This might be a strange encouragement but I needed it this morning as I face the uncertainty of events today. Not uncertain to God but to me. The Lord decrees that which is so and we have the opportunity to believe and gladly obey or not.

The encouragement came from John 8 where the Jews (“God’s people”) were arguing with Jesus (God’s Son). They said to him in John 8:48 The Jews answered him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

Obviously that doesn’t seem very encouraging for God’s people to say that God’s Son is a Samaritan and has a demon. It’s incredibly strange and altogether real that Jesus could live his life in perfect obedience to God the Father and reveal the Father exactly as he is but God’s people who claim to know God do not even notice him.

Jesus calls this what it is in John 8:54-55 Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom *you say, ‘He is our God.’ But *you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and I keep his word.”

It very possible and quite likely that if you have faith in Christ and gladly obey him you will be perceived as having a demon and as 8:59 says they will pick up stones to throw them at you.

Now, you can avoid being thought of as a friend of the devil and being stoned to death *now by not believing the truth but it will eventually and eternally catch up to you. I would be encouraged to trust Christ and let the stones fall where they may. There are better things coming for those who do.