TWO PRODIGAL SONS - Pt. 1 of 2

We have all read about the prodigal son, but have we considered that there was actually more than one in the biblical story as told by the LORD in LUKE 15?

First of all, let’s look at what the word “prodigal” means. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, prodigal is defined as:
“Rashly or wastefully extravagant; marked by rash or wasteful extravagance; a prodigal life. Giving or given in abundance; lavish or profuse; one given to wasteful luxury or extravagance.”

That certainly would seem to apply to the younger son of the father in this parable; but what about the elder son who remained with his father? How would he be considered as a ‘prodigal son’?
That we shall see, but let’s have a look at this parable and examine what it reveals.

The Prodigal Son Parable
LUKE 15:11-32 
11 And he said, A certain man had two sons: 12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.

Just prior to this parable the LORD gave a few other parables, and the two immediately before the prodigal son were the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. In both cases the shepherd and the woman found that which was lost. Likewise the younger son was lost but then was found (LUKE 15:32) and so the end of the stories are blessings indeed.

The GIFT Under The TREE - The One Neglected Annually

MATTHEW 2:10-12
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy,
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

As the year draws to a close, we are once again anticipating another celebration of the birth of Christ - even though we who are well versed in the Scriptures know that He was probably born either in late Spring or early Fall, depending on which source is cited. Nevertheless, December 25th is recognized the world over as the day of Christmas.

What is becoming less recognized is the One for Whom we set this day as special. Too much of Santa Claus, too much of Frosty and Rudolf; too much of glistering trees and wreaths, mistletoe and holly - and of course WAY TOO MUCH of commercialism and "buy, buy, BUY! On sale now! And get these while they last!"

REAL CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN

There is an old expression, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

This means different things to different people, I'm sure, but to me, this says that as things on the surface of our real world changes, the heart of what 'makes it tick' doesn't change at all.

Another SMOKE SIGNAL: A HOPE BEYOND AS WELL AS FOR LIFE

Some see hope as wishful thinking; a yearning for the improbable with little chance of it ever happening. Some cling to hope that is false and disappointing, leaving a person dejected, disillusioned and bitter. There is much about this world that can cause one to feel disappointed, disillusioned and bitter.  

I was such an individual once. I was born with multiple deformities and health issues that left me a weak and inept child that had few friends, was ridiculed and mocked in school, never excelled at much of anything and felt the nevertheless up-beat and happy child that I was slowly wither away until all that was left was a hardened, bitter, vindictive and lonely person.

I needed answers in life, and sought out spiritual wisdom.

I was born into and raised as a Roman Catholic, but what answers they provided were superficial; the entire event of the Mass was one repetitive Sunday after the next with very little variation. It was ritual, but no reality of the spiritual sort for me.

The GOD of BALANCE - Based on various Scriptures for this topical study

In PROVERBS 11:1 it states:

A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.

And in PROVERBS 20: 23 it also says:  

23 Divers weights are an abomination unto the LORD; and a false balance is not good.   

Everywhere we look, we see and understand that God is a God of order, and balance; justice and fairness; grace and truth. He is a God of peace as well as a God of design. Such things as injustice, deceit, lawlessness, chaos, oppression and iniquity are an offense to Him. Those words spoken in Proverbs testifies that during times of commerce in Israel when trade was going on between people in business, goods were measured in scales and the weights used to measure the weight of product were sometimes false weights that claimed to weigh so much, but in reality weighed far differently. Basically there were dishonest businessmen who were ‘ripping people off’!     
God declares such things as an abomination – that’s very strong language for God to use and yet it demonstrates how the LORD sees things that are not balanced or in harmony with the order that He Himself created, physically as well as spiritually and morally and legally.

Consider the account in Genesis during the creation week:

GENESIS 1: 1-2

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

The word for “darkness” can mean simply that – darkness. But it can also refer to destruction, misery, death among other things. The fact that the earth was “without form” and that this darkness was apparent shows that at the beginning, things seemed to be very much out of order. A rather strange idea when one considers how orderly God really is – why would things start out in such a chaotic state? Why didn’t God create everything in a state of perfect order to begin with?


Interesting questions to be sure, but ones that we must forego in this study so that we can focus on other things; suffice it to say, that God throughout this time of six literal days of 24 hours each (Ex. 20: 9-11) gradually increased a state of order, replacing the disorder of this primordial world. Everything was eventually tuned to an extremely finely tuned balance - so much so, that scientists who propose the idea of evolution as being scientifically valid are hard pressed to explain what they call 'the anthropic principle'; that is, the idea that everything seems tuned to the exact specifications and parameters in order for life, and specifically mankind to live on the earth. If any of these specifications was not tuned precisely as it is, then life would not be possible on this planet! Wow, huh?
Each evening and day of these six days in which God worked in establishing His order of creation was a time in which disorder was exchanged for that which God called “good”:


“ . . . and God saw that it was good . . . ” – vs. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, and 25. Then on the sixth and final day of creation, God created His ‘grand finale’ by making man and on that day of completion, after fashioning Adam from the dust of the earth:


GENESIS 1: 31

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Upon completion of His creative work, it states that God rested (ceased) from His work, having completed His order. In Hebrews 4 it further states that God rested:


HEBREWS 4: 4-5, 9-11

4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.

5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.

9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Just as God rested in His creative work, once He completed His redemptive work on the Cross, dying for the sins of the world (propitiation in atonement) He likewise rested in that there was nothing more that needed to be done in order to provide our salvation. The order of salvation was completed and any that enter into this rest of redemption enjoys this order established by God through the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
It wasn’t until the day that Adam and his wife Eve fell into sin by succumbing to the temptation of Satan in the eating of the forbidden fruit that chaos and disorder was introduced into God’s perfect creation of order.

One could justifiably refer to this time as a ‘new world order’ that actually started in heaven when Lucifer rebelled against the order that God established by an attempt of usurping God’s authority with an authority of his own. For this, Lucifer was cast out of heaven and became Satan who then seduced man into sin and thus, brought about the disorder that has been a curse upon this world ever since!
We see this disorder as it effects nature: earthquakes occur when the tectonic plates that make up the earth’s crust shift and expand due to seismic, molten pressures: a kind of geologic storm.

We also see it in meteorological storms like thunder storms, tornados, and hurricanes when massive weather fronts of warm and cold air masses collide, accumulating vast amounts of water vapor and electrons resulting from violent weather.

Interestingly enough, when the LORD Jesus spoke of “earthquakes in diverse places” (Matt. 24:7) as one of the signs of the last days, the word used for earthquakes in the Greek is seismos and it not only refers to earthquakes but also tempests and storms of the meteorological sort; the fact that these phenomena of disorder and imbalance are increasing is noteworthy as part of the “birth pangs” bringing in the last days!


However, just as the LORD brought order from disorder and chaos in the creation, the LORD Jesus Christ brought order to the storms that the disciples suffered while traversing the Sea of Galilee (Matt. 14: 22-33; Mark 4:35-41).
The kingdoms of the Gentile nations are often portrayed in Scripture as the sea roaring (Isaiah 57:20), tumultuous and without order, chaotic in fact. Kingdoms in scripture are also referred to as mountains, such as the kingdom of heaven for example (Dan. 2: 35, 45).

It’s worth our time to consider that when the LORD returns in power and authority to this rebel planet as the Messiah of Israel, the following will take place:

ISAIAH 40: 1-5

1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.

2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD's hand double for all her sins.

3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

Just as mountains are portrayals of kingdoms, so likewise valleys are seen as places of death and oppression. There is a tremendous imbalance in the political and economic world today where the extremely powerful in government and business oppress those whom governments (and corporations as something ethical) are to serve and protect.

The masses can be seen as those dwelling in the “valley” (Psalm 23: 4).

Note also that once the LORD Jesus left the mountain of Transfiguration, He was met by none other than a father whose boy was oppressed by a demonic spirit (Mark 9: 1-27).


On that Day when the Messiah (the “stone cut without hands” as seen in Daniel chapter Two) comes to this world and sets up His kingdom, every kingdom based on iniquity, darkness, destruction, wickedness – essentially every kingdom and political power that’s within this world, will be cast down; and all who are righteous but oppressed and downtrodden will be exalted. Every mountain made low, every valley exalted . . . God's justice and balance in executing His Holy Law in this unholy world will know full fruition; as I am fond of saying, there is no such thing as eternal injustice!
For your consideration, from The RED PILL CONSORTIUM, here is an article based on ISAIAH Ch. 59 and the spiritual principles of truth and justice and how the decimation of these is leading to The Demise of a Civilization.

The very same idea is found in individuals who because of their pride exalt themselves while the humble remain in a lowly state. The Scriptures are clear that God ensures that a balance of justice will prevail in these matters of the heart:

LUKE 1:51-53

51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

1 PETER 5:5-6

5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

(Also James 1: 8-10; 4: 10; Ps. 138: 6).

Interesting that every mountain and valley will be leveled during that time when the Earth is refurbished during the Millennial period, but there is one mountain that will never be made low:

ISAIAH 2:2-4

2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

War is yet another example of imbalance and chaos, and yet when the LORD returns and enacts a final act of war against this rebel planet, its ruler (Satan, particularly embodied in the Beast of Revelation) and all opposing forces, there will never be another war ever again on the Earth (When Satan is loosed at the end of this period, it will hardly constitute a war, but a rout and a completion of the course of evil which will be excised at that time!).

In the Christian life, we can see an imbalance even here; we have our sinful nature, that we inherited from our father, Adam. Yet as Christians we also have the divine nature of Jesus and His Spirit that dwells within us.


ROMANS 5: 12

12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

EPHESIANS 2:2-3

2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

The holy, godly nature that is ours through the LORD Jesus Christ:

2 PETER 1:3-4

3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

To the degree that we, as Christians, experience frustration, aggravation, dissatisfaction, anger, depression, ruinous impulses and other destructive emotions, we are experiencing the imbalance due to sin and for the believer, to gain the balance that God would desire for us, His children, we must put off these things much as it states in Colossians. Colossians chapter Three speaks of the beginning of the balance that God wants for us, starting right from verse 1 (actually the entire Bible is the Book of Balance as given us by our LORD):


COLOSSIANS 3: 1-2, 6-10, 12-16

1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

To achieve the balance of blessedness, we are to put off the things of the old man (our sinful nature) and put on the things of the new man (our new, heavenly nature):

6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:

7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

15 And let the peace of God rule* in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

* “rule” – as in to impose dominion; in this case, God’s order in our lives!

We see the same contrast in Galatians chapter 5:

GALATIANS 5: 19-21 and 22-23

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. See also 2 Cor. 6: 14-18.

How is this divine sense of balance even gained? One first must submit and surrender to the order of God through Jesus Christ and become born into the family of God and His kingdom, via the Cross of Christ:

GALATIANS 5: 24-25

24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk* in the Spirit.

* In order to walk properly without falling a sense of balance must be maintained.

The process of dying to self, by way of the Cross is an ongoing process whereby we slowly gain the blessedness of God’s beautiful balance as He intends for us in the Person of Christ Jesus. This is what enables us to walk in the Spirit even as we are born of God’s Spirit.

The second means by which we gain this balance, this order of God’s awesome state of being for us in by His Word: The Word of God is perfect, bringing the Law of God, the Order of God… the very balance of God which He intends us to be blessed with, into the hearts and lives of us, His children.

PSALM 1:1 - 6

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (Read the entire Psalm and meditate upon it)

HOMEWORK: Examine the first chapter of the book of James and look for the ‘balance of God’ in these verses. 

Another Smoke Signal: SECRETS AMONG FRIENDS

Think about all the friends that you have; which of them would you confide your most closely guarded secret to? Of course, any friend that you are closest to, the one that you can trust the most, right?

Such closeness and trust didn't come spontaneously though did it? Over the course of time, developing your relationship with your friend, you learned of their trustworthiness and integrity. They could more than likely share their deepest secret with you as well.

This is the nature of friendship; the relationship of the best of friends can withstand the hardest criticism from one to the other, because when such hard words are said, we understand that our friend knows that they need to be said. It's been said that an enemy will smile at you while stabbing you in the back, while a true friend will stab you in the front but with tears of pain. The Bible says it like this:

PROV 27:5-6
5 Open rebuke is better than secret love.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Friends weather the severest storms together, carry one another's burdens gladly as if they were no burdens at all. Friends don't wait to be asked to help. They are there for us even when we don't want anyone around.

They don't give up on us, and at times they push us when we need it. Friends are a gift of God and I personally have been enormously blessed with many that I am honored with; some of them have come into my life even just recently!

There is no one, absolutely no one who is as faithful, trustworthy, truthful, gracious and loving as the LORD Jesus Christ and our Father (not to mention the Holy Spirit as well!), and I find it interesting that those who are considered friends of God, are those that He willingly shares His secrets with.

Take Abraham for example . . . he was a saint that held the illustrious title of "...the friend of God..." (2 CHRON. 20:7; JAMES 2:23). One day when the LORD (along with two of His angels) came to visit Abraham and once He sent His spiritual servants off on a deadly errand to Sodom and Gomorrah He pondered the question:

GENESIS 18:17
17 And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;

God foreknew Abraham and saw that the integrity of his heart and those of his generation would be steadfast towards Him; the mark of a true friend! So while the angels were off on duty, God asked this question, and obviously the answer was 'No, I will not hide from Abraham' because the LORD then proceeded to tell him exactly what He was up to.

He intended on judging Sodom and Gomorrah for their rebellion and sin. Yet Abraham thought on his nephew Lot and his family that resided in Sodom and began to 'barter' with the LORD about how few righteous ones would have to reside in Sodom for God to spare the city and the LORD patiently heard him out, graciously answering him every time.

True friends indeed!

Another Old Testament saint: Daniel, of whom the angel declared that he was "greatly beloved" -

DANIEL 10:11-12
11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.

Another friend of God that the LORD Almighty was agreeable with in sharing His secrets. The future for us human beings, creatures of time and space is a mystery indeed! Some resort to fortune tellers and psychics in order to try and learn about our future or future events (NOT a good idea; any that seek the counsel of such are actually opening themselves up to deception and demonic influences; this is why such involvement is prohibited by God [LEV. 19:26, 31]).

Yet Daniel was given such prophetic revelations, that have proven to be so absolutely accurate, that Bible skeptics have had to claim the book was written far, far later than it was purported to be. God shared the secrets of the future events of the last days with His friend Daniel!

What about others in the Old Testament? In AMOS 3:7, while they are called "servants" the LORD counts them among His friends, just as He did the prophet and Law giver, Moses with whom the LORD spoke face to Face as one does with a friend (EXOD 33:11).

Do we see any New Testament parallels at all? Absolutely! Read through the Gospel of John and witness the intimacy and tenderness between our LORD and the young apostle John; the appellation "the disciple whom Jesus loved" is almost always attributed to this apostle, who was the brother of James.

Just as the LORD God granted prophetic revelation to Daniel, likewise He shared His secrets with John by giving him the Apocalypse (which literally means, "the unveiling"). Talk about sharing your secrets!

What about the other apostles? Were they considered to be friends of the LORD as was John? Oh, yes - absolutely!

JOHN 15:14-15
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

Note that word, "all" - not most or much or some: "all"!
Certainly the world doesn't know of anything that the LORD has revealed because the world doesn't hear the LORD just as they don't hear His friends (JOHN 8:42-44) nor can the world see the LORD for all of their spiritual blindness (2 COR. 4:4) but because we love the LORD, those of us who are saints (saved by grace from our sins, not because we've been canonized by some church!) are accounted as friends of God.

EPHESIANS 3:5-6
5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

And certainly we who are of the body of Christ are accounted as not only friends of God, but children of God as well (JOHN 1:12-13)! An awesome privilege that one is not born to (that is, everyone that is born into this world - these are not by nature the children of God) but "born-again" to as in JOHN 3:3-5; also 2 COR. 5:17; TITUS 3:5; JAMES 1:18; and 1 PETER 1:2-3.

Think about this: because you have the Holy Spirit indwelling you and creating in you a Temple for His habitation (1 COR. 3:16-17), and because of this, you cry out Abba, Father (ROM 8:15; GAL. 4:6) - and you have the Word of God, the Holy Scriptures in your possession - you know the Author of the Book, you as well have been told the secrets of God that are not known to those out in the world. You know the name of God, you know where He lives, you know the times and the seasons of His return, you know His agenda for the ages. These are things that baffle, mystify and perplex the people of this world...

So even as these days draw to a close and events get increasingly scarier as time goes by, we have no cause for worry really; we know how it all ends, even if the world doesn't. The people of this world may fear and worry and fret . . . but not you, because you are a friend and child of God! And our Abba loves to share His secrets with us, doesn't He?

JOHN 15:9 - 15

9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

Of CHAOS and CONFUSION - a film by PAUL FLYNN

The following is intended as an advertisement of sorts but also as an endorsement of Paul Flynn's ministry of Megiddo Films (http://megiddofilms.org/) as well as his podcasts as found on Pod-o-matic, Megiddo Radio (http://megiddofilms.podomatic.com/).

Quite soon he will be releasing a new film called OF CHAOS and CONFUSION. Here is a brief clip of what to expect:

Of CHAOS and CONFUSION: The MODERN CHURCH (note: the clip states this film will be released in the winter of 2011, but Paul updated the release date to the summer of 2012, which is very soon!).

The chaos and confusion that has overtaken the church which has for the most part lost her ability or at least her volition to discern the teachings and dogmas that are being promoted in our day.
We have addressed this issue of discernment on TTUF with the article:

Is The Discernment Gene Becoming Recessive in the Body of Christ?

And the following article from The RED PILL Consortium:

Our State of Affairs: Nationally and Spiritually

I am greatly anticipating this film from our brother Paul and would eagerly suggest that you likewise order this film from his ministry web site. Once we obtain copies of these, may we share them with other believers and continue to be on guard against any such "leaven" that is, false teachings and practices that are encroaching and infiltrating our church fellowships, even ones that were formerly solid doctrinally.

I'm sure we have all felt the anguish of teachers of the WORD whom we received from and been blessed by their ministry in the past, but since then have gone wayward, joining the apostasy of this present age.

This is why it's vital that every believer, every disciple of Jesus Christ truly be a student of the Word of God, studying for themselves and learning the truth of Scripture and not depending on a pastor or teacher for the entirety of their spiritual nourishment and edification.

John 8: 31-32

31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

2 Tim. 2: 15

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (emphasis mine)


2 Timothy 3:15-17

15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

May the LORD bless you and keep you in HIS TRUTH, free from the entanglements of deception, spiritual lethargy, lukewarmness and the chaos and confusion of this present age; and secure in the grace, peace and truth and the love and joy of the LORD!