9 Nov 10
            Greetings, special people.
            Another round of adventure has begun—TODAY!  I’ve never done this day before.  I don’t know exactly what it will contain.  That’s why it makes a lot of sense to me to JUST STAY CLOSE TO THE SHEPHERD WHO KNOWS THE END FROM THE BEGINNING.  Oops…there I am preaching again…even in the greeting.  But it’s hard to keep one’s passion out of view.  Know what I mean?
            A piece of adventure materialized yesterday when it came to light that my good old pickup truck needs to have a front engine seal replaced.  It’s now in a shop.  I guess I can have my truck back again if I fork over about $450.  (There is more to do than just the seal.)  Whew!
            I need to get out and make some more sawdust.  That’s an urgent way to generate some urgent $ to pay for urgent adventures like engine seals.
            Be blessed.
                        Love, Dad/Ray
           
9 November 2010
Passage: John 8:31-47
Focus: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.”  Matthew 8:31.
            As you well know, there is a good deal of controversy that accompanies Christian doctrine.  Of particular heat is the issue that grapples with this question: “Can a person be lost after he has been saved?” Those who support the persuasion of NO often quote from Jesus’ words from John 10:27-28 when He talks about the security of His sheep.  “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”  The other side may argue, “But if a man, after being saved, runs back into deep dark sin and dies while participating in a drunken orgy, how can you say he is saved?”  The “security” people will then respond, “Well, that only shows that he was never really saved in the first place.”  In the minds of many, that settles it.  However, my worry is that those who get all caught up in this debate on that level are missing the whole point.  The question should not be, “Can a man be lost who was once saved?” but “What are the qualities and requirements for being one of His sheep?”  That is more deserving of our focus, because filling that status guarantees salvation.  A couple features are clear in John 10 concerning His sheep: (1) His sheep listen to His voice.  (2) His sheep follow Him.  I cannot help but draw this conclusion: Those who DO NOT listen to Him or follow Him are simply NOT His sheep and CANNOT participate in the blessings and benefits of being one of His sheep.
            I’m also convinced that a parallel to being His sheep is being His disciple. Contained in today’s reading, Jesus provides us with some important insight on what that means.  “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  So, what is a disciple?  (1) One who knows and adheres to the teaching of Christ and His Word.  (2) One who is set free from the controls and consequences of sin.  Jesus goes on to clarify that anyone who carries on with sinning is clearly a slave to sin—and clearly NOT a disciple.
            Why is this an important issue to address?  Once again, my take is that only His sheep are the saved sheep—only disciples go to heaven.  I really don’t see any clear and reasonable interpretation of the data given that would allow it to be otherwise.
 
“There is something wrong with the man who knows the right way to take but still wants time to think about it.”