Rooted In Truth
(Be sure to read the blog entry before this one! This is really a continuation of those previous thoughts.)
What is truth? That is the question Pilate asked Jesus (John 18:38). It is also the question that many today ask. Actually, just the night before, Jesus had been praying about truth. He prays, “Sanctify them [His disciples] in the truth. Your word is truth.” (John 17:17) God’s Word is truth; nothing else is mentioned. Only God’s Word is unchangeable, timeless, and applicable to every culture that has ever existed or ever will exist on this earth.
If we want to be truly sanctified, or made complete in Him, then we have to follow the path Jesus showed us. There is no other way. In John 15 we can see Jesus instructing His disciples: “If you continue [or abide] in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:31-32) It is not by merely reading the Bible that we will be free and sanctified. It is by abiding in His Word; it is by allowing it to saturate our lives; it is by being rooted and established in His Word. When we are rooted, that is, planted firmly, in His Word, then the truth and life of His Word will begin to fill and dominate our lives. Our thinking and our desires will be dominated by this Truth. Our choices and actions will be shaped by His Word. The result is that we will be set free to be all God has destined us to be! Without being rooted in His Word, we will never experience true freedom!
I urge all those struggling, and those who are riding the emotional and spiritual roller coaster, to pursue the goal of being rooted and established in His Word. This is not a one week or one month project. It is a life-long commitment.
Abiding in Joy 
The freedom that we find in Christ is the freedom to become more and more like Jesus–not the “freedom” that the world longs for, that is the freedom from restraint and the freedom to serve one’s own interests.