Don't Believe Me

John 4:42 - Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world." 

Yes, don't believe me! Believe what Jesus Himself has said. Get into the Book of John and listen to Him speak. Jesus speaks the truth because that's all He knows. He speaks what His Father has spoken to Him. It's hard to comprehend these things sometimes...that the words that were spoken so long ago are just as relevant today. The Word of God is timeless. It's for all people, not a select few. He did not send His Son Jesus for one group of people but, according to His Word, all.

Delve into John. Read it slowly and let the words of Jesus speak to you. John seems to have listened intently. He captured a very concise view of his Savior. When I need a good boost I return to this book.

The truth is told in love and in conviction. He minces no words. He tells it like it is. Listen carefully and you will hear the Savior's voice. Listen with an open mind and heart and you might hear Him calling you. Don't believe me, though. See for yourself. This relationship with the Lord, with Jesus Christ, is something you must seek yourself. When you seek, you will find...or better yet, Jesus will find you. He will reveal Himself personally to those who earnestly seek Him.

The deaf will hear, the blind will see. A new world awaits those wanting to know this Jesus more intimately than just knowing who He is. You will no longer be blind, no longer be deaf. A whole new world awaits you. You will understand things you never did before...you will hear and you will see like never before. I have seen His power in my life and I have heard Him speak. My desire is to share that with others. But don't believe me, see/hear for yourself.

Jesus opened the eyes of a sinner such as the Samaritan woman in the above scripture. She immediately shared her knowledge with many people and they came to see and hear for themselves. When they heard, they believed. He's still in the business of doing that...but you need to act on it. Reading is an act. When you read the Word, if you are open minded it might seem like the words speak to you. They may be words of love or words of conviction. But they are His words to you.

There's a lesson here. The Samaritan woman was tired of her life, of being an outcast in her community because she had been divorced many times and now lived with a man not her husband. She had gone wrong somewhere in her life and perpetuated it, seeking happiness and never finding it, only finding backs being turned on her. Imagine the loneliness she felt. And then there was this Man who was willing to do what was not typical, talk to her, and even offer her living water that she would no longer thirst, would no longer feel lonely, whose sins were washed away simply by her acceptance of Him. She chose to believe this Man and was set free from all her guilt. Even if those in her town did not, the important Person did.

The road we take in our quest to know Jesus doesn't promise an easy life. It's what we do with our life after accepting Him and it's the final reward when our life ends. It's filled with highs and lows, rejoicing and tears, confidence and doubt, but Jesus never stops loving us...even if we falter. He's always there to pick us up when we fall. He's there with not only the sad words, "Where have you been?" or "Why do you cry?" but words to show us how we've failed. He speaks in judgment and love in a way we can understand. 

I think of God's words to frequently backslidden Israel, the apple of His eye. First comes the rebuke: Hear the word of the LORD, you children of Israel, for the LORD brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: "There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land" (Hosea 4:1). God seeks repentance: ...I will return to my place until they admit their guilt and look to Me for help. For as soon as trouble comes, they will search for Me (Hosea 5:15).  God's plea: Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for your sins have brought you down (Hosea 14:1).  Then comes the loving word: The LORD says, then I will heal you of your idolatry and faithlessness, and My love will know no bounds, for My anger will be gone forever! I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew from heaven (Hosea 14:4-5).

As I read these words, I thought of our country. Surely they speak to us as a nation as well as to us as individuals. He will have specific words for each of us. He loves us no less but there are times when a rebuke is in order. Listen and obey. Hear the word of the Lord. But don't believe what I say. Seek it for yourself.

1John 1:3 - That which we have seen and heard declare we to you, that you also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.