When Jesus stood, He did so without bias or partiality towards any certain people group. When He spoke, it wasn’t directed to only a select few. Jesus showed no favoritism, bigotry, or chauvinism as He invited all to accept the free gift of eternal life. And that invitation still stands today to every man, woman, and child across this wide world. There is no barrier left that can prevent you from receiving this gift offered by a loving Savior.
Tag: Lord Jesus Christ
I John 2:17 ” The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”
All the world’s affections and fascinations will not last…they are here but a day and then gone. The only thing that remains…the only true thing we can base our life and faith around is the person of Jesus Christ. For it’s by Him and Him alone that we might be saved.
Mark 10: 24-25 ” But Jesus said again, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.’ “
Jesus gave an exaggerated comparison of attempting to squeeze a huge camel through the tiny eye of a needle…it’s almost impossible to do. But then He took it one step farther, comparing it to those who put their trust in riches rather than the living God…their chances of making it to heaven were just about as slim. So I ask you today – where do you base your trust?
Luke 11: 34-35 ” Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad. your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness.”
When you look into someone’s eyes…what do you see? If they’re lying to you and have a guilty conscience, you can usually see it. If when you look into someone’s eyes and see evil, you realize what it is…darkness and wickedness. But if you look into some people’s eyes…you’ll see Jesus smiling back at you. Their eyes are shining beacons of light and truth… their only focus, fulfilling what God made them for.
John 16:33 ” But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Jesus proclaimed this not only to those He was speaking to at the time, but to us now, today. Jesus has already done the work…the devil has been defeated…we don’t have to allow fear, doubt, and hopelessness to govern our lives. So the next time doubt and fear hits…take a deep breath, and in the space of that breath…pray, ” Lord, I know You’re here, and I know we can face this together. Give me courage to move forward and to not give up. Amen.” For I know with God we are more than a overcomers.
I Kings 18: 42-43 ” So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Mt. Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. ‘Go and look towards the sea,’ he told his servant. And he went up and looked. ‘There is nothing there,’ he said. Seven times Elijah said, ‘Go back.’ “
This is a wonderful example of persistent prayer. The kind of determined, tenacious, even stubborn prayer where we refuse to get out of the Lord’s face until He does something. In Luke 18: 1-8, Jesus tells the parable about the widow looking for justice who wore the judge down with her persistence. At the end of this story He instructs His disciples to have the same kind of unabashed audacity in prayer … to not give up.
Matthew 2:11 ” On coming to the house, they saw the child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.”
The Magi came seeking the Messiah, and bringing with them, gifts…but very special gifts. These gifts were expensive luxuries of the day…fit for royal presents. But beyond that, they were also very symbolic in their meanings. The burning of frankincense symbolized prayers rising to heaven like the fragrant smoke it gave off… the prayers of Jesus interceding for us at the right hand of the Father. The myrrh was used for burials and symbolized death…Jesus’s death on the Cross for us. Finally, the gold was given to symbolize His royal status…and also for the very practical reason – His parents would soon need finances as they escaped to Egypt to flee from King Herod.
Luke 2:4 ” So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
Caesar Augustus had decreed a census of the entire Roman world…and so everyone had to travel to their home town to register. If it hadn’t been for that, Joseph probably wouldn’t have subjected his very pregnant wife, Mary, to the long, hard journey on bumpy roads. But God used a godless Roman King to fulfill His ultimate purpose and plan. What we see as just common, ordinary, unrelated threads in our life, God is using to weave a tapestry of unbelievable beauty according to His will.
Psalm 68:19 ” Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.”
The Lord Jesus Christ is the God of Salvation. He sustains, supports, and carries us…even when we’re unaware of His hand on us. There’s no need to be saddled with the burdens of today – the stress, anxiety, and troubles you’re facing – Jesus wants to carry for you. Give them to Him.
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