Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67
Monday, Nov 1, 2021
Wow, Zane!—can you believe it’s already November?!
Not yet sure how I will handle this first day of the month. I face lots of pressure points. Our guests are still with us. They plan to head toward home this morning. Elvin and I have had some dynamic conversation over lots of things, including this devotional. I hope I can get out soon for my little jog excursion with the dogs before breakfast—then let the day unfold from there.
Hope I don’t overwhelm you with the size of both the wording and the thinking called for with this devotional. It is definitely important stuff to process and get nailed down personally.
Have a blessed day doing what’s right. Love and prayers—Tua (Ray)
1 November John 5:1-30
Focus: “I tell you the truth…” (John 5:19)
Just to satisfy my own curiosity, I did a concordance check to find out the number of times that Jesus used these words, “I tell you the truth,” in the NIV translation of John. It turned up 25 times—3 in this chapter alone.
I’m going to do something different. This will be longer than normal, but please bear with me. I’ve decided to list out those 25 verses below. If we truly believe that Jesus is TRUTH, I think it stands to reason that we could be benefitted and refreshed by considering those things that He particularly declares as TRUTH. I also think it would be a good exercise to go through the list and use your devotion notebook to write down the main idea of each entry as it applies to you personally.
John 3:3. In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
John 3:5. Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.”
John 3:11. “I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.”
John 5:19. Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”
John 5:24. “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”
John 5:25. “I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.”
John 6:26. Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.”
John 6:32. Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.”
John 6:47. “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.”
John 6:53. Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”
John 8:34. Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”
John 8:51. “I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
John 8:58. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
John 10:1. “I tell you the truth,, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.”
John 10:7. Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.”
John 12:24. “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”
John 13:16. “I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.”
John 13:20. “I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”
John 13:21. After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.”
John 13:38. Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!”
John 14:12. “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
John 16:7. “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”
John 16:20. “I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.”
John 16:23. “In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”
John 21:18. “I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
“Infidelity (atheism and agnosticism) never wrote one line
that is comforting on a death bed.”
PS: An objective point is worth making about all this: IF IT CAN BE ESTABLISHED THAT WHAT JESUS SAYS IS TRUE IS ACTUALLY NOT TRUE, THEN FORGET IT!—HE IS NOT WORTH ANY MORE OF YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION—HE IS A LIAR AND MASTER CON-ARTIST. It cannot be otherwise. Isn’t that TRUE? It’s part of the logical law of non-contradiction. I have to conclude it’s an all-or-nothing proposition. So, on the other hand, IF JESUS IS TRULY TRUTH AND THE BEARER THEREOF, THEN…you can finish the sentence yourself.
