What limiting belief can you replace with a liberating truth?
Yesterday, I wrote about “How the Christmas Story Ends,” and we saw that Jesus entrusted John to care for Mary. John is one of the central personalities of the New Testament. He was the younger of the two sons of Zebedee and a very successful fisherman. John was a disciple of John the Baptist, but once Jesus showed up on the scene, things began to change. John became one of the inner circle of three (Peter, James, and John) who were with Jesus when he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Each time I visit Israel, I visit the Garden of Gethsemane. If I could choose to experience anything in the Bible, I would want to hear the prayer in Gethsemane. “‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’ And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping” (Matthew 26:39-40). Why do you think Jesus did the things He did? He wanted to please His father. There was no joy in the cross, but there was joy in pleasing His father with obedience. At this moment, Jesus was prayerful and obedient. John was asleep.
Although he now has a reputation as “the apostle of love,” John had a fiery personality. Jesus named John and James the “Sons of Thunder,” and the two brothers lived up to that title. John mellows over time but never loses his passion for the truth. He transformed from the quick-tempered Son of Thunder to the compassionate apostle of love.
Some have suggested that John was the youngest of the disciples Jesus called. He was perhaps only 24 years old when he first followed Jesus, who was 30. John was one of the first disciples chosen. John wrote a Gospel, 3 Epistles, and a book of Prophecy. Altogether, he wrote five of the twenty-seven New Testament Books, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, the Gospel of John, and Revelation. John dealt with eternal life in both 1 John and the Gospel of John. John shared Pauls’s passion for the clarity of the gospel. Remember Paul’s words to the Galatians.
“There are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.” Galatians 1:7
Like Paul, John wanted people to know the truth and reject lies. We can stop rehearsing and endorsing lies. We can replace limiting beliefs with liberating truths. Michael Hyatt says, “The best way to overcome limiting beliefs is to replace them with liberating truths.” Let me give you an example. I might say I don’t have time to pray. Well, that is not the truth. That is just my belief, and it is a limiting belief. It is a lie that I rehearse and endorse by saying it over and over. And it’s poison. Here is the liberating truth. I have all the time I need to pray, and everything I do will be better as a result.
What limiting belief can you replace with a liberating truth today? John was an advocate for the gospel. Like any pastor, John could not stand idly by; he had to stop his followers from rehearsing and endorsing lies. He send words off clarity to the churches under his care.
“I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.” 1 John 2:26
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13
What limiting belief can you replace with a liberating truth today?