Who is Jesus?

  • Our Jesus is the Christ – the Messiah
  • Our Jesus is the Director of our steps
  • Our Jesus is God’s Son.
  • Our Jesus is our example.
  • Our Jesus knew no sin.
  • Our Jesus submitted to God.
  • Our Jesus submitted to governmental authority.
  • Our Jesus suffered in silence.
  • Our Jesus was beaten and did not open His mouth.
  • Our Jesus was nailed to the cross.
  • Our Jesus asked that the Father forgive.
  • Our Jesus took our sins upon Himself.
  • Our Jesus paid the price that we owed.
  • Our Jesus healed our relationship with God.
  • Our Jesus conquered death by rising from the dead.
  • Our Jesus sits at the right hand of God speaking on our behalf.
  • Our Jesus loves us with an everlasting love.
  • Our Jesus is our Good Shepherd.
  • Our Jesus is the Overseer of our souls.
  • Our Jesus is Salvation.
  • One day, we will see Jesus face to face

Our Jesus is coming again!

  • “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me 
    All the days of my life; 
    And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.”     Psalm 23:6

Good Shepherd and Overseer of our souls, we are overwhelmed by Your great love for us. We have sinned. Thank You for paying the price of our sins, so that we could be dead to sins and live to righteousness. Be our Lord and Savior. Teach us to follow You, to live for righteousness, and to imitate You. You gave Your all for us. We give our lives to You. In Your holy name, we pray. Amen.

When you think of Jesus,
what is the first word that comes to your mind?

Photo is what is thought to be the empty tomb of Jesus in Jerusalem.

Free At Last!

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

Today, we remember Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. He knew freedom in God, and he sought to bring freedom to all of America. Freedom from racism. Freedom to live and work in equality, dignity, and respect. Freedom to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Isn’t that what Christianity is all about? Freedom from our sins and freedom to live in the presence of Jesus. Freedom to live eternally.

Continue reading Free At Last!

5 Astonishing Statements from Paul

3 crosses - 1

For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galatians 2:19-20

I grew up in a small town in Oklahoma—the Bible Belt. There were two main churches, Methodist and Baptist. I had a slumber party one weekend. We put on makeup, polished our fingernails, turned on the music, and danced. The girls and I had a great time. I learned later that one of the churches prayed publicly for me because we danced. The rules of the church judged me guilty of a sin I did not understand was a sin. A junior high school student completely mortified and judged sinful.

Every year, the high school hosted an annual dance. The dance was the big event of the year, and almost everyone looked forward to that dance, except the church. After the dance, the church always conducted a revival and talked the students into signing a pledge that they would never dance again. The next year, the students went to the dance and repented afterward with a new pledge.

Although the students could have chosen never to dance again, they chose to break the rules and get forgiveness from the church later.

God gave the Law to show us what it means to live a righteous life. The problem is that we cannot keep the Law. There is no forgiveness in the Law. Forgiveness is in Jesus. Paul writes that the Law is a tutor to bring us to Jesus, Galatians 3:24.

5 Astonishing Statements

What if we lived according to the words of Paul in Galatians? What changes would we make?

Consider these facts, as a Christian.

  1. I died to the Law to live to God. I’ve tried to be good, but whether in my mind or in my actions, I have broken the Law. I may have told a little white lie, or coveted a co-worker’s award or promotion. If I break one law, I am guilty of all the law, and the penalty is death. James 2:11. The Law brought death. Jesus brought life.
  2. I have been crucified with Christ. My sin was placed on Jesus on the cross, and the life that I was living was crucified. Therefore, I have died to the sinful life and have become a new creation to live to righteousness. 1 Peter 2:24, 2 Corinthians 5:17
  3. I no longer live. Since I’m a new creature, the old Karen is dead, and I am freed from sin. Romans 6:6-9
  4. Christ lives in me. Think of this promise! What if I lived with the awareness that Christ lives in me? What would my thought life be? Christ in me, the hope of glory! Colossians 1:27
  5. I live by faith in the Son of God. My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 6:19. What if I thought of my body as the temple? Would I change my thoughts and actions? How would I introduce myself to others? Paul introduced himself as a bond servant of Jesus Christ, Romans 1:1

5 Applications

  1. Ask God to search you, know you, and reveal your sins. Then ask Him for forgiveness. Psalm 139:23-24
  2. Stop throughout your day to consider Jesus’ gift to you. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the depth of that sacrifice and show you how He is transforming you. Romans 8:38-39; Romans 12:1-2
  3. Thank the Lord that He has freed you to live in Him and the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 6:7, 1 Corinthians 5:4
  4. Memorize Scriptures; for Jesus is the Word; the more Scripture you memorize, the more aware you are that He lives in you. John 1:1, 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Joshua 1:8
  5. Before you get out of bed in the morning, give the day to Jesus. Ask Him to guard your thoughts and actions. Tell Him that you want to please Him. Before you go to sleep in the night, repent of your sin and thank Him for His blessings. Mark 1:35

My prayer

 Father, what a wonderful gift You have given us! Thank You that Jesus lives in Your people. Quicken our hearts and minds to this fact. May this knowledge sink deeply into our spirits and may it transform our hearts and minds. You are holy, righteous and loving beyond imagination. We love You, Lord. Amen.

Please share in the Comment Section how you are practicing awareness that Christ lives in you.

 

Christ in You, a Book Review

ChristinYouEric Johnson has written a powerful book that Christians need to read, with Berean discernment, searching the Scriptures as they read this book. Johnson examines the last section of Colossians 1:27, “Christ in you” sometimes adding “the hope of glory.”

Johnson’s premise is that Christians limit themselves because they do not understand the depth of what it means that Jesus dwells in them. Healings, miracles, and mighty works should follow Christians as they followed the early church.

Johnson writes,”After you turned your face to God, you were grafted into His bloodline and became His son or daughter. So rather than saying, ‘I’m a sinner saved by grace,’ a more accurate statement would be to say something like this: ‘I was a sinner, and grace is what has transformed me into a saint.'”

John writes to Christians, saints who have been saved by grace in 1 John 2:1: “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” I wonder how Johnson would respond.

Yet, there is great truth in Johnson’s book. We sometimes define ministry as the work done through “the church” rather than considering our professions as a venue for ministry. He urges us to remove the compartments of our lives and consider it all ministry.

Johnson writes that our Christian walk is like setting a person with musical talent in front of a piano. Before that musical talent is manifested, the person must practice hour upon hour, month upon month, and year upon year. Finally, the person is playing at Carnegie Hall. Finally, the Christian is doing greater works that she ever imagined.

“When you realize who lives in you, you will be shocked at what can take place because you are not limiting yourself to what you think you can do.”

Johnson urges readers to consider their position in light of the fact that Christ lives in them, and to step out in the power of Jesus working through them.

I recommend the book to those readers who will search the Scriptures as they read it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, Chosen, for an honest review.

My prayer

Father, thank You for Pastor Johnson and his desire to free Christians from the limitations that they have placed upon You and upon themselves. Guide readers as they ponder Your greatness and their walk with You. Thank You for loving us and for dwelling within us.