Because of All That the Son Is

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

Tonight, I asked my kids what we should do our Bible study on, and my son said on John 1:18 not really knowing what he was saying or even if it was a correct passage in the Bible.  After a brief moment of looking it over I led my kids in the following study on John 1:16-18 (CEV), “16 Because of all that the Son is, we have been given one blessing after another.17 The Law was given by Moses, but Jesus Christ brought us undeserved kindness and truth.18 No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is truly God and is closest to the Father, has shown us what God is like.”

The first thing I talked to them about was the power found in the simple two letter word “is” in verse 16 as it relates to who Jesus is.  We discussed all that Jesus is.  He is love, grace, peace, kindness, the creator of everything, our Savior, and He is also God.  Stop and thing about all that Jesus is and see if you are not as amazed as I am.  It was hard to go on after getting so much out of the first part of the verse.  Yet, we see in the second part of this verse that Jesus has given us so many blessing.  I explained to the kids we have been blessed with each day, snow, wind, rain, friends, family, and the list goes on and on, because Jesus blessings are endless.

After building the base of who Jesus is and how he has blessed we discussed what verse 17 meant.  I told them it was the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  The law Moses provided in the Old Testament was given to convict us of our sins as well as provide us a way to honor God by obeying His law.  This is contrasted with Jesus in the New Testament who came to relieve us of our sins.  Jesus willingness to die on the cross for our sins is the undeserved kindness John is talking about here.  It is I that deserved to be hung on the cross for my sins and not Jesus, but He took on all my sin and yours and endured extreme pain and suffering because of His love for us. 

John closes these verses in verse 18 by reminding us Jesus is God.  God sending his Son to earth allowed us to have a brief glimpse for God in the flesh.  The value of this for us is that it was recorded in the Bible for us to study and follow.  But, if you are like me you will take a moment as I did with my kids and think about what it would have been like to walk along a dusty street with your friend Jesus or be invited to His house for dinner or a sleep over.  

I rejoice in the fact that Jesus lives and he is coming back again, and then I will be able to walk and talk with him.  My charge now is to live my life so that others will see Jesus in me.

Your brother in Christ, 

Mike 

God Knows What We Need

Brothers and Sisters in Christ, 

This morning as I read Proverbs 3 during my quiet time a few verses really spoke to me.  Those verses are Proverbs 3:5-7 (NIV 1984) "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." 

After meditating on these two verse all day their meaning really hit home late this evening as I was dealing with my own frustrations of trying to figure out where we will live later this year.  I was reminded that my timing is not God's timing, and He will answer me in His own time according to the plan that He laid out for me long ago.

I want to leave you with three simple truths and a promise that I found in these verses.  I believe if I follow them God will keep me in his graces and allow my family and I to be in the place we can do the most work for His kingdom.  

The first truth is that in all things I have to trust in God.  It is not good enough to just know He is God even sinners know that, but I must wholeheartedly trusting in the Lord in all things that is the different.  This requires us to forgo our earthly desires and trust in Him.  

The second truth is that I cannot count on my own abilities to get it done.  I know that anything I would do without God in my life would simply fail and not be worth it.  Therefore, I have to be willing to humble myself before God so I am able to hear his direction for my life.

The third truth is we are to acknowledge God in all we do.  As I go throughout my day I should be praising God for who He is and all that He has done in my life.  God deserves our praise for all things from the simple beauty of a sunrise, to the brief quiet moments of our day, to the food we eat, and the fact that we got out of bed in the morning.  In all things we should give God thanks and praise.

In light of these three truths there is a glorious reward waiting for us, if we are able to follow through on the first three.  That reward is in His perfect timing He will guide us along the path we should follow.

I do not know about you, but these three truths and amazing reward refocused my from being earthly focused to heavenly focused.

God you are amazing!

Mike 

Be Still So We Can Listen to God

Fellow Believers in Christ,

I have been mediating for weeks on the first part of Psalm 46:10.  Specifically the first part of the verse which says, "Be still and know that I am God."  I do not know about you but the Christmas and New Year holidays are often busy for many Americans.  The church and all its workers have been extremely busy this time of year with plays, musicals, and special songs to make the season bright.

Yet, how often do we stop in the midst of the chaos of our busy lives and make time to listen to God?  I am reminded that despite being busy Jesus always took time to be still and listen to God away from the junk that we have allowed to fill up our daily lives.  Examine the life of Jesus and how lived on Earth and notice no matter who was around Him he always made time to be still and listen to God.  Spending time with God was something the Jesus cherished, and He chose to make his top priority.

I would suggest that we would all do ourselves a favor by first placing God in our lives.  Yet, simply placing God in a place of prominence does not mean much if we ignore Him and live our lives according to our own rules.  I firmly believe we must not allow the world around us to control us and should fight everyday to spend time with God.  It is in those still quiet moments when God will direct you where to go and how He expects us to live.

So be honest with yourself are you doing well "Being Still" with God.  I know that when the Lord laid this verse on my heart I was not as good as I am today at it.  That also means that I still have millions of miles to go before I get it close to be perfect.  As the Apostle Paul said I continue to press on to receive the prize.  Each day I try to give more of my day back to God and honor Him with my life.

I hope this not helped you in some way.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike