12-19-05 John 8:42

John 8:42 (KJ21)
Jesus said unto them, "If God were your Father, ye would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of Myself, but He sent Me.

John 8:42 (NIVUS)
Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me.

John 8:42 (NAS)
Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me; for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.

John 8:42 (NLT)
Jesus told them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me.

Belief in God or a "god" is an almost universal concept around the world. Most people believe in a higher power; however, most people do not believe in a God, who is loving and merciful. According to the majority, you have to be good enough to enter into the presence of God; you have to do enough good works to be counted worthy. This "god" is not the One True God, but an invention of man's imagination.

Adonai, the Almighty, is the One True God and He is the Father of all. He is the Creator and Ruler of the Universe; He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and always present. Jesus Christ, Yeshua, the Messiah, is the only begotten Son of the Most High.

It is the belief in the Son which causes the most controversy in religion; for people are not willing to admit that He is the Lord and Savior of the world. Instead of accepting His Lordship, many people desire to find their own ways to heaven.

Jesus, Himself, declared that Adonai was His Father, which challenged the faith of those who insisted that they believed in the Father. These same "believers" refused and rejected Jesus. Though they proclaimed to love God, they did not love His Son. They did not believe that He came from God and that He was and is God. In this, they cut themselves off from intimacy with the One they desired.

You, however, have come into a saving knowledge of Jesus, which means "Jehovah is salvation." You have recognized that He is the only way for you to ultimately go to heaven, to live with Adonai forever. You know that Yeshua has always existed with God the Father, as the Word of God. You accept the fact that He came to earth to bring you salvation and redemption from your sins. He came to seek intimacy with you and when you accepted His intimate advances, you chose to follow Him in Truth.

Yeshua came not just of His own accord and will; He was sent and came in response to His Father's will and desire. He separated Himself from the One He loved to come to us and to many who would never love and accept Him. He came to set in order the world that mankind had brought into chaos through their sin. He brought salvation, deliverance, and victory over that sin, through His own sacrificial death and we should be eternally grateful.