Freedom for the Heart - Day 137 Month 5-17 Week 20-4

Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)


Deuteronomy 26,27, Jeremiah 22:13-23:8, John 8:12-30

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2026%2C27%2C%20Jeremiah%2022%3A13-23%3A8%2C%20John%208%3A12-30&version=NASB1995


Freedom for the Heart


Who will reign as king and act wisely?

Who will do justice and righteousness in the land?

Who will be known as “The Lord our righteousness?”


This is from Jeremiah’s prophecy in Jeremiah 23:5,6.   This is about Jesus.  The problem was the Jews were looking for someone to march in with power but Jesus humbly arrived as a baby in a stable.  They were looking for an earthly king.  A king who would come to them in earthly majesty and power who would defeat the worldly powers that ruled them.  They were looking for freedom in Israel and Jesus was bringing freedom for their hearts.  Not just for Israel but for everyone.


There are times when I become overwhelmed with the things of this life so at my age, I understand now why my father was looking forward to his death on earth so he could be with Jesus.  We currently have a world in crisis that is very much out of our control.  There are wars all everywhere caused by world leaders that are simply acting out of pride.  The price of fuel has increased dramatically.  The cost of food has increased for many reasons (probably because of the fuel costs and climate change).  Personally, we’ve had to spend thousands on car repairs this month alone.  Our property feels out of control at times due to its size and constant maintenance.   Some days, I want freedom from all of this.


Good news for me and for everyone: that freedom is in Jesus.  When I get overwhelmed with the issues of this world, I remember that God has our backs.  In our reading in John, Jesus says “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life.”  What I need to refocus on during times of upset and despair, is the Light of Life.  My life is not about the troubles of the world and this life, but about Jesus - emulating his example, loving my neighbours, and sharing this freedom that’s available to all.


Jesus explains that the Jews He was talking to, don’t know Him because they don’t know the father.  The Jews who had the law and the prophets thought they were waiting for their king, and they were.  Unfortunately, they believed they were following God but they didn’t know Him.  In John 8:18 Jesus says “the father who sent Me testifies about Me.”  If they knew the father, they’d know that Jesus was “the LORD our righteousness.”


So how do we know the father?  Get to know Jesus and you’ll know the father.  


Have a great day.

Steve

steve.d.pauls@gmail.com 


You can subscribe to this blog and receive an email each day or week.  Just visit the following link. https://follow.it/my-faith-view-from-here-daily-readings-and-thoughts?leanpub

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 15 - Week 3 Day1 Let Your Heart Rest

Today's reading Genesis 24:61 - End of 25 Psalms 14 Isaiah 12 - 13:5 Matthew 11 Thought for today (sorry but this is heavy) Today my heart is heavy.  I couldn't sleep well.  I figured that I may as well get up and do my morning reading and blog post.  So much is going on this world!  So much death.  So much war.  I long for what we read about yesterday of the eventual peace that will be in God's Kingdom.  In Psalm 14 from today's reading, we read "The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God."  They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good...They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one. "  This is a Psalm of David, Israel's great king who God describes as a man after His own heart.  I think it's because David always wore his heart on his sleeve.  He was real and you see it in the Psalms he wrote.   My heart is heavy because...
Read more

Day 20 - Week 3 Day 6 The Rock

Today's reading (Bible in 1 Year) - If you have not read my introduction or blog from the beginning, I felt a strong motivation to read the whole Bible in a year and discover something new each day to share. Genesis 30:25 - end of 30 Psalm 18 Isaiah 17 Matthew 13:44 - end of 13 Thought for the day We have rocks!  We live on a rocky shore and our whole property is full of rocks.  You can't dig down more than 6" anywhere on our property and not find a rock.  It's very frustrating when you're trying to dig a garden or plant a tree.  Interesting though, they shift.  Every spring, my mower finds new rock locations.  During the winter freeze and thaw and freeze and thaw and freeze and thaw (that's how it is here), the rocks in the ground shift again and again.   There is one rock on our property that does not shift!  At the shore we have a lava rock outcropping.  It's goes out about 20 ft and and at high tide, you can touch the water from it. ...
Read more

Day 25 Week 4 Day 4 Green Pastures

Today's reading (Bible in 1 year) Genesis 36 Psalm 23 Isaiah 22:1-14 Matthew 17 Last evening, my wife, Sylvia, read a statement to me from a bishop in the Episcopalian church in New Hampshire.  He advised his Episcopal clergy to get their affairs and wills in order "because it may be that now is no longer the time for statements, but for us with our bodies to stand between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable".  Sometimes, peacemaking puts one in the place where death is a possibility in the protection of the most vulnerable.  It's an ominous thing to think about. Today we read Psalm 23.  What a powerful Psalm to read in it's fullness but hopefully you just read it and I'll simply mention verse 4 where it says " Even though I walk through the valley of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me " Did you hear that?   You are with me! On November 16, 2025 my mom passed away and went to be with Jesus, 2 days before her 98th birthday.  My mo...
Read more