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You don't need an introduction to meet with Jesus
Taken from Stewart Bloor's Blog at www.tiptonfamilychurch.org
Have you ever thought how close you actually are to meeting famous people? In fact you are probably closer than you realise, as I did when I started to think about it. For example, I know a Labour mayor, who will of course know his local MP, who will know the Prime Minister, who in turn knows the Queen. That means that I am just three introductions away from meeting HRH Queen Elizabeth II.
In the world of football, it's even less. Because of a friend who is a professional footballer, I am just two introductions away from the England manager and the captain of Liverpool. And it's just one introduction that would see me meet with people like Sam Allardyce, Graham Taylor and Steve Bull.
Not that I am on a path of pursuing the stars, but I'm sure you see the point I am making - how close we actually are to meeting well-known people. But what about Jesus? The Bible says that 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved'. In effect we don't even need an introduction to meet with Jesus, we can just go direct ourselves.
Only Jesus
Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.” Suddenly, when they looked around, Moses and Elijah were gone, and only Jesus was with them.
Mark 9:7-8
Peter, James and John were taken up a mountain with Jesus and before their very eyes he was transfigured– his earthly body revealed something of his true glory. At this time Elijah and Moses appeared with Jesus. The disciples declared “let's build three alters - one for Jesus, Moses and Elijah”, they were in awe and fear.
Heaven answered, “this is my dearly beloved Son, listen to him.” God was asking them to focus on the one who really mattered. To the disciples, Moses and Elijah were two of the greatest men that ever lived. Remaining in front of them was 'only' Jesus.
We look for so much in our world, we always want to see great things all around us. Sometimes our delight is on individuals, sometimes it's on material things, sometimes it's on a myriad of other great things, all of which seem important to us. What if we had only Jesus, would he be enough?
The Father would say to us, 'if you could have all the riches of the world, all the world’s superstars and all the great heroes of faith, all the money and splendour of the world - I would still stay “this is my beloved Son, listen to him”. He is all you need.'
You may feel at times, that you 'only' have Jesus, but he is so much more than you will ever need. In him you’ll find life, healing, satisfaction and hope. It’s because of 'only' Jesus you have salvation and a glorious eternity.
Labels: Jesus, Perspective
The Story of Ruth
Ruth told Naomi everything Boaz had done for her, and she added, "He gave me these six scoops of barley and said, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’"
Ruth 3:17
The book of Ruth is a wonderful story of a Moabite woman who finds a family redeemer in a rich Israelite farmer named Boaz. It is a story which starts with death but ends with life. Slowly Ruth learns faith, grace and hope through the sovereignty of God, which leads her to long for more than she could ever dream of.
From gleaning (then a way of leaving barley behind during the harvest to provide for widows and foreigners) in Boaz's fields, she collects the barley stalks left over by the harvesters, but learns that she can receive much more by knowing Boaz for herself.
With the ever increasing generosity of Boaz in the barley fields, she realises that Boaz's gifts aren't enough. With the help of her mother-in-Law Naomi, she sets out to win over Boaz's heart - what she really wants.
The whole book contains beautiful illustrations of the Lord Jesus and his church, redeeming her back to himself. The question we have to ask ourselves is: are we chasing after our redeemer only to get the gifts that he delights to give us, or like Ruth, do we just want him? By wanting just Boaz, she ended up with far more than she imagined.
I pray that you may long for more and by longing just for Jesus you find all your satisfaction in him.
You Cannot Serve Two Masters
You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our saviour. You are the hope of everyone on earth...You formed the mountains by your power and armed yourself with mighty strength. You quieted the raging oceans with their pounding waves and silenced the shouting of the nations.
Psalm 65:5-7 (NLT)
Many of us, if not all of us are fighting constant battles in our spiritual lives. Sometimes wounds and weaknesses in our lives never seem to go away. The same temptation keeps rising to the surface and the constant nagging to give into it can at times because almost unbearable.
God is awesome, he is faithful and he is more than able to answer our impossible situations. The biggest problem that we face is the battle in the mind and the voices that seem to shout the loudest are often not the most beneficial. The Lord would encourage us to listen to his voice and at the same time silence the other voices. If the Lord can move mountains, if he can silence the raging oceans, then he can certainly calm your mind and silence that which is snatching away the promises of God.
Jesus taught that you cannot serve two masters. You could say you can only follow one voice at a time. If we are in the right place with God, only his voice will be heard. No power can stand against God, empires crumble, kingdoms fall at the Lord's command. He silenced the shouting of the nations. On the cross when men shouted obscenities at Jesus and the world were having their final say against the Messiah, believing it was over, he silenced the world, by declaring, "It is finished."
Men, demons, whatevers, no longer had any power over God's anointed and we as children of God have inherited this position by the victory cry from the cross.
Labels: Jesus, Listening, Temptation
Come and See...
Jesus looked around and saw them following. "What do you want?" he asked them. They replied, "Rabbi" (which means "Teacher"), "where are you staying?" "Come and see", he said. John 1:37-38 (NLT)
I wonder if Jesus was walking our streets today what our response would be to this question. There were a million questions these disciples could have asked - instead they chose to spend time with Jesus in his environment.
Often today we want the blessings and the latest thing from God, without wanting him. The disciples wanted to get to know more about Jesus, there was no concept of self. How often do we just want to go and see who the Lord is? If only our agendas were God's too.
By calling him Rabbi, they were saying "you teach us what you want". Jesus said "Come and see..." As a result of spending time with Jesus where he wanted them, they we privileged to see healings, miracles and the character of God displayed before their very eyes! They saw amazing events like Jesus walking on water, the transfiguration and Jesus after his resurrection - these would have been beyond their wildest imaginations to ask for.
The Lord wants to bless us and wants to see miracles, but above all these things he wants a relationship with us, where our desire is to know him for who he is.
David was a man after God's own heart and he became perhaps one of the greatest kings of history. He said "The one thing I ask of the Lord — the thing I seek most — is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord's perfections and meditating in his Temple."
Mary wanted to sit at Jesus' feet - and she was the first to see the resurrected Saviour! Blessings abound when we follow the Lord's agenda. Jesus still says - "What do you want? Come and see..."
Follow the Good Shepherd's Voice
After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. John 10:4 (NLT)
The Lord Jesus is the great heavenly shepherd, who is constantly gathering his flock back to his care after their aimless wanderings without him.
In ancient times, a shepherd would devote his life to his sheep, making sure that they were never out of his sight. He would protect them from ravenous wolves and lead them to good pasture for nourishment. He would also stand in the gap of the fold, to prevent wanderings in the night.
During the day, he would be constantly calling them and giving them direction. If other shepherds were nearby they would still only listen to their master's voice for direction.
How we need to learn the sound of the Good Shepherd's voice! There are so many false voices calling out, that often we can get confused by them and lose our direction. The Lord Jesus has promised to walk ahead of us and direct us - but are we listening to his voice?
If we are close to his side, his voice is so easily recognised we will never be mistaken, but if we take our eyes away from the shepherd and stray over the hill, his voice can be lost in the crowd of all the other voices.
God doesn't want to scream at us just to get our attention, he wants us to want him, know him and delight in him. Don't listen to strangers, listen to God!
The Light of Christmas
The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those
who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. Isaiah 9:2 (NLT)
"Hope" in it truest form is a lost word in today's culture. What real hope is there in this dark world? Many look for false lights to find the truth and sadly find it darker than before.
Christmas is a celebration of light coming into our darkness, hence the candles and Christmas lights we hang on the tree. (Interesting isn't it, the only true light that did come into our world we hung on a tree..). The true light of Christmas burns brighter than Jacob's Star that once shone in the skies over Bethlehem.
Today close on a billion people have been drawn to the light and celebrate the Light, not just at Christmas but throughout the year. The light brings warmth and healing, salvation, direction and truth, and this light will never flicker or go out. It burns as bright today as it has always done.
What lightens your path? What light gives you hope and a future? What light speaks truth to you? Could it be that you are still living in the dark without any real hope?
Jesus said, "I am the Light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have
to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life."
Christ is Born!
The Saviour – yes the Messiah, the Lord, has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David
Luke 2:11 (NLT)
It is still a mystery and to me, the most amazing thing of all the truths in the Bible concerning our God. That God in Christ could become a man; he could choose to put on flesh and bone and put aside his glory, power and authority. Who came into our world as a fragile baby, adopted into a poor, insignificant family, who came from a despised town...
This same Jesus, the carpenter's son, is the Saviour, Messiah, the Lord. The one who has changed the possibilities of our world forever. The one who has brought liberty, hope, joy, reconciliation, peace, joy, happiness, true love, victory, salvation and a million other things that we often forget.
This Christmas, let's take our eyes off the sentimental view of the baby in the manger and consider who this child is: The Lord, the King of Glory. Your redeemer and Saviour, your champion, the one who you live for, or should if you don't. He is the Lord (our Jehovah, our Great I Am), Jesus (the Man who is our Saviour) Christ (the Messiah, the Chosen One) who is all glorious.
Let's join with the angels and give him all the glory.
The Understanding High Priest
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. Hebrews 4:15
When we face times of weakness in our lives, we can get crushed by the pressure of life around us. Sometimes there is no one that we can turn to, maybe they can’t understand us or we just feel awkward in asking.
Thank God that we have a High Priest in the Lord Jesus who is always available 24/7, 365 days a year, who we can call out to, knowing that he is listening and always wanting to help. One who has known of our struggles and anxieties. He knows our every weakness and suffers with us. As we live by the Spirit of God, he gently comes by our side and carries the load for us and helps us to overcome.
Jesus is, was and always will be without sin, and with his power we too can be strong and have the strength to rise above the temptations that this world throws at us everyday.
A way to test our life as a believer is to ask ourselves the question: Are we becoming more holy? Jesus is without sin, so the more time we spend with him, the more we will be like him.
Labels: Jesus, Problems, Temptation
Today is the Day of Salvation
At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you, indeed the right time is now. Today is the day of Salvation.
2 Corinthians 6:2 NLT
Thank God that the day we called out to Jesus to be our Saviour, he was there waiting to hear our cry.
Many of us today are not the most patient when it comes to waiting, in fact on average, we spend over one day a year waiting in queues! Romans 5:6 reminds us that "at just the right time Jesus died for us".
God knows what we need and when we need it. Our day of salvation can start today. No ifs or buts, right now. If only we would ask him to come and take residence in our lives. We can never be sure what lies around the corner. That is why we need to trust Jesus while we have today...tomorrow doesn't always come.
The wonder of the day we receive Jesus as our Lord, is that eternal life with God starts at that exact time. Jesus is far too wonderful to leave for another day.
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