“But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5. To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
This text states what God did in order for us to be able to become His children. He sent His Son into the world to save us from sin. Jesus was Immanuel – “God with us.” This act of God changed the world and brought on the three great acts of God that would, indeed, change the world- though the world does not always agree. The Manger When God sent forth His Son, He did not send Him forth as a king, but as a baby. The amazing thing is that when this occurred, it didn’t happen in a palace or some ritzy Roman resort of its day. It happened in a stable and His crib was a manger – a feed trough. On top of that, He was born into a carpenter’s family. Carpentry was a noble line of work, but it was not a job of the elite. It is also noteworthy that when Jesus was born the announcement was not made to Herod, or any other important Jewish dignitary. The announcement was made to shepherds. Shepherds were important to the economy of that day, but it was considered to be a lowly job. It was to shepherds that the angels made the big announcement, and it was these shepherds who were the first to see the Savior of the world, “wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” The manger reminds us that Jesus came to live a perfect life and to die for all people. In Luke 2:10, the shepherds were told: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.” This baby lying in a manger in Bethlehem was destined to change the world. He left great teachings that we have in the four gospels. He left a great example of what it means to live a good life, but what He mainly did was to give His life so that we could be saved, which brings us to the second great act of God: The Cross I don’t mean to diminish the life of Christ, for we can learn a lot from His sojourn on earth, but His main task took place on a cruel Roman cross. Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. 2. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Something took place at the moment of Jesus’ death on the cross that changed the world’s access to God. When Jesus died, the veil of the temple that separated the presence of God from people was torn in two, which meant that at His death, Jesus opened up full access to God. The Empty Tomb The manger and the cross would have been all for nothing except for the empty tomb. Three days after He was crucified, Jesus arose from the grave. He taught His disciples for forty days, and then ascended to the Father. He is alive forever, and still has input in the world that He created. There is a lot of scriptural evidence for this, but I think that Hebrews 7:24-25 sums it up for us: “But this man, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25. Wherefore He is able to save them to the uttermost that come to Him, seeing that He ever lives to make intercession for them.” The resurrection of Christ changed the world forever. I think that you will agree that these three acts of God did, indeed, change the world forever. The birth of Jesus, which we celebrate at Christmas, and His resurrection, which we celebrate at Easter, make all of the difference in the world in our salvation. Without these the world would be doomed forever. I know that a lot of people do not believe this and scoff at it, but it is nevertheless true. If you are reading this, it is almost certain that you are not scoffing, but rejoicing. Bro. Joe
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“And (Jesus) arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”
Jesus and His disciples were in the midst of the Sea of Galilee in Peter’s little fishing boat. A storm came up and the disciples feared for their lives. Jesus was asleep on the stern of the boat when the disciples woke Him up and asked: “Carest thou not that we perish.” Of course Jesus cared; He just knew that this was yet another test of their faith, for He said to them: “Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?” It’s interesting that Jesus made the statement about their fear and faith after He had stilled the storm. As we go through the storms of our lives, we need for Jesus to say “peace be still,” and He will give us peace when we call on Him. When does Jesus say “peace be still”? Jesus says “peace be still” when we are in seemingly helpless and hopeless situations. (I used the word “seemingly” here, because when Jesus is in our lives we are never hopeless or helpless.) I have been on a ship in the middle of the South China Sea in a typhoon, or hurricane. It was an exciting ride for several days, but it was certain that we were helpless to do anything about it, but ride it out until it was over. We come across times like this in our lives. It could be some kind of sickness, a divorce, a church problem, a family problem, or whatever, but in the middle of these storms, we can’t find a way out. When Jesus is involved, He will be with us while we ride it out, or He will say “peace be still.” Jesus is there with His peace no matter how He chooses to give us the calm that we need. We just need to understand that Jesus cares and that He is at work in our lives to help us. Our problem is that sometimes we don’t hear Jesus say “peace be still,” and we think that we are still in the storm. Call on Jesus today and listen for His “peace be still.” You are not helpless. Jesus says “peace be still” when we are in a sea of trouble. The first thing that we need to do when we are going through troubles is ask ourselves if we did something to get ourselves into this situation. If we did, the first thing that we need to do is to repent and ask for forgiveness. It is a step of faith to recognize our own responsibilities and call on Jesus for forgiveness before we ask Him to bring calm into our lives. Otherwise, we need to realize that Jesus is stronger than the strongest storms, and He is stronger than our largest troubles. I know that this is difficult to ascertain when we are in the middle of a storm of trouble, but it is Christian reality that Jesus is in the “boat” with us while we are riding out the storm. We just need to listen with our hearts and minds for His “peace be still.” I ministered to prisoners for several years from 1988 until I retired in 2010, and those prisoners who found peace in spite of their troubles were those who had repented of the sins that got them in prison and sought the peace that only Jesus could bring. Jesus says “peace be still” when the contrary winds of controversy blow about us. We are living in troubled times today. There is so much anger and vitriol in Washington. We are reminded every day of the desire for radical Muslims to kill us in the name of Allah. Sin is no longer recognized as sin, even in some mainline “Christian” denominations. We need to realize that this has always been the crisis of Christians throughout our history. We are “in the world but not of the world.” Jesus promised us that the world at large would oppose us, because the world at large, under Satan’s control, opposes Jesus and the Bible. The good news is that Jesus knows all about it and has said “peace be still.” It will all work out in the end. Bro. Joe Jesus said unto (Thomas) I am the way, the truth and the life: no one comes to the Father but by me.”
A=For the next three days, we will take a look at this text where Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life…” Today’s text is “I am the way.” The outline that I will use is not original with me, but all of the “meat on the bones” is mine. What does it mean that Jesus is “the way”? It means that Jesus is the way out. Jesus is the way out of what? For one thing, He is the way out of the wilderness of sin. We need to be aware that sin is the human problem. It began with Adam and Eve, continues until today and will continue until Jesus brings an end to all of it. No one could really overcome sin until Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin. By His blood we are forgiven and cleansed from sin. I have also discovered that Jesus is the way out of emptiness. Many people are living empty lives today, and they do not know how to live a full life. They try everything that the world offers that they know about and still come up empty. This reminds me of Solomon in Ecclesiastes. He tried everything under the sun to find fulfillment in life and still came up empty. Jesus said: “I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.” A full, abundant life is possible through faith in Jesus. It means that Jesus is the way through. Jesus is the way through the troubles of life. What do people who do not know Jesus as Savior when they confront the many troubles that life can bring on them? This is why many people try drugs, alcohol, sex and a number of other destructive things to at least forget their troubles. Many try to make it by being religious. Falling back on religion is like putting paint on a decaying building. There is a vast difference between practicing religion and putting faith in Jesus Christ. Christians can get through the troubles of life by trusting Jesus to get them through. Jesus gives us “Peace that passes understanding.” I have also found that Jesus is the way through grief. The loss of a loved one is one of the worst things that can happen to us. When my daddy died in 1969, the first thing I thought of when I had to confront the reality of his death was what Jesus said to Martha when her brother Lazarus died: “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” Jesus led me through it. What do people do at times like these if they do not have a relationship with Jesus? It means that Jesus is the way in. He is the way into salvation. Jesus said: “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.” Jesus is the only door to salvation. Jesus said: “No one comes to the Father except through me…” This is a hard fact for people to grasp today. In fact, if you say this in some company, they will tell you that you are a narrow-minded bigot. But all we have to go by here is what Jesus said. Either what He said is true, or the whole thing is untrue. One cannot have it both ways. Jesus is also the way into eternal life. This is the ultimate meaning of salvation. John wrote in John 5:11-13: “And this is the record that God hath given us eternal life; and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of Go; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” Jesus’ message is clear: We receive eternal life by believing in Him.. A lot more could be written on this subject, but what has been written should suffice to show you that Jesus is, indeed, the way. I hope that you know Jesus as the way for your life. If you do, I hope that you tell others about what Jesus has done for you. Bro. Joe “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.”
Faith is a powerful force in our lives, but that power does not lie in faith as much as it does the object of faith – Jesus Christ. We are not just saved by faith; we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. We are not just sustained by faith; we are sustained by faith in Jesus Christ. We do not have faith in faith; we have faith in Jesus Christ. (I think I’ve proved my point.) With this in mind, let’s look at the power of our faith in Jesus Christ. It is by the power of faith in Jesus Christ that we are saved - that we become Christians. Ephesians 2:8 records: “For by grace through faith are you saved.” It is faith in Jesus that unlocks the door to our hearts. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that the only way that we can please God is by faith. Anything that we do for God must be done by faith. Any request that we make of God must be by faith. If we want the salvation that God offers us in Jesus, we must come to Him by faith. There is no way that we can save ourselves. It is by the power of faith in Jesus Christ that we are sustained. We are not saved by faith then kept by our own initiative, our own works. The faith that saves us is the same faith that sustains us in all of the ups and downs of life on a daily basis and keeps us going. In 1Corinthians 15:13b we are encouraged to “stand fast (firm) in the faith.” We are not told to stand fast in our “inner core,” as new-agers would put it. Without Jesus, we have no “inner core” that will sustain us in life when the going gets tough and take us to heaven when we die. “Stand fast in the faith” means to keep on believing in Jesus and to keep on trusting through all of the twists and turns of life. Faith in Jesus can keep us from life’s dark moments, but even if we have to pass through some dark moments, our faith in Christ will sustain us through them. Remember that it is not faith in faith that sustains us, but faith in Jesus Christ – period. It is by the power of faith in Jesus that that we can live for Him and do His will. In Luke 17:1-5, Jesus told His disciples to forgive anyone who trespassed against them seven times in a day if they had to. This was a difficult commandment for them, and it is a difficult commandment for us as well. I think that the disciples had the right idea though when they responded to Jesus by asking Him “to increase our faith.” They knew that this kind of forgiveness can only come by faith. This is true of obeying God in all of life. Doing God’s will is sometimes hard to do, because it might go against our pride, or it might go against what we might call common sense. It is at these times that we must remember that living the Christian life is not all about us, but it is about pleasing our Savior by living the quality of life that He would have us live. It sometimes seems that the world is designed to defeat us. It is true that the world system under the control of Satan is trying to defat us. How in the world can we overcome it? Take a look at 1John 5:4-5: “For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. 5. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” We overcome the world by the power of the same faith that saves and sustains us. It is important for us to remember this when the master accuser, Satan, tries to convince us that we are failing in our faith. We must not succumb to the temptation to give in to discouragement and defeat. That is where Satan wants us and where he will keep us – except for faith in Jesus Christ. Exercise your faith in Christ and it will grow, and the more it grows, the better your life will be. Bro. Joe “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
This is a question that we all need to ask “What ‘Centers’ You?” First, I need to define what I mean by “centers.” What is it that calms you, emboldens you or gives you a feeling of completion? This is not a real good definition, but I think you get what I mean. We have something, or someone, that we can fall back on when life seems to be getting out of control, or when we just feel down and depressed. When we center ourselves on that, we can see things more clearly. There are people and things that encourage me and help me in life, but when the going really gets tough the main thing that centers me is my faith in Jesus Christ. Everything else just falls at His feet. I pray that you can say the same thing. What I have found is that I am more easily centered on Jesus when I stay in close fellowship with Him through prayer and Bible reading. Jesus cannot be the center of things for us, if we do not take advantage of the intimate, personal relationship that we have with Him. The question then becomes: “Who Centers You?” Paul stated it succinctly in the text: “I live, nevertheless not I, but Christ lives in me.” That is the most important relationship that we can have in our lives. Relationships with family and friends are certainly important, but even those relationships are stronger when Christ is the center of our lives. We can be glad that Jesus is not just a religious figure, or statue, like Buddha. Jesus is a real living person, who loves us and wants the best for us. He lives in us through the Holy Spirit, and is available all of the time for us to fall back on. The Bible even promises us that He loves us enough to discipline us if we get out of line. Pause now and ask yourself if Jesus is the One who centers you. Paul added something to this testimony about Jesus: “And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Now we can turn to the “what” of what centers us. The cause of our personal, saving relationship with Jesus is “by grace through faith” in Jesus. It is faith in Jesus that helps to center us in our daily lives and in all of the bumps and bruises of life. I imagine that you are like I am when I really get in a bad situation; I turn to Jesus in faith and He gets me around or through whatever it is that is troubling me. This will not do a whole lot of good if I ignore Him when life is going smooth, and then call on Him in faith when life gets rough. Our faith in Jesus is meant for every situation in our lives – the good and the bad. You know: “The God on the mountain is still God in the valley…” We need to understand that the Lord, who is the center of our faith and our lives, honors our faith in Him. This is true throughout the whole Bible. The Old Testament does not stress the word “faith” like the New Testament does, but faith is implicit in its teachings. Hebrews 11 tells us about the faith of Old Testament saints. They had faith in the promise of God, and that faith enriched the lives of people like Moses, David, Elijah and Daniel. Their faith in God and in His promises centered them and helped them to serve Him effectively. Like us, they stumbled and fell from time to time, but all in all their lives reflected their faith in God. In the New Testament we have men like Peter, Andrew, James, John and Paul to show us what it means to center our lives in faith in God/Jesus. You just need to ask yourself if it is faith in Jesus that centers you as you face all of life? Think about it. Bro. Joe “For by Him (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were created by Him and for Him. 17.And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist (are held together).”
We should not be surprised that Jesus was involved in creation, as were the Father and the Spirit. John gave the same information in John 1:3: “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.” In His life on earth, Jesus certainly showed Godlike traits. For example, He turned water into wine. I have never heard of “water wine,” have you? He took one substance and turned it into another in order to make wine. Only the creator could do that. In Colossians 1:21 Paul added another dimension to the power of Jesus, for he informs us that all things are held together by Jesus. This means that we do not have to worry about Mars getting out of orbit and colliding with the earth. We can trust that Jesus will hold it all together. The only way that the meteorite that we hear so much about, can hit the earth is if Jesus lets it happen. If Jesus lets it happen, nothing on earth or in heaven can stop it. This is not your “namby pamby” Jesus that people talk about today. He has real, eternal power. If I read this text correctly, it is Jesus who is holding the universe together. We know that the universe is of unfathomable size; therefore, Jesus has unfathomable power. I have written all of the above to get to the point that I want to make, i.e., this same Jesus has the power to hold our lives together. This is the good news that a lot of people need today. We are warned about all kinds of destructive scenarios that can cause our hearts to sink. If I didn’t believe in Jesus, I would be worried about all that I hear and see. But I believe in Jesus and I believe that He who holds all things together, can also hold me together. Sometimes it seems that our lives are out of control. Problems seem to pile on top of problems. We have problems within ourselves. We worry about what is going to happen to us in the future. We have ego problems that seem so big to us, but are really no problem at all. We have family problems. What family does not have some problems? Show me a perfect family and I will show you a real honest to goodness miracle. We encounter problems in the places where we work. There are always problem people that we have to deal with. There are all sorts of things that crop up in a workplace that can cause anxiety on our part. Then we have to deal with the news every day. I watch the news on Television and read it about it in the newspaper, and I tell myself that if I didn’t know that Jesus was holding all things together, I would really panic. All of the things that I mentioned above, and all of the things that you could add to what I have mentioned, do not have to defeat us if we believe that Jesus is holding us together as He is holding the universe together. In 1 John, the apostle John gave us a great word of wisdom on this matter. When you read these three verses out of 1 John, know that Jesus can hold your life together: 1 John 4:4: “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” 1 John 5:4-5: “For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. 5. Who is he that overcomes the world but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” Put your faith in the only One who holds all things together – even you. Believe it! Bro. Joe "The Lord, the First and the Last" Isaiah 41:4
“Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am He.” KJV “Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, with the first of them and with the last – I am He.” NIV Doubting the existence of God did not start with the present age. Even in Isaiah’s day people were questioning the authority of God. The thing that is difficult for unbelievers to understand is that God has always been. They cannot imagine a Being who has always been and always will be. I will admit that it is difficult to wrap our finite minds around a Being such as God. In order to be God He has to be beyond our understanding. In fact, it was Isaiah who wrote, quoting God: “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9) It should come as no surprise to us that God is superior to us and that He is well aware of that fact. This need to be superior to God is a lot of what the Bible is about. There are some things that we need to realize about God that will be understood by believers but not by unbelievers. God has always been. (I know that this seems to be an inane statement, but keep in mind that this is a reminder of some things about God.) He said: “Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning.” The Bible begins: “In the beginning God” – period. The Bible does not begin by attempting to prove the existence of God, nor does it intend to argue the point. It just presupposes God’s existence and proceeds to tell His story. He is the creator and we are the created. I don’t know why we always have to be reminded of this, but evidently, we do. We don’t just need to accept the truth of the eternality of God; rather, we need to revel in that truth. Why? Because it means that we are not alone in the universe. We are not at the mercy of the universe. We do not really have to worry about meteorites, etc. because there is a God who is in control of all of it and sustains all of it. We also need to revel in the eternality of Jesus Christ because of the biblical witness to it. Let Paul tell us about it in Colossians 1:16-18: “For by Him (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers:all things were created by Him, and for Him: 17. And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. 18. And He is the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence (first place).” We can trust Jesus, whom we trust in as Savior, as all of God as well as all of man. It is not simple-minded to believe in the eternal God. It is not naïve to believe in Him and trust Him. Over the years, in Old Testament times, New Testament times and throughout history, people who are intellectually astute have believed in and trusted in God's eternality and in His power. We should not let the world convince us that we cannot believe in God and be considered intellectually astute. You can trust God and you can trust what His word, the Bible, says about Him. We can count on His word when He tells us: “I, the Lord – with the first of them and with the last – I am He.” Rejoice!!!! “And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and read the book, neither to look thereon. 5. And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not: behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.”
The context of Revelation 5:4-6 is the occasion of the opening of the seven seals. John was shown a book, or a scroll, that was sealed with seven seals. He wanted to see what was in it, but no one was able to open it. Then one of the twelve elders told him who could open the scroll: “The lion of the tribe of Judah.” This is a designation for Jesus Christ, who was born into the family of David. But when the Lion came to open the book and break open the seals, he had become “a Lamb as it had been slain.” This is what I want to settle on in this article: Jesus described as “the lion of the tribe of Judah,” was then described as “a lamb as it had been slain.” This is an interesting depiction of Jesus. He is, indeed,“the Lion of the tribe of Judah,” but thank God, He is also a "slain lamb." The Bible describes Jesus as the “Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world.” He was/is the mighty Messiah, who came to earth, born of a virgin and lived a perfect life. Jesus showed throughout His ministry that He had power over death, disease and nature. He raised dead people to life, healed people of all sorts of illnesses, and walked on water. When Jesus spoke, most people listened and marveled because “He spoke as one who has authority." In many ways in His life on earth Jesus revealed Himself as the “Lion of the tribe of Judah.” Jesus became the “lamb slain” when He surrendered Himself to die on the cross for the sins of all people . Paul wrote about Him: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:5-8) In 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul wrote: “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” It was all-important for us that the Lion become a Lamb, for he had to die as a sacrificial lamb in order for us to be saved. If we have any righteousness, it is righteousness imputed, given to us, by Christ. It is important for us to see that the “Lion of the tribe of Judah,” became a “Lamb as it had been slain” for you. It is a personal thing. We come to the One who humbly gave His life on the cross to save us from sin and we discover that He is also the Lion who brings His power into our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the way God does things. Jesus did not become our Savior just because He was “the Lion of the tribe of Judah,” but because He was the “Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.” In seeming weakness, God showed His great strength. If you do not know Him as your savior, receive Him by faith today. If you do know Jesus as your Savior, come to a greater appreciation of what Jesus has done for you by saving you and working in your life to make it more abundant. Thank Him today for who and what He is in your life. Bro. Joe “For by (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him: And He is before all things, by Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead: that in all things He might have preeminence.”
Notice that Jesus is to have preeminence (first place) in all things. This is comprehensive, isn’t it? Jesus is not just to have first place at church but in the home, at work, at school, etc. When Jesus becomes a part of our lives, He wants to take over all of our lives, not just the “religious” portion. Otherwise, we have what is called “Sunday religion.” Why are we to give Jesus first place? Colossians 1:16-18 tells us why. Jesus should have first place in our lives because of who He is. First, He is the One who created all things in heaven and in earth. People do not usually think of Jesus as the creator, but that is what Paul wrote in Colossians 1:16. He created everything from the greatest thing in the universe to the smallest atomic particle. Second, He created all things for Himself: “All things were created by Him and for Him.” Jesus is not just the Lord of our lives; He is the Lord of the whole universe. For example, Jesus created our solar system for Himself. Every star in the heavens belongs to Him. All of what we call space belongs to Him. Third, He is the One who holds it all together: “by Him all things consist.” This is a word of great comfort. If Jesus can hold the universe together, doesn’t it stand to reason that He can hold our lives together? Seeing all this, giving Jesus first place does make sense, doesn’t it? Jesus should have first place in our lives because of what He is. First, Jesus is the “head of the body, the church.” This is not a reference to the building that we worship in but a reference to us. We (all Christians) are the church. He is the head of our corporate body as “church.” The church that you are member of does not belong to the members; rather, it belongs to Jesus. Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:18: “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” Jesus is to have first place in all matters in our churches. Second, Jesus is "the firstborn from the dead.” This simply means that in His resurrection Jesus defeated death for us. Jesus died on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Three days later He arose. All of this happened to Jesus in order for us to be “saved by grace through faith” in Him. We did not do this for ourselves. There is no such thing as a “self-made” Christian. Jesus died for our sins, rose again, and is alive at the Father’s right hand now; therefore, He should have first place in our lives. Third, to get back to where we began, all of this was done “that He might have preeminence.” He does not want to have first place for His sake. After all, He already has first place throughout the universe. Jesus wants to have first place for our sake. We need for Jesus to have first place in our lives. We will be better Christians, indeed, better human beings when we give Jesus first place in our lives. Does Jesus have first place in your life? Does Jesus have first place in your family? Does Jesus have first place in your life where you are employed, or where you are in school? Does Jesus have first place in your church? Do yourself a favor and give Jesus first place in everything. Bro. Joe "And there came a leper to (Jesus), beseeching Him, and kneeling down to Him, and saying unto Him, If you will (if you are willing), you can make me clean. 41. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched him, and said unto him, I will (I am willing), be thou clean. 42. And as soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.”
In this passage the leper came to Jesus to be healed, and he wondered if Jesus would be willing to rid him of his leprosy. Leprosy was, and still is in some places, a terrible thing to have, because one had to isolate himself from the rest of the world. People were deathly afraid of getting leprosy. At any rate, Jesus reached out and touched the leper and he was healed - Jesus was willing. There are some lessons here for us that could help us in our relationship with Jesus. First, Jesus is never reluctant to meet the needs that we bring to Him. Throughout the gospels we see the willingness of Jesus to intervene in people’s lives and make life better for them. You might be thinking that you went to Jesus for healing and you did not get healed. Some would say that it was your lack of faith that caused Jesus to not heal you. You need to understand that Jesus’ willingness to help us is not based on His giving us what we want, but His willingness to give us what we need. I know that I have referred to my bout with cancer a lot, and I am certainly not bragging about it. You must know that when I got the word that I had cancer; I went immediately to Jesus with it and asked Him to heal me. The amazing thing is that He did not heal my body, but in the process of my suffering He healed my soul. During the time that I was fighting with cancer, I grew more spiritually than I ever have in my life. I learned the importance of depending on Him for every breath that I take. I learned that His willingness to heal me was based on what my greatest needs were. The bottom line was that I needed to draw closer to Jesus, and to learn to depend totally upon Him. Second, Jesus is willing to heal whatever needs healing in your life. You might have an attitude problem. You might have a relationship problem. You might have a problem with a bad habit that you can’t seem to break. It could be that you have a physical problem that is weighting you down. There is no end to the possibilities of what you need to bring to Jesus to heal. Just remember this: Jesus is willing to heal you and help you with whatever it is that you need to have healed. Third, it might be that you feel that you are just unworthy to seek the healing power of Jesus. I want you to notice something in this text. Verse 41 tells us: “And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand and touched him, and said unto him, I will be thou clean.” You need to know that when you take your need to Jesus, whether it is physical or otherwise, you find that He has compassion for you. That is to say that He cares about what you are going through and that He loves you. Notice also that Jesus reached out and touched the leper. People just did not do that in that day. As aforementioned, people were deathly afraid of catching leprosy and would not dare touch a leper. But Jesus was not reluctant at all to touch him. I think that one of the reasons that Jesus touched him was that the man had not felt a personal touch for a long time. People would do anything to stay away from him. You might think that what you bring to Jesus iis unforgiveable, and that you need a touch from someone who understands. Whatever your sin, it is not unforgiveable and you can know that Jesus understands and is willing to forgive you, heal your soul, and help you make the changes that you need to make to make your life better. In other words, Jesus will reach out and touch you as He did the leper. Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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