When I was growing up there was one thing you could count on every year….like clock work…100% guaranteed.  The Sunday night that The Sound of Music or the Wizard of Oz came on television mom was in charge!  No sports, no Sunday night church (most of you will not grasp how big a deal that was)…nothing was going to get in the way of this family event.  There were snacks, protests of “how many times do we have to watch this.” There may even have been a little sarcastic, less than flattering singing at different times…yes, I know how to solve a problem like Maria.  Mom did not approve of the singing…which of course made it all the more fun.  Looking back those were sacred, special times.  If I see either one of those shows will be on television these days I call mom, just to make sure she knows…so Dad does not miss another opportunity to catch any new plot twists.

One of my favorite scenes in the Wizard of Oz is when the curtain is pulled back on “Oz the Great and Terrible” and he is left cowering, shouting into a microphone, “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”

I am going to share some things today that may be a little like pulling that curtain back on the Great Oz.  Sometimes when we peek behind the curtain we learn things…I believe it is always good to know truth.  Jesus thought so to.  In John 8 he was speaking to some of his followers and 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.”  So here goes… [Read more…]