Jesus

by

BEING AN EXAMPLE TO OTHERS

(Philippians 4:9) Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you.

Acts 9:1-19 tells the story of Saul’s conversion.  From there, he went on to bring the words of Jesus to many lost souls. Thousands were drawn into the kingdom of God.  After many years of ministry, he wound up a prisoner in Rome for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul, as he became known, was able to confidently say these words to the people of the church he started in Philippi.  Here we are two thousand years later reading these words that give us direction and a distinct challenge.

As a Christian, when I read this verse it sends me into reflection.  The obvious questions I ask myself, “Could I say these words to anybody; should I be able to say these words to anybody?”  I have the New Testament which reveals to me the teaching of Jesus, what he said I should do, and how I should live out my life as a child of God, yet I know my life still falls short of fully following his teachings.  Paul not only knew Jesus’ teaching, but he also knew the battle that we wage against our sinful nature.  (See Romans chapter 7)

In Philippians chapter 3 verses 10-12 Paul makes this statement, “I want to know Christ – yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already attained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”

Jesus has taught me to love others, to forgive them, and be patient with them.  Trusting him and being content with his provision makes me a kinder more relaxed person.  However, I have not followed these lessons completely. The writers of the Bible have done their jobs in leading me to Jesus and teaching me his ways to the point that living in the Spirit is my heart’s desire, but the sinful nature is always waiting to trip me up.  Fortunately, the Holy Spirit gives me power to resist temptation, and my love for Jesus strengthens me. 

I’m ever improving as I follow Jesus.  I believe all of God’s children fit into the ever improving but not yet perfected category.  I guess we are all the not yet perfected examples of what it’s like to be a child of God.

 Could I say the words that Paul said to the Philippians?  Well, I’d rather just walk side by side as a brother in Christ, then to say follow my example.  Nonetheless, if someone wants to follow me, they will find me seeking the ways of Jesus, because that’s my goal. 

by

PRAYING WITH OUR BROTHER JESUS

(Matthew 6:9-13) Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

When Jesus came to earth to save us, his prayers were always addressed to his Father.  When he taught his disciples to pray, he started them with “Our Father”.  In that prayer there is an intimacy in the word “our” that I hadn’t noticed before.  When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we are praying to our Father with our brother Jesus.

Paul tells us in Romans 8:29, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brothers and sisters.”  Our savior is also our oldest brother.  We are God’s children.  When we pray “Our Father” we are praying with our Brother Jesus who taught us to pray.

We are not abandoned; we are included. We belong to an eternal family with God as our Father and Jesus our brother.  There is a closeness available to us through Jesus that is offered by our Father because he loves us, and he has chosen us to be his. 

On the day we go to be with our Father God and our Brother Jesus, our place within the family will be fully understood.  I don’t think we can completely comprehend this now, but be of good cheer knowing that we are included.  Our prayers are supported and encouraged by Jesus the one who taught us to pray “Our Father”.

by

THE SOLUTION FOR OUR SINS

(1 John 1:8-10 and 2:1-2) If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.  My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin.  But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

As one who has been walking with the Lord for some time, I find myself often falling short of the glory of God, which is sin.  I also find myself much more aware of my short comings as I get closer to the Lord.  Any actions which are not loving, patient, or kind are sins, since they fall short of the Glory of God.  Unfortunately, these are actions which often occur in my daily life.  What hope would I have if not for Jesus and the grace he paid such a dear price to provide for me?

In The Lord’s Prayer Jesus instructs us to ask Our Father to forgive us of our sins (see Mathew 6:8-13).  I need to pray this prayer daily.  There are times when my sin is more willful and obvious.  Then my prayer is more specific, and my heart more deeply repentant.

 I love my Father, and he loves me.  He has, through his grace, provided me with this relationship, and it is in the context of this relationship that I can deal with sin.

In this life, sin is something with which we must constantly contend.  As God’s children we have been forgiven for our past sins, and we are being continually forgiven for our present and future sins because God is faithful.  All we have to do is ask.

We needed a way to overcome our sins.  Jesus came, and he gave us the solution for our sins by becoming the ransom for our sins.  He covered all the sins that have been and will be committed by all people from the beginning of the world to the end.   Those who receive him are granted his gift of forgiveness, and they will be set free from their debt of sin, declared righteous, and granted eternal life.  God’s love for us is amazingly wonderful.

by

JESUS – HUMBLE SAVIOR, MIGHTY WARRIOR

 (Matthew 28:18) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

In Revelations chapter 5, Jesus is called the Lamb of God, and he is also called the Lion of the tribe of Judah.  Now a lamb is a humble defenseless animal, whereas the lion is a ferocious king of the beasts. We have these two examples because God created them that we might understand the various aspects of his Son. 

When Jesus came to earth some two thousand years ago, he healed the sick, raised the dead, walked on water, casted out demons, and gave many other supernatural signs.  He taught the people and cared for them.  He did not wipe out all evil with a mighty hand.  He came as the Lamb of God and humbled himself allowing men to take his life on the cross.  Then God raised him from the dead.  His death and resurrection fulfilled his purpose for coming.  He paid the debt we all owed for our sins and set us free from the law of sin and death.

Jesus is coming back. This time he will come with a different purpose.  At his second coming, he will come as the Lion.  In Revelations chapter 19, we can read what that will be like.  Jesus will bring the long awaited for and patiently withheld judgement of God.  Those who have put their trust in Jesus and received his redemption will go on to eternal life. Those who have continued to indulge evil will be judged for their sins.  At that time Satin and his followers will be handed their final defeat.

Jesus the Lamb of God and Humble Savior came to spread God’s love and mercy to his created ones.  Jesus the Lion of the tribe of Judah and Mighty Warrior will come to bring God’s judgement to those who have rejected his love and mercy.  We shouldn’t take Jesus too lightly.  He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.  It’s not too late to accept the offer of salvation he brought to us as our Humble Savior.  For those who have chosen to reject his offer, they will face him as the Mighty Warrior.  

by

GOD’S INVITATION

(Jeremiah 29:12&13) Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

The world is inundated with theories, religious ideas, and deceptions concerning God.    From denying God’s existence to religious fanaticism, the topic of a god or gods has been with us since the beginning.  All of us have chosen to be aligned with one or more opinions about God. 

The Bible contains many invitations from God for us to find him.  Is he real, does he care about us, can we really know him?  He makes it clear that if we respond to his invitation, we won’t be disappointed.  We will find the answer to our questions.

Think of seeking God as a great adventure.  He has a kingdom filled with wonderful treasures that can be yours.  Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.  When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it (see Matthew 13:45&46).”  In this world we seek out many things, but God and his kingdom is the greatest find and worthy of giving up everything else.

As I write this blog post, I do it with full confidence shored up by more than forty years of walking with our loving God.  If you seek him with all your heart, you will find him.  He wants us to come to him; he desires a relationship with all of us. 

by

QUESTIONING GOD’S LOVE

(John 3:16) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

As the principal of a Christian school, I often had the opportunity to meet with parents.  One particular meeting I have never forgotten.  The meeting was with a mother who was distressed over her child, her financial situation, and other family difficulties.  In the course of sharing her trials, she made the statement that she and her son had been discussing whether God still loved them.  I responded to that statement by saying that we could never doubt God’s love because of the cross.  It was apparent right away that my response had impacted her, yet I was equally impacted by these words.   It was as if a third party had intervened and spoken to us.  That is why this meeting among the many others has remained prominent in my memory.

Questioning God’s love for us during times of testing is a very human thing to do.  When times are hard and trials are many, we may feel alone and unloved.  However, the question of whether he loves us was indeed answered by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.    Jesus himself said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).  God has demonstrated in an undeniable way his love for us.  Even in our darkest hour, this light of truth shines through.  “God loves you” is not just a tired cliché but an eternal truth.

by

HUMBLENESS, AN ATTRIBUTE OF GOD

One of my favorite scripture passages is Matthew 11:28-30.  In this passage Jesus refers to himself as “gentle and humble in heart”.  Doesn’t gentle and humble sound safe.  I am drawn to him when I think of him being gentle and humble.  Paul supports Jesus’ statement that he is humble with this declaration in Philippians 2:6-8,

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!

Jesus not only declared himself humble, but he unequivocally demonstrates his humble nature on the cross.  When you think of God, do you think of him as humble?  That’s not my first thought when I think of God, but he truly is humble.  So, what is humble? In all the definitions of humble, I find that not putting yourself first seems to clarify its meaning.  Jesus did not put himself first.  He put our needs ahead of his.

Adam and Eve were humble because they were created in the image of God.  They lost this attribute as a result of the fall.  They then became self concerned.  At the start of Philippians chapter 2 Paul is exhorting us to return to being humble.  He tells us, (Philippians 2:3-4) “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”  He follows this with the scriptural illustration in Philippians 2:6-8 of Christ’s humility.

In our desire to be more like Jesus, humbleness should be near the top of the list.  As I looked at this attribute of God, I had to ask myself, am I gentle and humble in heart?  Am I safe for others? 

by

NO GRUMBLING OR ARGUING

(Philippians 2:14-16)  Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation (see Deuteronomy 32:5).”  Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life…

I’m not a person who likes to argue, but I can sure grumble at times.  Unfortunately, grumbling often causes me to wind up in an argument.   You’d think I’d learn.  As an older man, I find that there’s a lot to grumble about.  Tiredness, pain, and deteriorating senses can open a lot of doors for grumping.

In verses 3 and 4 of Philippians chapter 2, Paul tells us how to avoid succumbing to the temptation to grumble and argue.    “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”  Paul then continues by reminding us that Jesus lived out the example of looking to the interests of others.

I find when I get all about myself that the tiredness increases, the pain is more intense, and my diminishing ability to hear and see is depressing.  When I’m looking to others, I’m less tired, the pain is not so obvious, and my sensory deficits become comedy relief.  I’m always amazed how this changing of perspective, seeing things the way Jesus does, produces greater blessing and makes me a nicer person.

In light of what Jesus did for us, and his command to love one another, I find that I have great incentive to take Paul’s admonition seriously.   After all, I am a child of God.  Grumbling and arguing makes me a dark cloud.  I’d rather be a shining star.

by

RECONCILIATION

[The restoration of friendship and fellowship after estrangement]

(Luke 15:6&7) “…..Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says. ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’  I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

A couple of days ago, I was sitting with my wife in the afternoon watching a Hallmark movie.  The story was about a young lady who had obsessively followed after her career forsaking her high school best friend and high school boy friend.  Years after high school, she returned to her home town.  As the story progressed, she came to recognize her failures regarding her friends. Through repentance and apologies her high school friends forgave her.  So the story ended with the restoration of friendship and fellowship after a period of estrangement.

Why am I sharing my reaction to this story?  At the end of the story, I was quite emotional.  Sometimes this is attributed to me being a male over fifty; however, the emotions were real even though I was watching actors in a movie.  It seems to me that humans love to see an act of reconciliation.  I certainly do.  I experience joy and gladness when people overcome their differences and are reunited.

Take for example the feelings you experience when you lead someone in a sinners prayer.  The few times I have had the opportunity to lead someone to the Lord, I experienced joy, gladness, and even elation when they received Jesus.  I was sharing in a person’s reconciliation with their creator.  An amazing and wonderful event was taking place.

Our scripture from Luke is part of Jesus’ parable about the Lost Sheep. He points out that in heaven there is an emotional, joyful response to a person’s reconciliation with the Father.  God loves his children, and for each of us isn’t it wonderful to know that on our day of salvation all heaven rejoiced at our reconciliation.

by

GOD’S HEART FOR EVERYONE

(1 Timothy 2:3-6 NLT)  This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.  For, there is one God and one mediator who can reconcile God and humanity – the man Christ Jesus.  He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.

God wants everyone to be saved – everyone to have the freedom Christ Jesus purchased for them.  Everyone is an all-inclusive term.  All of humanity has been covered. This is God’s heart for everyone.  We have an open invitation to turn to our creator and to enter his loving embrace as he welcomes us into his eternal kingdom.  Mankind has been given a choice, shall we continue to walk blindly into our future or turn to God?

My wife and I have a new puppy that is just about to turn ten weeks old.  She is delightful and fluffy, and she keeps us entertained with her antics.   Her name is Pearl, and she is what they call a golden doodle, a mix of golden retriever and standard poodle. In the two weeks she has been with us, we have fallen quite in love with this little creature.  Of course, she is a puppy.  Training, cleaning up messes and loud noises in the middle of the night are challenges we face with this lovely addition to our daily lives.  When I say training, I refer to her training us as well as us training her.

The other evening, while my wife was gone to a women’s meeting, Pearl and I were lounging on the back patio.  I was reading and she was chewing.  She came over to me for some pets, and I decided to bring her up to my lap.  To my surprise, she jumped out of my lap onto the concrete floor and landed awkwardly banging her head.  I was very concerned that she might be seriously hurt, but she was okay. 

Since I was in the groove of studying for what to write this week, it dawned on me that this incident had parallels to what I was planning to write about.  God’s desire is for us to come to him, and receive his peace and comfort, but often we go our own way.  We jump right out of his arms and wind up hurting ourselves.  Pearl looked up at me from her fall with an accusatory look, like it was my fault that she got hurt jumping out of my lap.  It’s amazing how often we look back and blame God for our self-imposed hurts.

God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, has offered us the opportunity to put our trust in him and walk in his way.  Everyone has this offer before them.  Should we receive his gift and stay in the comfort of his lap, or should we jump off and go our own way?  It’s our choice.