<html><head></head><body><div><div><div>John 8;13-20<div><br></div><div><b>13. &nbsp;The Pharisees then said to him, “You are bearing witness to yourself; your testimony is not true.”</b></div><div><b>14. &nbsp;Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness to myself, my testimony is true, for I know whence I have come and whither I am going.</b></div><div><b>15. &nbsp;You judge according to the flesh, I judge no one.</b></div><div><b>16. &nbsp;Yet even if I do judge, my judgement is true, for it is not I alone that judge, but I and he who sent me.</b></div><div><b>17. &nbsp;In your law it is written that the testimony of two men is true;</b></div><div><b>18. &nbsp;I bear witness to myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness to me.”</b></div><div><b>19. &nbsp;They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” &nbsp;Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father; if you knew me, you would know my Father also.”</b></div><div><b>20. &nbsp;These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>To know where you come from AND where you are going, gives us&nbsp;unshakable strength and the&nbsp;peace of Jesus himself.</div><div><br></div><div>We too, who have been baptized INTO Christ,&nbsp;know where we have come from and where we are going. &nbsp;We are born of God, we are going into heaven. &nbsp;We are pilgrims and travelers here in this world. &nbsp;We are passing through it.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>&nbsp;This world hates us, just as it hated Jesus. &nbsp;This world is not our home. &nbsp;Our hope is not in this world, or the governments&nbsp;of this world. &nbsp;Our strength, confidence, and security come from our Father and his steadfast&nbsp;love to us in Christ.</div><div><br></div><div>Our job is bear witness to the risen&nbsp;Christ Jesus, AND&nbsp;who the Father has made us, (his own dear children), AND&nbsp;what the Father&nbsp;has given us, (the gift of&nbsp;his own Spirit). &nbsp;By this new birth and Spirit&nbsp;which the Father has given us, we love our enemies, pray for them, and show them that we have a peace,&nbsp;a joy,&nbsp;and a strength, not of this world. It is&nbsp;a peace,&nbsp;a joy, and a strength which the Father desires all to know. &nbsp;Earthly hate&nbsp;and physical death hold&nbsp;no fear for us.</div><div><br></div><div>The peace and joy the Father gives,&nbsp;is the free gift of the&nbsp;forgiveness of our&nbsp;sin, and faith to believe Jesus alone&nbsp;has won this for us by his own bitter&nbsp;suffering, innocent&nbsp;death, and glorious&nbsp;resurrection.&nbsp;</div><div>We are people of the cross of Jesus, bearing it, unafraid.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>We have unshakable confidence, because the Father’s Word of&nbsp;love has been&nbsp;proven trustworthy. The tomb is empty.&nbsp;<span>Jesus said he would rise on the third day, and he did! &nbsp;</span><span>Death and all the powers of dark&nbsp;</span><span>hell could not overcome the Light of Life, our Lord, Jesus Christ. &nbsp;We face death and all evil with divine&nbsp;</span><span>calm,</span><span> confidence, strength, and peace</span><span>. &nbsp;We know where we have come from, (God’s</span><span>&nbsp;waters of new birth into Christ)</span><span>, and we know where we are going (</span><span>into the very&nbsp;</span><span>presence of</span><span>&nbsp;God, to behold his glory)</span><span>. &nbsp;</span></div><div><br></div><div>Every tear and sorrow will be wiped away. Death itself will be swallowed up in victory, and <i>“….we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” </i>(1 John 3;2) &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, bless us all&nbsp;to be so dead in Christ, and so alive in Christ, that the hatred, sufferings,&nbsp;and perils of this world become powerless. &nbsp;Teach our&nbsp;heart to alway remember, we are&nbsp;only passing through this world, heaven is our&nbsp;home. &nbsp;In Jesus we&nbsp;pray, Amen.</div><div><br></div><div>Love,</div><div>Dad/Baba/Eric</div><div>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</div><div>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.”</div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b><br></b><br><br><a href="https://overview.mail.yahoo.com/?.src=iOS" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></body></html>

John 8;13-20
13.  The Pharisees then said to him, “You are bearing witness to yourself; your testimony is not true.”14.  Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness to myself, my testimony is true, for I know whence I have come and whither I am going.15.  You judge according to the flesh, I judge no one.16.  Yet even if I do judge, my judgement is true, for it is not I alone that judge, but I and he who sent me.17.  In your law it is written that the testimony of two men is true;18.  I bear witness to myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness to me.”19.  They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?”  Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father; if you knew me, you would know my Father also.”20.  These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
To know where you come from AND where you are going, gives us unshakable strength and the peace of Jesus himself.
We too, who have been baptized INTO Christ, know where we have come from and where we are going.  We are born of God, we are going into heaven.  We are pilgrims and travelers here in this world.  We are passing through it. 
 This world hates us, just as it hated Jesus.  This world is not our home.  Our hope is not in this world, or the governments of this world.  Our strength, confidence, and security come from our Father and his steadfast love to us in Christ.
Our job is bear witness to the risen Christ Jesus, AND who the Father has made us, (his own dear children), AND what the Father has given us, (the gift of his own Spirit).  By this new birth and Spirit which the Father has given us, we love our enemies, pray for them, and show them that we have a peace, a joy, and a strength, not of this world. It is a peace, a joy, and a strength which the Father desires all to know.  Earthly hate and physical death hold no fear for us.
The peace and joy the Father gives, is the free gift of the forgiveness of our sin, and faith to believe Jesus alone has won this for us by his own bitter suffering, innocent death, and glorious resurrection. We are people of the cross of Jesus, bearing it, unafraid. 
We have unshakable confidence, because the Father’s Word of love has been proven trustworthy. The tomb is empty. Jesus said he would rise on the third day, and he did!  Death and all the powers of dark hell could not overcome the Light of Life, our Lord, Jesus Christ.  We face death and all evil with divine calm, confidence, strength, and peace.  We know where we have come from, (God’s waters of new birth into Christ), and we know where we are going (into the very presence of God, to behold his glory).  
Every tear and sorrow will be wiped away. Death itself will be swallowed up in victory, and “….we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3;2)   
Prayer:  Merciful Father, bless us all to be so dead in Christ, and so alive in Christ, that the hatred, sufferings, and perils of this world become powerless.  Teach our heart to alway remember, we are only passing through this world, heaven is our home.  In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.”




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