"It's just a name", some would say.
Jesus......
"What's the big deal? It isn't like He can do anything about my life today."
Jesus.....
"I've tried that church thing before....they're just a bunch of hypocrite's."
Jesus.....
"How can some guy, who lived 2000+ years ago, have an impact on my life today?"
Jesus....
Just Jesus....
For every argument that can be thrown up against the name and person of Jesus..The truth of who He is stands. Unflinching....undaunted....unaffected.
He is Lord over all who claim to be Lord.
He is King over all who claim to be King.
Yet He left heaven and took on the flesh of humanity for one soul reason.
To undo....
To destroy....
And to remover the iron clinched fist of sin that Satan had perpetrated on a world that was separated from having relationship with God.
That's one of the reasons for our bad choices we make.
We listen to the inner voice and desire that our sin nature speaks to us.
That old voice is so subtle and soothing....after all, what could be wrong with wanting something. Well, the wanting of something may not be a big deal. But it becomes a big deal when the wanting supersedes doing the right thing. When our desire to satisfy that inner craving becomes so strong that you are willing to lie and cheat those closest to you who love and care for you....then you've crossed the line. Jesus came to break this dark cycle of deceit, guilt and shame that is driving you to these decisions.
Our minds have become so clouded that we hear what people are saying, but we don't see the validity or truth of it. The beauty of how Jesus draws us into relationship with Him, is that He speaks to our hearts and not always our minds. The Holy Spirit of God comes to us and convicts us of our sin. He shows us the folly of our wanting to live a life independent from God. He shows us the terrible things we've done and the hurtful things we have said to others...He reveals the motive and intent of our hearts to show us how far we have fallen by listening to that inner voice that influenced us to turn our attention to our own selfish needs. The beauty of this interaction with Jesus, is that He doesn't leave us in the place of guilt and shame. He points to the work He accomplished by hanging on a Roman cross, shedding every drop of His blood as a payment for OUR sins. Because of this act, He can come to us and offer us a new way of living. A new way of doing business with this sinful world. All we have to do is accept it. We confess our sins to Him, acknowledging that we alone were responsible for them. WE chose to act on our sinful nature that was guiding us. We ask Him to forgive us and remove the penalty for our sin. We acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior....and to be filled with His Holy Spirit. Weird part in all of this confession and turning away from our old life.....Jesus will receive us. Simple as that. He will take us and begin a new work inside.
It would be nice if that work that He's doing inside of us was instant, wouldn't it? Sure it would.
But this rebuilding of our character, along with the removal of our character defects is a time process. We encounter problems, situations and circumstances that show us the improvement that has taken place. We also see old defects that may still remain to show us that we still have a way to go. Jesus truly is the Power that we've been searching for who could restore us to sanity. As singer songwriter Larry Norman once stated in one of his songs....."Why not check into Jesus....He's got the answers."
Romans 10:9-10
If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord
and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God,
and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.
God on you...
michael b.
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