Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Yesterday, after the Kansas City Chiefs punched their ticket to their fourth Superbowl in Five years, the cameras captured tight end Travis Kelce kiss Taylor Swift. As many of you know, their romance has been a headline in the league this year. We also saw Travis kiss the AFC championship trophy. With kisses flowing, the Holy Spirit decided to focus us on ’embracing’, this week. Today’s object of embrace, came from another observation after the game, which is, we like listening to winners speak; and with that the Holy Spirit inspired me to focus on listening to the greatest winner ever, Jesus Christ our Lord. So today, we’re embracing the Voice of Truth!

In John 10:27‭-‬30 (NASB1995), Jesus said…
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”

And in John 14:6 (AMP), we read…
Jesus said to him, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Consider…
These days, there’s an ongoing debate about who the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) is in a given sport. A few years ago I found a tee-shirt with a better definition of GOAT, which I prefer, that Jesus is God Over All Things. This truth is declared in Colossians 2:9‭-‬10 (NLT)…
For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

Notice in that passage it says, “you also are complete through your union with Christ”. That declaration, led me to remember John 8:31‭-‬32 (NLT), which says…
Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

And just a few verses later we read…
Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. – John 8:34‭-‬36 NLT

Jesus, the Voice of Truth, says that we are free from Sin.

The Apostle Paul reiterates this truth in Romans 6:6‭-‬8 (NLT), which says…
We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him.

Have you ever thought about the fact that sin tricks us into seeing how unworthy of God’s love and affection we are? In fact, did you know that the purpose of the law is to point out our sinfulness. Romans 3:20 (NLT) says…
For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.

However, we know God’s favorite conjunction pivots us to the real Truth. Romans 3:21‭-‬24 (NLT) declares…
BUT now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

While it is true that, “everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard”, we also know that it’s not the final truth. We know this because another favorite conjunction of God is “Yet”. And we see Him go on to say, “Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight.”

In His grace, freely. 🤯 That could be a whole message by itself.

And although God doesn’t have to explain Himself, He chose to tell us, “He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”

In His grace, He freely freed us from the penalty of our sins through Christ. 🤯 This is what the Voice of Truth wants us to hear.

Which brings me to the main message from the Voice of Truth today, that is when you know and listen to Him, you will be truly free from the penalty and power of sin.

In contrast, the Voice of Truth says that the Father of lies leads his children to love to do evil like him…
For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Yet again, God demonstrates His grace by instructing us to, “Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth.” – 2 Timothy 2:25 NLT

Thus, the final exhortation today is to know, show, and share the Truth (Jesus)! It’s when we do this, that we will fully and truly embrace the Voice of Truth!

Today’s song is…
The Voice Of Truth
https://youtu.be/9cKm_mYVPQE?si=ple0_pQxnvrwc32Z

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)