Jehovah Witness told me Jesus was a false god

Today's Readings;
Psalm 97,99,100, Jeremiah 17:19-27, Romans 7:13-25, John 16-27

A couple of days ago two Jehovah Witness's came to my door and as I always do I was very honest with them from the start. I know that they are trained evangelists and are taught the responses to all of the questions that will be asked of them regaurding their belief that Jesus wasn't God. I am a trained evangelist as well and understand apologetics.

I asked their names, where they were from, and how they came to into the Jehovah Witness faith. You see I believe, as do all the other major Christian Denominations, that were are preaching a false gospel. I had nothing against the two guys who were at my door and I told them so. I cared deeply for them, as does Jesus. But somewhere along the line someone had been decieved and believed a lie and it just got passed along down the family tree. And this simple lie was causing more life-threatening damage than any natural disaster ever could.

I asked them to explain a verse to me in their book, John 1:1. They read "In the beginning was the Word (their book, like the Christian Holy Scriptures has a capital "W") and the Word was a god"...and I stopped them right there. Why is that a small "g" what is a small "g" god? Do you believe in polythesim, are there multiple "gods"

"These small "g" gods are the false gods that Isreal worshiped in the desert. Like Baal" I was told. So here was a man on my front step telling me that his book reads:

"In the beginning was the Word (Jesus) and the Word (Jesus) was a (false)god (like Baal).

Today we read that Jesus walked on the water to his disciples in the boat. Did the false gods ever do this? God  demanded that his people shun the false gods they followed yet the Bible tells us to run to Jesus. How could this be if indeed Jesus was not God?  Do not laugh at those who had been lied to, do not smirk as if they had been "one-uped". Pray hard for these folks who have been lied to about Jesus. Pray hard for those who have a false image of Jesus. Jesus wants to reveal His true character. He wants us to spread light in the darkness.

I am not saying I have it all together, far from it. I relate to Paul in Roman's today. I try to do good but fail. I have just been blessed that God has allowed me to see the truth, and that has set me free.

bread for the journey

Today's Readings: Ps 89:1-18, Jeremiah 16:10-21, Romans 7:1-12, John 6:1-15

"after this a Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberius. And a large crowd was following him, and because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick"
                                                         John 6:1-2

I have heard it preached that the miracle in this story was that people were moved to share their lunch with each other. Now, these same people who preach this sermon deny that people are inherently bad (marked by original sin).  This makes absolutely no sense. If people were not by nature self-serving it would be no miracle that they shared! Would God (and many, many people who canonized the Scriptures as we know them) have seen fit to put a nice moral story int the Bible?

So what really happened, what is Jesus saying? Life is so much more that food (See Mt 5ff), don't worry about what you are going to eat God will provide and he can create and indeed work miracles.

If the church believed this, what would happen? Is this the message we are preaching? Why not?  Psalm 89:4 gives us some insight. "I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations". History tells us that David did not always have an offspring on the throne. They had suffered much under the hands of others. The intertestimental period (the 400 plus years between the Old and the New Testament) God sent no prophets. It is no wonder that many have a hard time believing that God "will" indeed supply our needs. But there's the problem, we want God to supply our perceived needs. God will and does indeed supply our needs.

When we read Psalm 89:4 in light of the Resurrection we see that God did indeed establish the Seed from the line of David to sit upon the throne forever. The crowds wanted everything in the here and now; food and a king. Jesus slipped away. The King will be back. And we will be given bread forever.

What are you waiting for?

when slaves don't know they are slaves

Today's Readings: Psalm 88, 91,92, Jeremiah 11:1-8,14-20, Romans 6:1-11, John 8:33-47

"They answered him, We are the offspring of Abraham and have never been  a slave to anyone. How is it that you say, 'you will become free'?'. Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever, the son remains forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed...you seek to kill me because my words find no place in you" John 8:34-36, 37b

People were  physical slaves know they are slaves. The marks on their  backs were evidence, as was the pain and blood that etched the scars forever on his body.  They could never forget them,  but they could escape the one who made them. Freedom could, however, cost them  their lives. Many slaves in America knew this risk to themselves and their families, yet they followed Harriet "Moses" Tubman and other Christians who worked the Underground Railroad to freedom. 

In a very real sense Jesus is telling us in this passage that we bear scars just as real, and that we are slaves as well. Our slavery, however, is our doing, not as with this innocent man. True, we were not stolen from our homes, we were tricked and went on our own accord (see Genesis 3). In the greatest reversal of all times, we were bought out of slavery, instead of into it.

Yet we refuse to admit we are slaves, just as the people Jesus was talking to in this passage. We suffer the delusion of our freedom. But our lives bear witness to scars in our lives. don't they?

Jesus tells us we are slaves, and points us to freedom (himself). But we don't hear the call or the way because we don't have ears to hear the songs of freedom. Why? We need to first admit that we are enslaved to sin as Jesus tells us. When we admit our position, we know which way to go. Then we will be free indeed!

Do you desire freedom? Are you willing to risk your life for it? "Anyone who will come after will take up his cross, deny himself and follow me. Who ever desires to save his life for my sake will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake and the sake of the Gospel will save it.

Join me friends as we walk to freedom