Pointing People to the Truth – November 8, 2019

Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:31,32

Pointing People to the Truth

Every January 20th we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a great social reformer who exposed the wickedness of racism by leading the United States to more fully express its founding principles of equal rights for all humans.

Did you know that Martin Luther King, Jr. was named after another great reformer? The original Martin Luther was a pastor in Germany who lived about 500 years ago. Martin Luther reformed the church by exposing the false teachings that had crept into the church and returning God’s people to Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith.

Every October 31st we remember the day when Martin Luther began the movement to reform the church by publishing a document called the 95 theses. These theses, or statements, uncovered the corruption in the church, pointing people back to the Bible as the true authority for all our teaching and practices.

Martin Luther was a courageous leader who stood up for God’s truth no matter what the consequences. We still need courageous leaders who will point people to God’s truth. Jesus told us that if we hold to his teaching then we will know the truth, and the truth will set us free. The truth about Jesus’ forgiveness sets us free from guilt and shame. This frees us to serve others, giving our lives true meaning and purpose.

You may not think of yourself as a courageous leader. But, like Martin Luther, you can point people to Jesus and his truth. And you can be sure that the truth will set those people free.

Prayer:
Lord God, use me to point people to the truth so that the truth might set them free. Amen.