Join us as we explore God's ancient wisdom and apply it to our modern lives. His word is as current and relevant today as it was when he inspired its authors more than two and a half millennia ago. The websites where you can reach us are alittlewalkwithgod.com, richardagee.com, or saf.church.
I hope you will join us every week and be sure to let us know how you enjoy the podcast and let others know about it, too. Thanks for listening.
A daily devotional walking through God's word together using The
Bible Reading Plan at http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.html.
Our website http://alittlewalkwithgod.com.
Thanks for joining me today for "A Little Walk with God." I'm
your host Richard Agee.
Today marks the end of my daily format. With retirement and
some changes in life events and personal and family priorities, I
will change to a weekly format beginning this month. You can expect
“A Little Walk with God” to continue, but it will be released each
week on Mondays instead of the daily format you have had in the
past. Thanks for your continued support and if you like what you
hear, share it with your friends and send me a post to let me know
what you think about the new format.
Scripture
John 8:31-32
Jesus(to the new Jewish
believers): If you hear My voice and
abide in My word, you are truly My disciples; you will know the
truth, and that truth will give you freedom.
Devotional
Independence Day. The day a group of courageous men signed a
document that started an experiment in democracy that has endured
longer than anyone dreamed. 241 years ago, we declared our
independence from the tyrannical rule of the king of England and
formed the spark of democratic rule among the 13 colonies which
would soon form the United States of America.
Those early colonists wanted freedom from British rule. Freedom
from laws and taxation and governance in which they had no say or
influence. They wanted freedom to rule themselves and set their own
direction for the formation of this new land in which they lived
and died. They wanted freedom.
Little did they know what would happen over the next centuries.
Little did they understand that the United States would become the
most powerful nation in the world both militarily and economically.
Little did they understand the influence the constitution they
drafted would impact the world of which they were only beginning to
explore at the time. They sought freedom for themselves, their
children and their children’s children.
But what about today? What do we want? We hear a lot about
people wanting freedom, but do we really understand what that means
or what we really want?
Freedom then and now does not mean the absence of authority or
rule over us. Without rule and order and authority we would have
utter chaos. Just look at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and
the lack of rule and order in New Orleans. Without order and
authority, freedom means people often fall into animalistic
behavior. We are better than that.
Freedom does not mean absence of authority and order. We need
order and authority to maintain peace and safety in our
communities. We need government to ensure those basic necessities
of life are taken care of in an orderly fashion for the common good
of all of us. We need authority in our lives. Freedom includes
authority over us. Always.
Jesus says following His teachings lets us know the truth and
the truth sets us free. So what does that mean?
First, we need to understand that following His teachings means
being like Him, being a disciple. That’s what disciples were in His
day. Students who set aside their past beliefs and understandings
and learned from their teacher. They adopted the teachings of their
mentor and became like him in every way. They ate and dressed like
him. They began to mimic his language and his thought process. They
developed his mannerisms and in as many ways as possible began to
be their teacher. They grew up in the image of their teacher,
indistinguishable from their master.
So Jesus is telling those around Him, be His disciple. Be like
Him. Do what He does. Learn His teachings. Follow in His footsteps.
When you do these things, you will know the truth.
When you know the truth, you will be free. What will you be
free from? Questions, the unknown, guilt, the burden of sin, fear,
lack of purpose. You see, when you know the truth, suddenly you see
the world the way Jesus sees it. You understand the reason we are
put here on this earth. You know the peace that comes from knowing
God’s forgiveness of your sins and the release of the guilt that
plagues us because of our disobedience. You fear God as in
recognizing the awesomeness of His mighty power, but you no longer
fear God as in being troubled about His wrath for your past. You
find freedom, real freedom.
But with that freedom, you know who you serve. You are clearly
and forever under His authority. You know you must and will follow
His teachings. He is your Ruler, your King, your Director, your
Guide, your Authority in all things. Yet you are truly free. Why?
Because when you follow Him, you know the truth. You know Him and
He is truth and you are free in Him.
If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at
SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If
you don't, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for "A
Little Walk with God."
A daily devotional through the Bible narrated as if walking through the garden east of Eden with God. Scriptures come from a daily reading plan that take you through the Bible in one year, generally coming from The Voice. Our website is http://alittlewalkwithgod.com or http://richardagee.com