil and yields a one hundred-fold harvest (Luke 8:8). Some seed falls by the wayside, is trampled, and eaten by birds (Luke 8:5). Other seed falls on rocky soil and withers (Luke 8:6). Still other seed falls among the thorns and gets choked (Luke 8:7).

Jesus later explains to His disciples that the seed that falls on good soil represents people that hear the Word, apply it and bear fruit (Luke 8:15). The seed that falls by the wayside represents people who hear the Word but the devil comes and snatches the seed out of their hearts (Luke 8:12). The seed that falls on rocky soil represent people that receive the Word with joy but fall back into disobedience because of temptation (Luke 8:13). The seed that falls among the thorns and gets choked represents people who hear the Word but get caught up in the cares of the world and bear no fruit (Luke 8:14).

In every case, the people hear the Word. But only in one of them does the Word actually take root and bear fruit.

So there has to be a difference between simply hearing the Word and bearing its fruit.

Meditating on the Word is the difference!

For more on this concept, check out Pastor Ron Carpenter’s message below starting at 32:04.

https://youtu.be/JjYTjDdnoEk?t=32m4s

Ultimately, God wants us to be more than just hearers of the Word (James 1:22). He wants us to bear fruit and be world changers. But we can't do that simply by hearing the Word. If that's the extent of our experience with the Word, we are no different than the seed that falls by the wayside. Or among the thorns. Or on the rocks.

God wants His Word to yield a harvest. But it's going to require more than just hearing the Word.

More to come next week!

God bless,
J.W.

Train Up A Child (Part 3)

A few weeks ago, we established that God wants us to meditate on His word (see Part 2 here).

But the question is why. Why does God want to train us through meditation?

The answer is found in Luke 8 in the Parable of the Sower.

There, Jesus tells the story of a farmer who sows seed in a field (Luke 8:4-8). Some seed falls on good soil and yields a hundred-fold harvest (Luke 8:8). Other seed falls on rocky soil and withers (Luke 8:6). Still others fall among the thorns and get choked (Luke 8:7).

Later, Jesus explains that the seed is the Word of God and the field is our heart (Luke 8:12-15).

In order for the seed to take root, we not only have to hear the word (i.e. plant the seed), we also have to till the ground and ensure that our soil is ripe for planting. Meditation helps the word take root in our hearts. It helps our heart retain the Word and persevere (Luke 8:15). It is part of what separates good soil from bad, ripe hearts from rocky ones, harvest from destruction and death.

God instructs us to meditate on His Word because He knows that it's the process through which we prepare our hearts to receive the Word. It's the method He uses to take us from being hearers of the Word to doers of the Word (James 1:22). Luke 8 tells us that harvest comes through meditating on the Word. And who wouldn't want a one hundred-fold harvest?

So, how are you cultivating your soil today?

God bless,
J.W.