Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life

This past Sunday our small group lesson was on the uniqueness of Jesus Christ - John 14:1-11. We talked about verse 6 where Christ tells the disciples, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  Our faith is different than all of the other major religions in the world. We serve the One and Only living God. Our faith is the only one that has a savior that has died, been resurrected to life again, ascended to heaven, and now reigns with the Father. 

Jesus is the Life - our spiritual life! He is the prize for all believers. We are separated from God because of our sin and as Romans 6:23 tells us - "the wages of sin is death. We have to be delivered from death - our physical bodies, should we die before Christ's return, will be resurrected. Our spiritually dead hearts -  separate us from God, have to be made alive - and this only happens when we confess our sin, repent, ask Jesus to forgive us, and acknowledge that He is our Lord and Savior. Jesus came to the earth to make us alive when we were dead.

According to God's word - Our faith is based on God's grace and love - we are saved by His grace, not by anything that we do on our own. The author of last weeks lesson reminds us that other religions are all offering a way to return to God's favor by good works, self- effort, or religiosity. Self-effort can never get us back into a right standing with God.

Jesus is unique because of what He says - the Truth - Jesus reveals God. he is God's revelation of Himself to us. The Gospel of John provides us with many evidences of Christ being God's self-disclosure to the world - Check out these passages John 1:14, 1:18, 10:25,30, 14:9-11; 5:33, 18:37, 8:40, 45-46; 8:32. Jesus reveals God because He is God! 

(The author of the lesson was Afshin Ziafat, The Gospel Project)

Do I Walk in the New Life I have from Christ

 Ephesians 2:1-10 (HCSB) And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens, so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast.  For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.

In the previous chapter of Ephesians, Paul tells us of God’s power – power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. As believers, we have access to this power. We too have been raised from the dead – the death of our sin – raised to walk in a new life with Christ!

This past year has been full of changes – in December of 2012 our household went from having 3 people living in it to 6. In December of 2013 we added one more – a new life, a precious grandson, Maverick Leo, born to our daughter and son in law. What I am learning is that God’s plan for my life is not my plan, but His plan is so much better. As I read through Ephesians 2, listen to sermons on the passage, and truly ask God what I am to be learning, I see a new life in front of me and I get a glimpse of what Paul is writing about. I see an innocent baby who doesn't know right from wrong at this moment, but being born into this world, he is a sinner. He will grow, walk, and learn in this world. It is my responsibility, as his gram, to continue to live out, in front of him, God’s grace and love. It is also my responsibility, to teach him as I talk to him about the gift of God’s power and salvation. I believe God’s plan has allowed me to not only raise two children, praying and teaching them of God’s grace, but also to pray for and teach my grandson. (I’m not saying his parents are responsible for this too, but I am blessed to be a part of this little guy’s life!)

My prayer from Maverick is that he grows and learns of God’s grace; that he receives the power that only God can give; and that he recognizes that he was created for God’s glory and plan and that he will walk in God’s plan. A new physical life joined our family – already praying for his spiritual life.   

Do We Believe God?

In God's word, Luke chapter one tells us about the announcement of John to Zechariah and Elizabeth and the announcement of Jesus, the Son of God, to Mary. I have read this account many times, but today I realized something that I had not noticed before. In the beginning of chapter 1 of Luke, the angel Gabriel tells Zechariah that his prayers have been heard and that Elizabeth will bear him a son and that they, Zechariah and Elizabeth, are to call him John. Verses 18-20 of chapter 1, Luke says “Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”  The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.” (NIV emphasis mine).

 Later in the chapter, Luke writes that Elizabeth is six months along in her pregnancy when the angel Gabriel appears to Mary in Nazareth. Mary is told by Gabriel that she is favored and that the Lord is with her, and that she is going to have a son. Mary is told to give her son the name Jesus, and that he will be called the Son of the Most High. While Gabriel is talking to Mary he also tells her that her cousin Elizabeth is in her sixth month of pregnancy. Starting in verse 38 we read, “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (NIV emphasis mine) 

Notice, Zechariah was struck silent, and unable to speak until the time was right for Elizabeth to give birth because of his unbelief. Mary’s faith and belief were confirmed when Gabriel left her and Elizabeth was filled with God’s assurance and shared it with Mary. Mary believed God! How often do we say we “hope” that something will happen or that we “hope” that things will go well. As a believer, we have hope in God’s plan that is far better than ours. As a believer we have the assurance of God’s presence and desire to be with us. Do we believe God as Mary did? Instead of saying that we “hope” that something will happen or that things will go well, shouldn’t we be saying that we believe God will walk with us through the situation we are in or that we believe God will work all things in our lives for His glory. We need to begin believing God – as I was reminded in a recent Bible study – God is who He says He is and God will do all that He says He will do!

A New Day

Today I am starting afresh. I am looking at God’s word and taking it into my soul. I am praying God’s word back to Him as my request for forgiveness, my praise for all that He is doing and has done, and my desire to hear from Him again today. Do you have to start afresh frequently?

I was reminded recently that I have not been writing my blog. My excuse, ‘I am overwhelmed’. Why am I feeling overwhelmed? Is it because I am putting myself, my things, my desires, my issues, (get the point here – me, me, me) above God! YES! Absolutely!  Whenever I have the feeling that things are closing in on me, it comes back to me over God. Thank you to saints that have reminded me of this in recent days!

God is all around us – in every minute, of every hour, of every day. Over the past several days I have been asking God to give me a portion of His wisdom. (Check out the book of James) This morning I was reading some notes from people on my Twitter account and Beth Moore posted that “…God calls people, gives them vision, starts them on their way & just when it’s looking good, humbles and crumbles them. After the diving humbling and crumbling, the called is sure he’s blown it & it’s over. He doesn’t realize that only now is he ready to serve.” I identified with this statement. I believe beyond a shadow of doubt that God does call us and God does equip us. In order to serve and be obedient to all that He has called us to, we need to be humbled and crumbled. And through this process we seek God’s wisdom, grace, and mercy to mold us and teach us.

James 1:5-6 tells us “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask god, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind.” (HCSB) Part of the humbling and crumbling process in my life is to grow in my faith, actively seeking all that God desires for me, and that requires me asking for His wisdom. Additionally, I need to pray for all situations and ask others to pray for me! Ephesians 6:18 says “Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.” (HCSB). During the past week I have asked for God’s wisdom. I have asked other saints to pray for me. I have seen God work in every situation that I was praying about and not only did He give me wisdom, He gave me a heart that was slow to speak and quick to listen. He provided direction, humbling, and strength. God is gracious to provide, respond, and love.

It’s a new day. Are you spending time in God’s word? Are you asking Him for His desires in your life? Are you seeking Him in prayer, in His word, through other believers? Life can and will get crazy, but God is always near and waiting for us to seek. Start afresh today!

Yellow, Black, Red, White, and Green

This week I was blessed to walk around our church property and see about 90 children between the ages of 5-11, and about 90 youth, young adults, and other adults participating in High Power Soccer. It was amazing to see all that God had done during the weeks of planning and preparation play out each evening.

During the final evening worship time the message of the Gospel was presented. Actually, the Gospel was being presented every night as every night the leaders wore a specific colored shirt to represent a part of the Gospel. The first night, yellow was the color - representing heaven and the beauty and brightness that will be there; next was black - representing the sin that is in all of our lives; then red - representing the blood of Christ that was shed for each and every individual; white - showing the way that we are cleansed, made clean and all of the sin was washed away through Christ's sacrifice; the final night the color was green - representing the growth that we as Christians experience as we spend time in God's word and prayer. During the last night of worship the children were reminded that in their bags were stretch bracelets with these 5 colors, and they were encouraged to share the Gospel message with their friends.

How easy is it to remember these colors and share the good news with those that you encounter? This week ask God to provide you with an opportunity to share the Gospel with someone know.

A Simple Reminder!

This morning I was reminded that studying God's word is critical for my life and my relationship with Christ. This should be a no brainer - right! Too often we as believers pick up a book to read that is about God or about how to study God's word. I believe we ought to read books. I believe we can use books or Bible study books to grow in our faith. But far more than that, we have to, we must, read God's word for ourselves.

How do you study God's word? Let me encourage you to begin with a purpose - a purpose of striving to know God more and for your faith to expand. You can follow a reading plan such as http://www.ewordtoday.com/ - you can choose which version of the Bible to read from and how you want to read, for example from beginning to end, chronological, or historical to name a few. You can start by reading a book of the Bible - if you are a new believer I would suggest beginning with John. Each day when you begin to read, pray and ask God to open your eyes to see something new and fresh from His word. Ask Him to give you a clear understanding of what He wants you to learn from that day's reading. Be willing to move slowly through the passage you are reading, look at the cross-references listed for the verses you are reading, and write down what you are learning.

A simple reminder - God wants us to know Him more. He wants us to grow in a relationship with Him. We can accomplish God's desires by being in His word; studying, praying, and learning. We can read other peoples writings, but first, it is critical that we read God's writings to us!

Crisis of Belief - Faith and Action

So many times, in today's world, we do not believe that God speaks. We don't hear an audible voice. We don't see Him in person. But, we do know from His word that He speaks. Henry Blackaby reminds us, in his study Experiencing God, that God speaks to us through prayer, His word, through activity of God in circumstances, and through the body of Christ - other Christians. Are you listening daily to hearing God speak?

Inevitably when God speaks we are going to face a crisis of belief. We are going to have to make a decision about what we truly believe about God. Are we going to follow His leading because we know He has the best plan or are we going to go on our own plan. My actions, after I hear from God, truly reveal what I believe about God. Is my faith truly lived out in my actions?

Just this week I have had a dear friend/family give birth to a beautiful baby girl. This family was told early on in the pregnancy that their little girl was going to have extreme difficulties including being paralyzed, possibly no brain function,  and inability to breathe on her own to name a few. The parents were encouraged from the medical professionals to terminate the pregnancy. The family stood firm on God's plan being best. The mom carried the little girl to almost 39 weeks, which was far longer than the doctors predicted. The little girl was born and shortly after her birth let out a very loud scream, breathing on her own, sucking a pacifier, pulling her legs up underneath her, moving her arms around, and responding to touch. Yes, this little girl and her family will undergo tests, and surgeries, but she is a miracle of God.

The family I mention above had a crisis of belief many, many weeks ago. They knew they were pregnant and expecting a little girl. They knew that this little girl was a gift from God. They knew that God had a plan for them and for her, even though they didn't understand all that was happening. The family's response to the crisis of belief - their faith grew! Their faith was and is a testimony to all that God can and will do. They put their faith into action. The family openly shared their struggles, gave witness to God's peace when there was turmoil, praised God for allowing the mom to carry the baby for 39 weeks, and they have shared all of God's goodness to anyone that is in earshot.

How would I handle a situation like the one above? My hope is that I would respond similarly. I absolutely believe we hear God speak. My desire is to respond with putting my faith in action and following what God tells me. My prayer is that my faith will grow so much that I don't miss God speaking. How will you respond when you face a crisis of belief?

(check out Henry Blackaby's Part 5 Crisis of Belief http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggcAY6p0Y2k)