When asking the LORD what my subject is today, He instantly told me “John 8:31”. OK then, what does it say?
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;


Before going on any further, let’s digest what that one verse says. “If ye CONTINUE in my Word. “ Obviously that means “ongoing action”, not just starting, then abandoning His Word. Far too many start well, but when affliction and persecution comes for the Word’s sake, they quit. It can be for many reasons. Years ago for me, it started at my workplace. While most of my co-workers sat in the lunchroom talking during lunch, I sat at my desk reading my Bible. And they weren’t too happy about it and I was ridiculed for it. Do you know you can read the entire Bible in three months in 30 minutes a day? You can, and I did. That was over 27 years ago, and I’ve CONTINUED reading His Word every day. Needless to say, I’ve learned a thing or two. I’ve learned that in order to be a disciple of Jesus, I’ve had to CONTINUE putting the Word of God in me, and it must be more important to me than anything else in life.

32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Most people think MONEY sets you free. Well, money is a tool that you use to buy the things you want or need. But if money sets you free, why are so many rich people miserable? Hollywood is full of money, and yet many have committed suicide or had failed lives. Is money bad? NO! Money has no mind of its own, and is neither good or evil. Nor can money save your soul. Now there are things money CAN do, like buy you a car so you don’t have to walk everywhere, and a home, so you don’t have to live in the woods in a cave. But there’s only ONE thing that makes you truly free, and that’s TRUTH, and if you’re a disciple of Christ Jesus, daily studying His Word, then you’re learning more of the truth daily. You’ll never learn it ALL, but that doesn’t mean you should ever quit trying.

Verses 31 and 32 were addressed to those who BELIEVED upon Jesus. The following verses were to the Jews that were contending with Jesus about “truth”, who thought it was all about their ancestry. They thought they were ALREADY free. Their understanding was closed up, and all this was hidden from them.

33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Well, continuing on, the conversation gets much more intense as Jesus tells them who the source of their “truth” really is: Let’s look at verses 37-45,
37 I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
38 I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.
44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

And this is where it all starts going south, to the point where later they took up stones to stone Jesus. Now tell me, would a disciple of Jesus take up stones to stone Him? It’s pretty easy at this point to see that just because you have the blood lineage of a Jew, doesn’t mean you love God. But yet there were those Jews who DID believe on Jesus (Y’shua Messiah). They were hungry for the truth, and God opened their understanding to grasp even MORE! The only ones who love God are those who, having heard His Words, continue in His Words for the rest of their lives. Anything less than that, and you’re a “wannabe”. Cruel words, but TRUTH!

People have asked me from time to time, HOW CAN I BECOME A DISCIPLE OF JESUS? It’s the same today in this age as it was back then: you must love Him with all your heart. When you love someone with all your heart, your will is no longer your own; you want to please the one you love, right? Is it always easy? NO! in fact, the devil will get in your face and persecute you because you love Jesus, and that’s a promise! You may not ever meet him personally, but you will know he’s been there, because, as Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief cometh not, but for to kill, and to steal, and to destroy: but I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

If you’re not having “life more abundantly” right now, there are two possible reasons: one, you DON’T know Christ Jesus as your LORD and Savior, and you’re missing out on the whole reason of life. And number two? You DO know the LORD, and the devil is doing all he can to make your life a living hell. The Bible tells us in Psalm 34:19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: (that is those who love God), BUT, the LORD delivereth him out of them ALL!”

In spite of all the trouble the devil causes God’s people, we have been given God’s Holy Spirit and AUTHORITY with which to overcome all the devil’s junk. Sadly, many, if not most of God’s kids just let the devil push them around and ruin their lives every day, but that isn’t God’s will. Note, if you will, the latter part of John 10:10, where Jesus Himself said, “But I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

John 10:10 is just PART of the TRUTH that God wants His disciples to walk in. God didn’t put you here to be a punching bag for the devil. NO! He put you here to be an OVERCOMER! How to be a disciple of Jesus? Continue in His Word, and you will be His disciple indeed! And you will know the TRUTH, and the truth shall make you FREE!