Jesus, The Judge. Advent Day 6

"And He has given Him authority to judge because He is the Son of Man. Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out--those how have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.  By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgement is just, for I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me." 

John 5:27-30

In this passage Jesus is proclaiming Himself with the authority and power to judge others.  He is also referring to the final Judgement.  But lastly and most importantly, He states that His judgment is just.  Why? Because He is seeking to please His Father and not Himself.  He will reward the good and punish the bad according to their deeds.  It's simple but why do we get in the way of Jesus' role as Judge?

Why do we think that we can do a better job?  Why do we judge a person's character based on their appearance?  I can't answer those questions.  I do know that when I find myself judging others, gossiping about their actions in a condescending tone, or thinking harsh thoughts about them, I can turn to God.  I can pray for help to stop those actions.  I can pray for the self-control to hold my tongue and cleanse my thoughts.  I need to hand the role of Judge back over to Jesus.      

If you go to court or watch court shows on TV, the defense and prosecuting attorneys have the opportunity to present the case to the judge.  They give the background details of why the defendant and plaintiff are in front of the judge.  The judge has an idea of the situation and can make a just decision.  However, most of the time when we play judge, we don't give others the opportunity to tell their back story or give the background knowledge.  We jump to conclusions.  We as a human culture need to stop.  Hand that gavel back over to Jesus and let Him be the Judge of the world!

With His Love, 

A

PS I know this can't be easy but how do you work on not judging others?

On the Fifth Day of Advent Jesus is the Perfect Provider

"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth."

1 Peter 2:22 quoting Isaiah 53:9

Jesus was Perfect.  He did not sin at all, not even once while He was a human here on Earth.  That is an unfathomable trait because usually I can't go one hour without committing a sin.  How did He do it?  Well you could say that He was God as well but He cast aside His divinity when He became human (Philippians 2:5-11).  So that's not the answer but He prayed and spent time with God the Father.  When He was 12, He was separated from His family in Jerusalem.  When they found Him, He said "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" He was in the temple spending time with His Heavenly Father (Luke 3:41-52).  So Jesus was Perfect.

Jesus also was a provider.  He provided wine for a wedding banquet (2:1-11), food for many people on more than one occasion (Matthew 14:15-21, 15:32-38), provided a way out of the slavery of sin (Romans 6), and lastly He provided a way to Heaven (Matthew 7:13-14).  I'm sure there are many more examples but these are just a few in the New Testament.  Remember Jesus is eternal, meaning He was with God the Father when He provided everything in the Old Testament too.  Jesus didn't just appear in the Trinity when He became human and was sent to Earth.  He has always been around!

Therefore, together Jesus is the Perfect Provider.  He not only provides us with everything but it's everything that we need!  He knows exactly what we need at every moment of the day.  If you don't know what you may need, then ask Him!  Ask Him to reveal to you what you may need at that very moment.  Then remember He will provide in His Time and in His Way.  However, He will always be with us!

How have you seen Jesus as the Perfect Provider of your Life?  I would love to hear about ways He provides for you :D Connect with me on Instagram, Pinterest or leave a comment below!

With His Love,

A

Advent Day 4: Jesus the Resurrection and Life

"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life.  The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.  Do you believe this?'"

John 11:25-26

Let's take a second to recognize the power in these sentences from Jesus.  First He says "I AM" which from Exodus 3:14a: "God says to Moses, I AM WHO I AM", we know this is God's name.  So Jesus is stating that He is God.  Then He says I am the resurrection and the life.  He is talking to Martha and Mary who are coping with the death of their brother, Lazarus.  They know who Jesus is and they realize that one day their brother will live again.  However, they don't realize that day will be sooner then they expected (John 11:38-44) 

While they still may believe in Jesus and the distant future of resurrection, it is still a humanly impossible concept to wrap our minds around.  Most people who think about rising from the dead think about zombies, but this isn't what Jesus is saying.  When we are resurrected we aren't going to be the walking dead, we are going to be the walking living!!

Jesus died on the cross.  He had a physical and spiritual death that day to pay the price of the sins of the past, present and future people of the world.  When He rose from the grave three days later, He wasn't skin and bones or any of those creepy visions of zombies.  He had a resurrection body, not spirit or ghost.  It had special qualities (like walking through walls and appearing suddenly (John 20) but for the most part normal.  He could walk, talk, and eat.  

This is the hope of the Christian believer: even though our bodies will physically die, we will spiritually live with God (all three persons of the Trinity) in Heaven.  Then one day, after The Judgement, we will be reunited with our bodies with the same special resurrection qualities of Jesus' body.  

WOWWW!!! That's soo powerful.  I tell this to my mom all the time since she has been disabled this past year.  There will be no more pain and suffering in Heaven and one day your body will be whole again!

Lastly Jesus asks the question "Do you believe?"  Everything I just stated can only be true IF you believe in Jesus.  So my challenge to you is to really think about if you believe and accept Jesus' work on the cross?  If you can't answer that question yet, please continue to join me on this journey as we look at all the names of Jesus over the next 22 days and how they reveal Jesus' character on a deeper level :D 

With His Love,

A

Advent Day 3: Jesus the Rock

"The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

Psalm 18:2

It's strange to think of Jesus as a rock.  An extraordinary God is an ordinary object?  We need to look Rock in context of the Bible.  David, the author of Psalm 18, is proclaiming that God is the Rock and his stronghold.  Then I love what Jesus says in Matthew 7:24 concluding His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).  He says that we must build our houses on rock.  He then goes on to explain in Matthew 7:25-27, that if you didn't build your house on rock or a solid foundation then it would get washed away when rain came.

THIS IS A KEY POINT!!! If we do not build our lives on Jesus the Rock, then all sanity will wash away when trouble comes.  Notice I used when and not if.  Jesus says in John 16:33b--"In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart! I have overcome the world." So we can be assured that if we build our lives with Jesus as the Rock foundation, then they will not crumble or fall apart troubles arise.  Jesus is the stronghold and we can take refuge in the Rock.

How can you refocus your life to start building your foundation on Jesus?  What does it mean to you that Jesus is your Rock?  Let me know, I would love to see others' perspectives :D

With His Love,
A 

P.S. The lovely Matthew 7:24 print is hanging on my wall!! It was from #SheReadsTruth's Sermon on the Mount plan.  Go check this wonderful ministry out  :)

 

Advent Day 2: Jesus the Redeemer

 

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us."

Galatians 3:13a

Why do we need a Redeemer? That might be a question that someone might ask you.  I wouldn't have been able to answer that question without all the bible studies I have done.  I was raised going to church occasionally but not participating in Sunday School or Youth Group so I didn't have a foundation of understanding Christianity.  I started from scratch.  Now that I have studied parts of both the Old Testament and New Testament, I am beginning to understand Jesus' role as Redeemer.  

It all begins with Adam and Eve in the Garden.  When they brought sin into the world the also brought death.  "For the wages of sin is death." Romans 6:23 We all deserve death because we can't live up to the perfect standards that God requires.  He is holy and cannot be near sin.  That is why He instructed Moses with the careful precautions and specifics when the Israelite built the tabernacle.  God couldn't be near the sinful people unless a sacrifice, death, was made to cover the sins.

Therefore Christ made that sacrifice (we will look at those closer later in the month :D) to redeem us back to God the Father.  Merriam-Webster defines redeem as "making something better or more acceptable."  Jesus is making us more acceptable in the eyes of God.  Because Jesus died for us, He took that curse of death from us and now we can live freely.  Jesus paid that price and brought us back to being able to have a relationship with God like Adam and Eve experienced before they ate the apple. 

So how can you incorporate the meaning of Jesus as your Redeemer in your life personally?  Besides taking on our sins, how has He made you more acceptable in God's eyes?  What changes have happened in your life since you started to follow Jesus?  If you haven't decided to follow Jesus yet, will you please join me this Advent to just learn more about Him?  

With His Love,

A