Strong Enough to Make Us Free
Thursday’s Verses:
From John 8:31-32 ESV
So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Jesus speaks these words to people who already believe in him. That matters. He isn’t offering a one-time spark of inspiration. He’s calling them to remain, to stay put, to dwell in his Word.
From a Lutheran perspective, that Word does two things at once. First, it tells the truth about us. We aren’t as free as we think. Sin binds the will, distorts our loves, and leaves us trying to justify ourselves. That’s the Law doing its honest work.
But Jesus doesn’t stop there. He speaks the truth that frees. Not a truth we discover by looking inward, and not a set of principles we master. The truth is a person who speaks, forgives, and keeps his promises. When Christ’s Word declares you forgiven for his sake, that Word does what it says. It sets you free.
To abide in Jesus’ Word is to keep returning to where he has promised to meet you: Scripture read and preached, sins confessed and absolved, water poured, bread broken, wine shared. Freedom doesn’t come from graduating beyond these things. It comes from living in them.
So today, don’t ask whether you feel free. Listen instead to what Christ says about you. His Word is true. And because it is His, it is strong enough to make you free.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Almighty God, open my heart to abide in Your Word this day. Keep me as Your beloved child now and always. In Jesus name, I pray, Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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