After spending a few weeks focusing on the cross, I hope you have a better understanding of what happened. God loved us so much and wanted his relationship with us restored so badly that he sent his Son to die for us and be our sin covering. Jesus Christ was willing to leave the heavenly realms, become man, and endure death by crucifixion in order for our relationship with God to be restored. Jesus is the intercessor between us and God. He is standing in the gap so we human beings can enter into heaven guilt and sin free.
Even though Christ is the sin offering that gives us the ability to enter into God’s kingdom, like the Roman centurion we must confess that he is in fact the Son of God and Lord of our lives. And like the thief, we must put our hope and trust in him despite our sinfulness and allow him to make us pure as snow. There may also come a time in our lives that God asks us to stand firm and give an account of our faith to an unbeliever. We must not, unlike Peter, deny Jesus to men, but affirm his place in our lives. Although this is true, the good news is that if we do accidently or intentionally deny his Lordship, he will reinstate us and still accept us into his family if we repent of our sins and transgressions.
Standing at the foot of the cross and experiencing the grief and loss that Mary felt helps us to realize that there may be times in our lives that we will “walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” but I encourage you to weather that storm because Jesus Christ will not leave you or forsake you. He is standing next to you, weathering the storm with you. Cling to him and allow his love to comfort your every need and hurt.
Finally, just as Jesus commissioned John to care for his mother, so he commissions us to care for the lost and needy of this world. We are to be Christ to the hurting of this world. We are to be God’s presence in a fallen world. As a Church we are also to proclaim this Gospel message to the world so one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. He has entrusted us with these responsibilities and we are to take them seriously and be his light in a very dark world.
My prayer for you is that you allow Christ to reign over your life that you allow him to bless you beyond measure. I also pray that you look forward to the day when he shall return.
I leave you with these words by Gregory Boyd, “Change comes to us as we allow the Holy Spirit to transform us by renewing our minds. Change comes only as we allow the Holy Spirit to bring Jesus into the storm of our lives and let him do his work. Change comes only as we rest in Christ, just as we are, and allow the Holy Spirit to make him as real to us as is the deception that previously kept us from experiencing him. We are transformed from one degree of glory to another not as we try to change who we are on our own but as we rest in the experience of who Jesus is. As we do so, all that is his by nature flows into us by grace, and we are increasingly conformed to his likeness” (Boyd 2004, 190).
Almighty God,
Shower your blessings in abundance on those who look to your Son as their Lord and Savior. Let us never forget the cost he paid in order to free us from sin and death. I honor and worship you with my whole being and life. Work your will out for my life one day at a time, amen.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
The Importance of the cross-Part VIII
JOHN – RESPONSIBILITY
“When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Dear woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home” (John 19:26-27 NIV).
The disciple John was given the responsibility to care for Jesus’ mother after his death. As part of his faith, he recognized the duty that needed to be performed and he performed that duty well. We are responsible to love all of Christ. Since we are all members of the Body of Christ we have a responsibility to love one another. This love was made manifest in John’s actions towards Mary. He recognized a need of another member of the Body of Christ and he provided for that need through his love in Christ Jesus. As Christians we also have the obligation to care for the poor and needy of the world whether or not they are part of the Body (Matthew 25:31-46).
Other than the responsibility to care for the needy of the world, we are also given the responsibility to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19 NIV). We are to represent Christ well in this world and proclaim the Gospel message with boldness and accuracy.
Christ demonstrated his responsibility for us by sacrificing himself in order that we might have eternal life. He also continues to show his responsibility to us by being forever present in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our guiding light in this dark world and continually helps us understand the responsibility Christ has laid out for us. Jesus states, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NIV).
All in all, the Church has done an incredible job spreading the Good News of Christ to the world, despite some setbacks. It is an encouraging thought that the majority of Christians, like the apostle John, take the responsibility of the faith seriously. Jesus needed his children to be faithful in order for the gospel to spread.
Stafford states, “The movement had focused around one man who could be present at only one place at a time. Amazing as Jesus was, he was limited by culture and language. He spent his entire career in tiny Palestine, exposed to perhaps a few hundreds of thousands of people – mostly Jews. His followers at the end of his life numbered about a hundred twenty (Acts 1:15). Today we are perhaps two billion, from every conceivable culture and nationality. The kingdom can be seen at work in towns and villages all over the world. Jesus very deliberately started a movement. He knew what he was doing when he left us to carry on. He wanted to burst the boundaries of time, space, and culture to transform the world. He is doing exactly that, now, through us” (Stafford 2006, 224).
What responsibilities has God laid on you? Has he called you to lead churches, teach children, provide for the needs of those around you, serve and protect your countrymen? Whatever he has called you to be, your responsibility is to advance the kingdom of God here on earth and glorify the name of Jesus Christ.
“When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Dear woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home” (John 19:26-27 NIV).
The disciple John was given the responsibility to care for Jesus’ mother after his death. As part of his faith, he recognized the duty that needed to be performed and he performed that duty well. We are responsible to love all of Christ. Since we are all members of the Body of Christ we have a responsibility to love one another. This love was made manifest in John’s actions towards Mary. He recognized a need of another member of the Body of Christ and he provided for that need through his love in Christ Jesus. As Christians we also have the obligation to care for the poor and needy of the world whether or not they are part of the Body (Matthew 25:31-46).
Other than the responsibility to care for the needy of the world, we are also given the responsibility to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19 NIV). We are to represent Christ well in this world and proclaim the Gospel message with boldness and accuracy.
Christ demonstrated his responsibility for us by sacrificing himself in order that we might have eternal life. He also continues to show his responsibility to us by being forever present in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our guiding light in this dark world and continually helps us understand the responsibility Christ has laid out for us. Jesus states, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NIV).
All in all, the Church has done an incredible job spreading the Good News of Christ to the world, despite some setbacks. It is an encouraging thought that the majority of Christians, like the apostle John, take the responsibility of the faith seriously. Jesus needed his children to be faithful in order for the gospel to spread.
Stafford states, “The movement had focused around one man who could be present at only one place at a time. Amazing as Jesus was, he was limited by culture and language. He spent his entire career in tiny Palestine, exposed to perhaps a few hundreds of thousands of people – mostly Jews. His followers at the end of his life numbered about a hundred twenty (Acts 1:15). Today we are perhaps two billion, from every conceivable culture and nationality. The kingdom can be seen at work in towns and villages all over the world. Jesus very deliberately started a movement. He knew what he was doing when he left us to carry on. He wanted to burst the boundaries of time, space, and culture to transform the world. He is doing exactly that, now, through us” (Stafford 2006, 224).
What responsibilities has God laid on you? Has he called you to lead churches, teach children, provide for the needs of those around you, serve and protect your countrymen? Whatever he has called you to be, your responsibility is to advance the kingdom of God here on earth and glorify the name of Jesus Christ.
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