The following post is brought to you by a good friend, Melanie. She is our MOPS Mentor this year and she spoils us in may ways. She is a great writer and occasionally sends us a devotion that God has laid on her heart. This is one of her latest. I love reflecting on the greatness of our God. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
"A day or so ago, I drove past the signboard for a local storefront church. The sign simply said, “Jesus Is”. It probably originally said, “Jesus is Lord” or something like that, but the statement made more impact on me in the shorter form. I started thinking about those two words, and here’s what I came up with: This is a complete statement, both grammatically and theologically. At the foundation of our faith is the eternal truth of the gospel, that Jesus IS.
“ Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is himself God.” (John 1:1, The Living Bible).
Jesus got into trouble during his time on earth for saying , “Before Abraham was born, I AM” (John 8:58, NIV); by saying this, he claimed to be the Self-Existent God, the same God that revealed himself to Moses at the burning bush as “I AM” (Exodus 3: 14). The religious leaders of Jesus’ time thought that Jesus had committed terrible blasphemy by claiming to be God, but he was only telling the simple truth: He IS God.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” Paul tells us in Colossians 1: 15, and goes on to say, “ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (v. 17) and “He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy( v. 18, all verses NIV) So Jesus IS, and that’s a complete statement, but what else is he?
He is … the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. (Revelation 1:8, 21:6, 22:13)
He is …. the firstborn over all creation (see Colossians 1: 15, above)
He is….the Good Shepherd ( John 10: 11)
He is… the Bread of Life ( John 6: 35)
He is… the Way, the Truth and the Life, the only way to the Father (John 14:6)
He is ….Messiah ( John 4:26)
He is…our Peace (Ephesians 2: 14)
He is …the Cornerstone ( Ephesians 2:20)
He is….our great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14)
He is …the Author and Perfecter(Finisher) of our Faith (Hebrews 12: 2)
The list goes on and on and on. What is Jesus to YOU, personally? Right now, what is he to you? Is he Healer, Redeemer, your Prince of Peace? Right now, all I can think of is the words of Isaiah: “His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6)"
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
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I'm glad this devotional was helpful to you, Laura. I really don't see what I do as 'spoiling', but if you do, then I can only say that you richly deserve to be spoiled.
ReplyDeleteANGEL: Does not just mean the spiritual beings that the Lord reigns over but also to my understanding stands for "One who holds and delievers Gods Messages.
ReplyDeleteI just read Exodus 23 and here is where I believe the Lord sent Jesus to help guide Israel as it states: (what drew me to the conclusion was what I made in all Caps..
Exodus 23:20-23Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. 21 "Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since MY NAME IS IN HIM 22 "But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. 23"For My angel will go before you and bring you in to the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them.